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London Fire Death Toll Rises to 17; Government Is Criticized Grenfell Tower Death Toll Rises to 17; U.K. Government Is Criticized
(about 3 hours later)
LONDON — Under pressure from critics, Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday ordered a public inquiry into the lethal fire that turned a West London apartment tower into a pillar of charred rubble and raised concerns about fire safety and construction materials in high-rise buildings. LONDON — Under pressure from critics, Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a public inquiry on Thursday into the lethal fire that turned a West London apartment tower into a pillar of charred rubble and that raised anxieties about safety procedures and construction materials in high-rise buildings.
The death toll from the fire, which began early Wednesday, rose to 17. It is certain to climb further, the authorities warned, adding that a precise figure might not be known for weeks. Many residents of the building, Grenfell Tower, remain unaccounted for. As of Thursday afternoon, 37 people were in hospitals, including 17 in critical care. The death toll from the fire, which began early Wednesday, rose to 17 and is certain to climb further, the authorities warned. As of late Thursday afternoon, 30 people remained in hospitals, including 10 in critical condition. Many residents, possibly dozens, remained unaccounted for.
Officials have been racing to check the safety features of other high-rise apartment blocks, even as investigators comb what is left of Grenfell Tower. Officials have been racing to check other high-rise apartment blocks, even as investigators comb what is left of the building, Grenfell Tower, with help from search dogs. A police commander, Stuart Cundy, said of the toll, “I’d like to hope that it isn’t going to be triple figures.”
Among the key questions: Did a “stay put” protocol, which told people to remain in their apartments until firefighters arrived, delay residents’ escape? What role did exterior cladding, installed as part of a renovation completed last year, play in the fire’s rapid spread? Should older buildings — Grenfell Tower was completed in 1974 — have to be retrofitted with sprinklers and alarm systems?
Residents said an exploding appliance caused the fire, but officials have not verified that account.
Mrs. May announced the inquiry shortly after the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, asked for one, and as questions arose about the role of Gavin Barwell, who was housing minister until last week, when he lost his bid for re-election to Parliament. He is now Mrs. May’s chief of staff.Mrs. May announced the inquiry shortly after the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, asked for one, and as questions arose about the role of Gavin Barwell, who was housing minister until last week, when he lost his bid for re-election to Parliament. He is now Mrs. May’s chief of staff.
Critics say that a much-needed review of fire safety regulations — begun after a deadly fire at an apartment block in Camberwell, in Southeast London, in 2009 — had languished for months under his watch. Critics say that a much-needed review of fire safety regulations — demanded after a deadly fire at an apartment block in Camberwell, in Southeast London, in 2009 — had languished under his watch.
Among the key questions arising from the Grenfell Tower fire: Did a “stay put” protocol, which told people to remain in their apartments until firefighters arrived, delay residents’ escape? What role did exterior cladding, installed as part of a renovation completed last year, play in the fire’s rapid spread? And should older buildings of this kind — Grenfell Tower was completed in 1974 — have to be retrofitted with sprinklers and centralized alarm systems? A resident association, the Grenfell Action Group, had complained for years that the local council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns Grenfell Tower, and the company that managed the structure had ignored longstanding concerns that the building posed a fire hazard.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the police have ruled out terrorism. The building, in the North Kensington neighborhood, housed people from many countries, including Eritrea, the Philippines, Somalia and Sudan. Relatives and friends of the missing have posted pleas on social media seeking information.
Firefighters said Wednesday afternoon that there was no hope of finding additional survivors, but the authorities are scrambling to account for everyone who might have been in the building. Among those still missing were a young Italian couple who moved to Grenfell Tower several months ago, Italian news outlets reported. The building, in the North Kensington neighborhood, housed people from many countries, including Eritrea, the Philippines, Somalia and Sudan. Survivors said they first learned their lives were in danger through word of mouth, and they have described a harrowing scene that included at least one child who was thrown from the building and landed safely into the arms of a man below.
Investigators continued to comb through wreckage on Thursday with help from search dogs. Commissioner Dany Cotton of the London Fire Brigade said firefighters had searched all 24 floors of the tower, but that safety concerns had circumscribed the search in some areas, including the top floors, where, she said, “very small pockets of fire” remained. Eddie Daffarn, a 16th-floor resident who is a member of the Grenfell Action Group, said he was alerted to the fire by a neighbor’s smoke detector.
