American Reacts to the Greenfell Tower Fire...

[@adamwildish1748]

The stay put policy is in place in high-rise buildings in the UK due to 99.9% of builders meeting the fire safety regulations (proper fire doors give 30-40mins of full safety for example) and our buildings are made from solid concrete. There are many occasions till this day were in the UK the stay put policy saves lives due to people being protected from toxic smoke and heat. This would give firefighters up the 30-40mins to deal with the fire which is plenty of time! But due to the cladding (unforseen circumstances) this would bypass the normal procedure. (Firefighter of 10yrs in the UK)

[@ryanhelton1865]

As a fire officer in the Uk we have very strict British standards (building regulations) The stay out policy is based off the fact all Uk public buildings are expected to hold back and contain fire. Which green fell was designed to do. Unfortunately because of the cladding the fire spread from window to window so fire compartments were now useless. The fire service at that time did not know what they continued to think the flats would remain sealed off from fire and smoke. The stay out policy was also introduced because of the 1993 bombings of the twin towers. People died in the bombing not because of a bomb but because so many people was trying to exit the towers. they got stamped on and died. despite what people believe grenfell did in fact have a fire alarm system like all buildings in the Uk are required to have. This system never had any sounders on it so if it did detect a fire all it would do is send a text to residents telling them to stay out in their flats. A horrible disaster what could of been avoided as nearly 10 fires before grenfell basically told this tragedy

[@wapted]

Whats criminal is the specialist cladding research company (regarded basically best in Europe/World) repeatedly warned the government of this. More than a decade ago they were calling the government to ban it - but this was ignored and due to its low cost continued to be used by government authorities and others.

[@davidfoster8503]

Oh, well said. I think you may agree that an additional reason to stay in your flat, is that there is a reduced possibility of CO2 poisoning from fumes in the central stair wells. The LFB was rather unfairly critiscised by people that have never had to deal with the casualties from a fire. Respect to you and your colleagues.

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

@@wapted what do you expect from profits first Tory Govt

[@whitehorses460]

GRENFELL, shows how much you know

[@ryanhelton1865]

@@whitehorses460 it was typo calm yourself down.

[@jonathanemptage1593]

I remember seeing this on the news i donated £50 to a fund for the survivors. One thing not mentioned on this was there was this one girl who was there as she went out she grabbed her chemistry notes. She had an exam that morning which she actually went to (it was right at the end of the GCSE period) she said it was just so she could forget the events of that night for at least that hour or two of course she got special consideration with the marking she was also told she could sit it at another point if she wanted to but no she decided to sit it then. She got an A. She was interviewed on the news kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqSomnZ7hM5oh8k and later on on (This Morning a UK TV show showed every week day in the mornings) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXmyhmajbqlnrJo

[@technodiscolovers9050]

I live in Scotland and I remember the morning waking up to this news, it was absolutely horrible and the more you look into it the more disgusting it is. The total death toll will never be known.

[@MarkPentler]

I'm also from Scotland, but on that evening I was in London with my wife, staying near Euston. I couldn't sleep, it was hot, and I kept hearing all these sirens. Then I checked my phone at like 4am after getting so annoyed at not being able to sleep. And then put the TV on and didn't bother trying anymore.

[@cazziecaz2559]

Part of the reason for the “stay put” policy was because there was *one* staircase and you don’t want panicky people coming down while firefighters are trying to go in the other direction. It should have worked, and would have, were it not for the cladding causing the fire to spread so rapidly. The fire fighters acted exactly as they should have, despite the government’s subsequent attempts to blame them. IIRC, the manufacturer of the cladding knew how dangerous it was and lied about it, and to my knowledge, nobody involved has at any point faced a criminal charge for the resulting deaths. Not long before this fire, the Conservative government (many of whom are landlords), voted that old high-rise buildings didn’t need to have sprinklers retrofitted; the law would only affect buildings that were yet to be constructed. And of course, the council picked the cheapest option when it came to buying the cladding. It’s all about money, always.

