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[scion]

Grenfell Tower, explained: how a deadly fire in London became a political crisis

Grenfell Tower residents knew they were in danger. Nobody paid attention. Then their building caught on fire.

Updated by Lindsay [e-mail]@vox.com Jun 20, 2017, 11:20am EDT
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/6/20/15829416/london-fire-grenfell-tower-explained-political-crisis

Only seven months before a catastrophic fire engulfed an apartment building in West London, leaving at least 79 people missing and presumed dead and hundreds more homeless, residents in the public housing project said their warnings about safety and fire hazards would only be paid attention to if a huge disaster happened, resulting in a “serious loss of life.”

Their dire prediction came true.
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It was supposed to be a beautification project, except for the flammable cladding

Grenfell Tower’s not-for-profit manager, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization, decided in 2014 to conduct a major renovation of the building, costing approximately $12 million. The organization funded the renovation, and it was completed in partnership with Rydon Construction in May 2016.

According to a press release that year, the refurbishment included new windows, an improved communal heating system, and an “impressive new foyer.” It also added nine new units. But the most concerning “improvement” was the installment of exterior cladding.

Cladding is a trendy material that is applied to the outside of a building to improve its appearance and energy efficiency. There are two kinds of cladding: one that is more flammable, and one that is not. Although investigators have not confirmed what kind of cladding was used on Grenfell Tower, the Guardian reports that the cheaper, more flammable kind was used.

Regardless of the type, critics of the material have warned against its use for years. If it catches on fire, it can spread flames throughout the building in minutes, which is what happened in Grenfell Tower.

“It is like you have got a high-rise building and you are encasing it in kerosene,” said Edwin Galea, director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich, in an interview with the New York Times.

So in essence, the building managers and builders added a flammable outer shell to Grenfell Tower to make it look more attractive to wealthier clients in a gentrifying neighborhood, without concern for the poorer residents already living there.
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In leaked letters shared with the BBC, the parliamentary group on fire safety told government ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government that safety regulations needed to be strengthened.

One letter sent in 2014 emphasized how tragedy could strike anywhere in the city:

As there are estimated to be another 4,000 older tower blocks in the UK, without automatic sprinkler protection, can we really afford to wait for another tragedy to occur before we amend this weakness?
And all these letters were sent before Grenfell Tower was renovated and more safety hazards were added.

Ronnie King, the secretary for the group that was sending the letters, said he provided many recommendations on how to enhance safety but ministers never reached a consensus, according to the Guardian.

“They seem to need a disaster to change regulations, rather than evidence and experience,” said King. “They always seem to need a significant loss of life before things are changed.”

Even Prime Minister Theresa May’s new chief of staff might share part of the blame for the tragedy. Gavin Barwell, the former housing minister, delayed a review of fire safety in apartment buildings even after the review was called for when six people died in a blaze in South London in 2009, according to the Independent.

Much of the blame for the tragedy has fallen on both the management organization and the national government. If investigators confirm that the cladding was why the fire spread so rapidly and the building completely incinerated, then more of the responsibility could fall on the national government for failing to regulate and ban the material.
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https://www.vox.com/world/2017/6/20/15829416/london-fire-grenfell-tower-explained-political-crisis

Prof Ed Galea: BSc, Dip.Ed, Phd, AMISASI, CMath, FIMA, CEng, FIFireE.

http://staffweb.cms.gre.ac.uk/~ge03/

Professor Galea is the founding director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group (FSEG) at the University of Greenwich.

As FSEG director he co-ordinates, manages and directs the research activities of some 30 group members. FSEG have won a string of national and international awards that testify to the world leading nature of our work. In the last UK wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE2008), FSEG was confirmed as one of the top research groups in the UK, with 30% of its work being rated as “world leading” and 40% being rated as “internationally excellent”.


http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/network/edwin-galea/