GRENFELL HOUSE FIRE.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

This shocking fire that occured is one of the worst tragedies that London has witnessed for decades, and one can only imagine the sheer terror of those who were unable to escape and perished in this inferno, and for those who lost loved ones our hearts go out to each and every one of them.
The death toll will almost certainly rise and those affected are demanding answers.
We live in a high rise building and during the time we have lived here there have been Two fires on different floors but they were both confined to the flat as they were expected to do.
We can understand the feelings of those families who are demanding justice and the anger is growing day by day.
The Queen and Prince William came to the scene and so did Theresa May but those responsible have yet to show up.
All too busy passing the buck I suppose.

[ROBERT M.]

Such sad news L&H ...........can I ask which floor you live on ...............when I heard the news I thought I hope L&H are OK

[john]

It is just dreadful, I was thinking of you both Lena and Harry. My thoughts are with those who tragically lost their lives and their families and all those left without a home.
What an awful year this has been.

[karl]

You are so right John it's been an awful year . L&H I did not know you lived in a high rise, I could not believe how fast that fire spread and to tell the residents to stay put was unbelievable, also no sprinkler system. I hope your building has that?
My flat has two floors and I am on the top so I'm not SO high.

I did hear that the "posh" residents in the area did not like the look of the building and asked for something to be done for improvement - hence the cladding. Whether or not that's true I don't know.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

We live on the 9th floor, all flats here have fire proof doors including the doors that leads to the stairs. On every landing there is a fire unit that enables the fire service to use their hoses if a fire occurs.
So they are acting on past history and satisfied that a fire here wiould be confined to the individual flat.
Cladding has never been considered here but that was evidently the main cause of the Grenfell House blaze that spread so rapidly.
Not sure about the "posh" residents complaining Karl. If it were true they have something more uglier to look at now.
We didn't know anything about this fire until seeing it on the TV early the next morning and then looking out of our window to see massive clouds of black smoke pouring from this building and flames still appearing from several floors.
The close coming together with the community is one thing, but the reality and bearing the loss of a child or any beloved member of your family is another.

[ROBERT M.]

http://news.sky.com/story/grenfell-towe ... s-10919319 too late now for Grenfell Tower residents

[ROBERT M.]

? I wonder if Grenfell was named after the actress Joyce Grenfell ?

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Funny you should mention Joyce Grenfell Robert . We also wondered the same, but the only connection that we can see is that her husband Reggie Grenfell died in Kensington and Chelsea in 1993.
He was a trained chartered accountant and worked for mining companies and then became director of Messsina a South African copper company.

[paul jh]

I also thought of Joyce Grenfell.

Such a terrible tragedy. I'm feeling so sad for all of you with these awful events. I saw the fire reported on the news right before I went to sleep that evening last week.

I found this on wikipedia:

Grenfell Tower is a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London, England. It was completed in 1974, as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate. The tower was named after Grenfell Road which ran to the south of the structure. The road itself was named after Field Marshal Lord Grenfell, a senior Army commander of the 19th and early 20th century.

[ROBERT M.]

Thanks for clearing that up Paul .............also, I wouldn't have thought you knew Joyce Grenfell who was a big star over here but was she well known over there ?

[mariana44]

I know im a bit late joining in with this discussion--i was actually raised in West London--and i know the area of North Kensington very well-especially Latimer road---a truly awful tragedy---and now it is coming out that there are so many more of these tower blocks, with the same cladding--classed as a high risk---thousands of people being removed from their homes while work is being done--put up in hotels--how do they eat--these people were underpriviliged to start with, and probably have a low food budget.One poor lady I heard on radio had been sitting in an armchair all night aged 72--and they refused to rehome her because she had a dog !! I despair of this country and what is happening to it.

[ROBERT M.]

Yes Marian, the authorities seem to be on a different planet to the rest of us ...........so slow to offer those homeless people any help at all after the tragedy ...........now all this red tape because one or two older people have a dog or a cat as was the case for another elderly resident .................such a poor response and no common sense at all

[karl]

Watching the news last night they said some residents were spending the third night in a community centre on blow up beds - that is not acceptable.
I hope Lena & Harry's flat does not have that illegal cladding?

[ROBERT M.]

Karl, it looks like all flats have illegal cladding

[mariana44]

That us unbelievable.. And totally shocking.. Who will be made accountable, because at the moment noone seems to be.....