Mrs. May, already under pressure after a series of terrorist attacks and the election last week, in which her Conservative Party lost its majority, went on Thursday to the area where the fire took place. So did the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who said that residents were demanding answers. “The only alarm that went off was my neighbor’s smoke alarm. I thought he had burned some chips,” he said. “I opened the door and there was smoke, loads of smoke, so then I closed it and thought: This is a real fire, not my mate’s chip pan.”
In a briefing at Parliament, the policing and fire minister, Nick Hurd, said there was “no room for cool plodding bureaucracy,” or for “complacency,” as the inquiry got underway, while the housing minister, Alok Sharma, promised that the government would help families displaced by the fire.
The Grenfell Action Group, an association of residents, had complained for years that the local council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns Grenfell Tower, and the company that managed the property had repeatedly ignored their concerns that the building posed a fire hazard. Neither the council nor the company has responded has responded in detail to those complaints since the fire.
Survivors of the fire recounted that they first learned their lives were in danger through word of mouth. Eddie Daffarn, a 16th-floor resident who is a member of the Grenfell Action Group, said he was alerted to the fire by a neighbor’s smoke detector.
“The only alarm that went off was my neighbor’s smoke alarm. I thought he had burned some chips,” he said, referring to French fries. “I opened the door and there was smoke, loads of smoke, so then I closed it and thought: This is a real fire, not my mate’s chip pan.”
A friend who lived on the fifth floor phoned and urged him to run, he said.A friend who lived on the fifth floor phoned and urged him to run, he said.
“I wrapped a towel around me, and opened the door,” Mr. Daffarn recalled. “The smoke was so thick and heavy I couldn’t see anything. I thought: ‘This is me, I’m a goner.’” “I wrapped a towel around me, and opened the door,” Mr. Daffarn recalled. “The smoke was so thick and heavy, I couldn’t see anything. I thought: ‘This is me, I’m a goner.’ ”
He finally descended and was helped by a firefighter.He finally descended and was helped by a firefighter.
“I am lucky to be alive,” he said.“I am lucky to be alive,” he said.
Meriam Antur, who lived on the 19th floor of the tower, was one of many residents who said she was told to stay put, despite sirens and smoke that created panic. “My friend came in and said we had to wait for the firemen and couldn’t go down,” she said, recalling that as smoke entered the apartment, she put a wet towel under the door and began to pray. Meriam Antur, who lived on the 19th floor, was one of many residents who said she was told to stay put. “My friend came in and said we had to wait for the firemen and couldn’t go down,” she said, recalling that as smoke entered the apartment, she put a wet towel under the door and began to pray.
“My children were crying, and I’m pregnant,” she said, clasping her belly. “I was so scared. I thought we were going to die.”“My children were crying, and I’m pregnant,” she said, clasping her belly. “I was so scared. I thought we were going to die.”
Matthew Needham-Laing, an architect and engineering lawyer who specializes in cases dealing with building defects, said the dark smoke that had engulfed the building was a telltale sign of burning cladding material. Mrs. May, already under pressure after a series of terrorist attacks and the election last week, in which her Conservative Party lost its majority, visited the site of the fire on Thursday. So did the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who said in a statement: “There are thousands of tower blocks around our country. Every single person living in one today will be frightened.”
“It looks to me like a cladding fire,” he said. The material in the cladding, he added, is “flame retardant, so it doesn’t catch fire as easily, but the temperatures you’re talking about are often 900, 1,000 degrees centigrade, and in those conditions, any material will generally burn.” As the government tried to reassure anxious citizens, the policing and fire minister, Nick Hurd, said there was “no room for cool plodding bureaucracy” as the inquiry gets underway, while the housing minister, Alok Sharma, promised help for displaced families.
Sian Berry, chairwoman of the Housing Committee of the London Assembly, said in an interview that she was concerned that fire-risk assessments in high-rise buildings were less exacting than they should be. Critics were not assuaged. David Lammy, a Labour lawmaker representing Tottenham, in Northeast London, called the fire “corporate manslaughter” and demanded a criminal investigation.
“It used to be that the fire service would routinely undertake these assessments, but now building owners decide when to do them, and they don’t always do them often enough,” she said. “Those ‘70s buildings, many of them should be demolished,” he said. “They have not got easy fire escapes. They have got no sprinklers. It is totally, totally unacceptable in Britain that this is allowed to happen and that people lose their lives in this way.”