[@jaynesleigh4722]

Just an awful tragedy 😔 The ongoing aftermath has been almost as awful, as no one is willing to take responsibility for the inappropriate cladding. As a result of the Grenfell disaster, local authorities are supposed to be removing the cladding from all similar buildings. This costs many thousands of £. The progress of this is extremely slow and no one is willing to pay for it. The Landlords ( who own the land that high rise flats are built on) which is often the local authority but not always are trying to make it the responsibility of the flat owners to pay the equivalent of the value of their flat to have it removed. The owners are stuck - they can’t afford to have the cladding removed and they can’t move because they can’t get a mortgage. They could just leave their home they lose everything they’ve invested. So in the meantime residents are having to pay for round the clock fire watchers whilst living in fear. Just awful. 😡

[@accidentallycreative5025]

Unfortunately there are more tower blocks with the same cladding. And again the arguments over who should pay for righting the problem is coming down to money. Leaving people living in fear of the same happening again.

[@ajd8848]

'Stay Put' policies are a bit more complicated than that. It actually can be harmful for an entire tower block to evacuate as they are simply not built for it. It is very difficult to evacuate a tower block like this in that kind of scenario and it can actually make things worse because emergency services can't gain access if the stairs are full of people evacuating. It is also much safer for them to remain inside because if smoke has entered the corridors you will not be able to breath let alone find the stairs and evacuate. This is why it's more of a 'Stay Put AND Keep Your Doors and Windows Shut' policy. This is why it is still used. However, the inquiry has rightly suggested Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans too. This is because 'Stay Put' left those with disabilities or limited mobility without a concrete evacuation plan.

[@Kellie_Curtis-Holmes]

Once the realization hit that it was the cladding, the government decided to remove and replace all cladding on all buildings, but there's still potential tragedies to come. There are hundreds of tower blocks that still have this cladding! There's a huge fight still going on as the residents are being forced to pay millions for this work to be carried when it's the architects etc who realistically should foot the bill

[@chrispearson2329]

I lived in Manchester at the time but I now live in London, I drive past the tower which today has a cover with a big green heart 💚. I didn't expect to get emotional but as I drove past it I cried. Very very sad

[@antonycharnock2993]

I used to live in Salford as a student in the highrises near Salford precinct in the late 90's on the 21st floor. Across from me was a council block. You could see where one of the flats had caught fire... You will notice now that most new tall apartment blocks are brick clad.

[@10blittz]

@@antonycharnock2993 Salford is still grim

[@Ali920a]

@@antonycharnock2993 They still haven't took this cladding off half the tower blocks in mcr nevermind London its ridiculous

[@richt71]

I have 2 friends that are fire fighters in the UK. The stay at home policy is standard as all buildings are meant to contain a fire within any apartment for hours due to strict building code so that you can be evacuated in an orderly fashion. There has been cases of stampedes killing people when fire broke out. The issue with this fire was the fact the fire went up the outside of the building. There were no plans for this. Only after this did London fire service get ladder trucks with ladders that can reach over 8-10 floors that normal fire trucks in the UK can.

[@markcreitzman8728]

This tragedy became a class argument as the victims were working class and have been perceived as not important enough to spend the money on. Interestingly, after this event similar buildings in the US as well as other places hurriedly changed the exact same materials and replaced them with the correct type of exterior. Btw, this is not over yet and some of the survivors still have not been rehoused or recompensed.

[@CandleLight1974]

The media and those with anything to gain from the agenda made it a class issue. It wasn't. Flats (apartments in the US) in the tower were of at least £250k in value and they rented for £2500 a month. It was a lovely place to live.

[@MrChris1533]

The only real reason the work was done in the first place was to satisfy the view's from the rich peoples houses who had this building in the back yard. Nothing has been done to this building and you get the impression that the council is waiting for everything to calm down before taking the building down and putting up housing for millionaire's gentrification is exactly what it is.

