Landlords Reportedly Ignored Concerns London Tower Was Massive Fire Risk

As Grenfell Tower in west London continues to burn, a series of blog posts alleging landlord inaction to serious fire hazards in the building has resurfaced. 

In a post published in November 2016, Grenfell Action Group levelled several grave claims against the building’s landlord, saying “only an incident that results in serious loss of life… will allow the external scrutiny to occur.”

The post states the group’s opinion that “the [Kensington And Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation] narrowly averted a major fire disaster at Grenfell Tower in 2013 when residents experienced a period of terrifying power surges that were subsequently found to have been caused by faulty wiring.”

Grenfell Action Group continued, writing “we have blogged many times on the subject of fire safety at Grenfell Tower and we believe that these investigations will become part of damning evidence of the poor safety record of the KCTMO should a fire affect any other of their properties and cause the loss of life that we are predicting.”

Other blog posts allege that an excess of hard rubbish at the building’s entrance, faulty emergency lighting systems, and vehicles parked in emergency access areas have increased the risk of fire at varying times. 

via Grenfell Action Group.

The cause of today’s fire is not yet clear, and there is no suggestion the actions of KCTMO were involved in the blaze.

At the scene of the fire, eyewitnesses have reported hearing people trapped in the building calling for help as the blaze engulfed the entirety of the 27-storey building.

A number of people are being treated for a variety of injuries as a result of the blaze, but it’s not known how many people may still be inside the building.

Firefighters continue to combat the blaze. We’ll update this story as it develops. 


Source: Grenfell Action Group / Jon Swaine / ABC.
Photo: Natalie Oxford / Twitter.

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