Mark Hardingham, an official at the National Fire Chiefs Council, which represents Britain’s firefighters, welcomed the inquiry and said he expected it would examine the “stay put” policy and questions about sprinkler systems and alarms.
“The fire was truly an exceptional fire the likes of which I haven’t seen in 26 years, and that has to be beared in mind,” he said, adding that in most fires, it makes sense to stay put if a blaze is outside the apartment.
The cladding, added in 2016, will also be a focus of the inquiry. Matthew Needham-Laing, an architect and engineering lawyer who specializes in building defects, said the dark smoke that had engulfed the building was a telltale sign of burning cladding material.
“It looks to me like a cladding fire,” he said in an interview, echoing assessments by other experts. The material in the cladding, he added, is “flame retardant, so it doesn’t catch fire as easily, but the temperatures you’re talking about are often 900, 1,000 degrees centigrade, and in those conditions, any material will generally burn.”
After six people died and more than 20 were injured in the 2009 Camberwell fire, a parliamentary group called for a review of fire safety rules, while an inquest advised the government to require that older buildings be retrofitted with sprinklers. That did not happen.
The “stay put” policy is also likely to come under review. An inquest after the 2009 fire concluded that residents had stayed 30 minutes longer than they should have and that deaths could have been prevented.
“If you have good fire resistance between flats, there is less risk if you stay in place than if everyone runs out of the building at the same time,” Sian Berry, chairwoman of the Housing Committee of the London Assembly, said in a phone interview. “But this shouldn’t be applied in a hard and fast manner, even after there is danger.”
Ms. Berry said that fire-risk assessments in high-rise buildings were less exacting than they should be. “It used to be that the fire service would routinely undertake these assessments, but now building owners decide when to do them, and they don’t always do them often enough,” she said.
She added that centralized fire alarm systems were not required for residential buildings since they needed constant monitoring to be effective. Grenfell Tower did not have one. Instead, individual apartments were fitted with smoke detectors.She added that centralized fire alarm systems were not required for residential buildings since they needed constant monitoring to be effective. Grenfell Tower did not have one. Instead, individual apartments were fitted with smoke detectors.
The building also lacked a sprinkler system; regulations requiring such systems came into place decades after it was completed. The building also lacked a sprinkler system; regulations requiring such systems did not come into place until 2006.
After six people died and more than 20 were injured in the 2009 apartment block fire, a parliamentary group called for a review of fire safety rules, while an inquest advised the government to require that older buildings be retrofitted with sprinklers. That did not happen. In an interview, Brian Meacham, associate professor of fire protection engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, said that European governments tended to rely on so-called passive fire protection, emphasizing fire-resistant construction, while American building codes typically take a more aggressive approach using active measures like sprinkler systems, along with fire-resistant materials.
While a “stay put” fire safety policy could avoid the risks involved with a mass of people fleeing at the same time, Ms. Berry said, it needed to come with clearly stated caveats, and guidance on how long residents should remain inside if a fire continued to grow. “The British approach works well when the passive fire protection works well,” he said, “but if you have a problem with the firewalls or the doors or a fire spreads externally, and the passive protection is lost, you have limited options.”
She noted that the inquest after the fire at the Camberwell block, Lakanal House, had concluded that residents had stayed 30 minutes longer than they should have and that deaths could have been prevented — a lesson that appears not to have been heeded by those managing fire safety at Grenfell Tower. He said that most building codes in the United States requires two means of escape, such as stairwells, per floor to avoid bottlenecks in a fire. In Britain, experts said, codes typically require one means of exit on each floor in high-rises. Grenfell Tower had a single staircase running the length of the building.
“If you have good fire resistance between flats, there is less risk if you stay in place then if everyone runs out of the building at the same time,” she said. “But this shouldn’t be applied in a hard and fast manner, even after there is danger.”
David Lammy, a Labour lawmaker representing Tottenham, in Northeast London, called for a criminal investigation.
He said that while knocking on apartment doors across the country during recent elections, he had seen many buildings with antiquated fire standards and poor conditions.
“Those ’70s buildings, many of them should be demolished,” he told the BBC. “They have not got easy fire escapes. They have got no sprinklers. It is totally, totally unacceptable in Britain that this is allowed to happen and that people lose their lives in this way. People should be held to account.”
Fire officials have described the event as unprecedented. James Cleverly, a Conservative lawmaker from Essex, east of London, on Thursday urged counseling for traumatized firefighters, calling the blaze “the most significant and harrowing event that they will ever have had to deal with.”