[@jhfdhgvnbjm75]

The impact though was far greater, almost every high rise building in the UK was resurveyed and found to have similar issues where they'd been refurbished and a lot of cladding was stripped off quickly, but more was left on as who was to pay? it wasn't just cost-cutting, the building regulations were so lax they allowed flammable cladding and exteriors like this to happen. Now many people are still living in flats like this with flammable cladding still on them, often they are being asked to pay tens of thousands for its removal or for extra 'fire wardens' despite being only lease holders (they own the flat for a set time, usually 100 years, but the actual building is owned by another, those owners are responsible to the structure and exterior of the building, but this is often payed for through service charges on lease holders.) So far, nothing has really been done. The government made some loans and grants available but not enough (Its never enough) and many people are stuck in flammable flats they can never sell or afford to fix :( Ultimately the buck stops with the government, they put the reg's in place which allowed this to happen.

[@DD-wd7ku]

The impact also reached Australia where a few balcony fires which spread into cladding caused a big review of all high rise buildings and the cladding. Now many owners are up for tens of thousands of dollars to have flammable cladding removed and replaced with safer cladding. Developers saved money, made a fortune on sales and the owners cop the final costs. Lax regulations and lax supervision allowed these dangerous building methods to be used and to continue.

[@trevorjackson4157]

The tower was still smouldering when I drove past 2 days later. It stood there like a skeleton until the fire investigations had finished. The stay put policy was sensible when it was clad in safe materials, but that policy should have been updated when they added the cladding.The building is still covered in scaffolding and sheeting now. The surviving residents were temporarily housed all over London. They established charities to help, and I was pleased to donate, as were millions of others. The legal cases are still going on now, they are all denying responsibility and passing the blame. I don't think anyone has been jaied for the fire, but one man has been jailed for defrauding the victim compensation scheme, another has been given a suspended sentence for running a cannabis factory in his flat. What makes me absolutely FURIOUS, is that 72 people died, the charities raised about £27 million. The Notre-Dame Cathederal fire, 2 years later, which had no deaths raised about £622 million. Sorry to rant like this, but this post has raised so much disgust and fury at the ones who were supposed to keep us safe.

[@ericg5791]

Don't apologise about the Notre Dame fire.Given how the rich flocked to empty their coffers out and raise that cash in barely a week or so,sickens me. Yes,buildings like the Notre Dame,St Peter's Basilica,St Pauls Cathedral etc,are rich in history and culture,but to rush for cash for these and ignore raising funds of a place where people lived,worked and played,is disgusting.I'm sorry to say,the Notre Dame fire was not really newsworthy when put against this sad tragedy

[@trevorjackson4157]

@@ericg5791 thank you. T

[@iriscollins7583]

How much Did the Vatican contribute?

[@trevorjackson4157]

@@iriscollins7583 ummm I think you know the answer to that one!

[@Bob10009]

The worst part of the enquiry was the national investigation that came afterwards. Every tower block in the country was examined. Hundreds of blocks were found to have similar cladding. The cost of removing all the dangerous cladding would be so high that it will probably never happen. Therefore, thousands of people still live in these death traps and what’s more, their flats have been so massively devalued by it that they can’t afford to move out. Yet again, money takes precedence over the lives of the working class.

[@snookiebear1821]

I go past Grenfell on my way to London from the west coast, and it brings a lump to my throat every time I see it.

[@lisajames3359]

It affected me badly… I always had a fear of fire as a child and watching it live on TV was just awful. The Fire Brigade had a ‘stay put’ policy because it always worked before. I don’t blame the firefighters… the tragic events were caused by the cost cutting of local council. The worst part for me is that I had the exact same fridge and every time I go to my fridge I just see tragedy x

[@sunseeker9581]

Time to get a new fridge.

[@ronanballantyne6221]

I live in Scotland but I remember it. I have insomnia so I was still awake when it started, I remember seeing a tweet from someone who lived along the road just when it was a small fire. I pretty much watched it in live time. It was horrendous. I’ll never forget it.

[@sabinafiorentini3298]

There was a young couple from my country, Italy. It was heartbreaking, the last thing they did was calling home their parents and say goodbye. They knew that they could not escape or survive.

