Twelve people are dead, who were alive, yesterday.
As you know … ?
Grenfell Tower, a hi-rise in North Kensington, burnt to death, yesterday.
Twelve of the residents are known to have died as a result.
Residents were either jumping from windows: or throwing babies out, in order to save them
And many more are either in hospital … or missing.
Yes, I think saying the Tower has burnt to death, is the correct way of putting it. It’s a community that’s died, as much as any of the inhabitants.
There’s talk.
Apparently?
The cladding used to insulate the tower has, apparently, been link to other hi-rise fires. Smoke and fire alarms were, reportedly, inaudible. And, apparently, gas pipes weren’t boxed off, correctly.
Obviously, there’s multiple factors involved.
Personally?
I’d love to know how that started. I can only hope it wasn’t deliberate …
~≈®≈~
Equally as personally?
I’m wondering what would happen on my street, Rollason Way, should a fire start?
I couldn’t tell you.
I’m no expert on fire regulations, fire safety, what have you.
I do know I lived in a Housing Trust bedsit, many years ago. Basically, a room in a four-bedroom flat: with a shared kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Whilst it didn’t have fire extinguishers, it did have a fire blanket in the communal kitchen. So if the chip pan went up, you could put it out.
I lived in a bedsitter on Ingrave Road: run by Brentwood Council. You had a bed-sitting room, a kitchenette, and a bathroom: and had access to communal gardens, and a shared laundry room.
I don’t recall if we had a fire blanket in each flat: I think there were, but it was a while ago. There were fire extinguishers in the corridors.
You could, in theory, grab one, and do something.
Here in my Housing Association flat?
I have no fire blanket provided by my landlord: although I don’t know if the current regulations support that.
There are no fire extinguishers in the corridors: again, I don’t know if current regulations are for or against that.
There is, in my building? A Certain amount of compartmentalisation: you can shut a door to stop a fire spreading. But no clearly marked fire exits. There are in other building in the area, built at the same time.
That’s before you get to an issue I’ve brought up on this blog for years,
That the parking on Rollason Way means emergency vehicle access was incredibly difficult:
when I moved in, ten years ago. It hadn’t
improved, a few years later. It’s just as bad, now, if not worse: new flats going up will add more parked cars, and impede access further.
I hope a building on my street doesn’t burn to death.
It …
Well …
We residents will have problems.
~≈®≈~