[@geekexmachina]

When i was young I remember the Bradford Football Stadium Fire And The Fire At Kings cross station If I remember they both lead to a change in the Law and rules for construction standards. Its disturbing that even now some of these lessons have not been learnt

[@cireenasimcox1081]

Not having either a TV or radio, I went to work that morning to find people looking at me sideways, and wondering what the heck was up, until finally my boss told me. The reason for their behaviour was because I myself had lost everything I owned in a fire when the flat I was living in burnt down only a short time before. So this hit home so hard. I knew what it was like to stand in the street in the middle of the night dressed only in jammies & slippers which become your only possessions in the whole world. I also knew that it was not just the furniture and stuff which breaks one's heart. It's your kids first tooth or lock of hair.. Your fathers ashes. Every single picture of your life, your parents lives & even your grandparents lives in treasured & precious photo albums. (And for me it was every bit of research, every publication , every award - everything that had backed me up in my career & proved I was what/who I said I was.) So every time I saw images of people from Grenfell I just wanted to gather them all up in my arms and tell them I understood and that, though one might never get one's old life back, one can rise from the ashes & make a new one. That I knew how it felt to have people say "Oh, but at least you survived. What you lost are just things. You can replace them." As for those who had died, I could also understand the fear & helplessness & disbelief that accompanied their hideous deaths. I felt such rage I was almost incandescent with it. And it's still there each time I hear the word 'Grenfell'. (There's only on 'e' in the first syllable) Sometimes I even have to push aside thoughts of Grenfell because the rage & sorrow is overwhelming even today.

[@vixgray5435]

When this happened I was driving into London to pick up my mum from the airport. I remember I was driving then all of a sudden about 7/ 8 fire engines flew past me at the time I didn't know what was happening however you could see the smoke and i was miles away at this point. When I picked my mum up she said she could see it from the the plane and they had to reroute around London airspace to avoid the heat from the smoke as flames were that high. Rip to everyone who lost their lives xx

[@MrChris1533]

the most disgusting thing is the council is the richest council in the country to the point the coucil focuses more on council tax rebate payments to its richest residents than spending the money raised on things that are needed. The conservative party in this country has never ever thought of anyone but the few rich people in the country and are to blame for this and the coverup that followed.

[@johnmccarthy568]

i will never forget this night, my sister lives on this estate,i spent the night talking to her on the phone as she watched the fire spread, i was a caretaker on this estate in the 1990s, my family goes back generations from ladbroke grove and surrounding areas. as always money comes before peoples lives when it involves big corporations and governments,just look whats happening now,doing whatever it takes to divide us,so they can take our rights away to become more powerful and richer .

[@ethan.dave_liftsandstunts]

I remember, I was 17 and was in art college and watching the coverage aftermath live for the whole day. It was absolutely surreal. I knew there would be so many questions asked and that this was the start of a movement that would last for years. I’ve been in London several times since. Gone to portobello road, the nearest tube station being Latimer Road in the shadow of grenfell. Looking up at the remains with the scaffolding wrapped up, the plaque at the top with the big green heart and “Grenfell forever in our hearts” definitely gives you the chills. Unfortunately many lessons have to be unnecessarily learned. If only they put the safety before they money.

[@Rokurokubi83]

In my hometown they put up a huge student accommodation complex that was condemned before anyone moved n a few years ago due to the cladding issue. The building co declared bankruptcy and ran off with money they were paid to put up the blocks - the little they spent on actually doing a good job. Apparently this co has a habit of pulling the same student over and over and just registering a new business name each time, coming in with a low bid and then running off with the money while providing an unsafe building. Grenfell was the wake up call, But there are still numerous towers that are not up to modern spec, but there are still predatory companies that will throw up a tower that doesn’t meet health and safety standards on the cheap so they can run away with the money.

[@marklondon9004]

I was in a University building when fire alarms sounded. 5 fire engines attended. The stairs were very crowded and full of the smell of smoke. Getting down was incredibly slow. Fortunately, it was just burnt rice in a microwave oven, and didn't spread. Terrifying though. 7 floors up, and hundreds of people blocking the stairs.

[@rozhunter7645]

One disaster that united our two countries is The Lockerbie bombing. Pan Am Flight 103 21st December 1988

[@jhfdhgvnbjm75]

I live far from London, but about 2 months before I happened to be going to a trade exhibition in Olympia and the easiest way to drive in and out on the city was on the motorway past those high rises, I still remember looking at them at the time thinking 'why do we build such awfull housing'...Usually when things happen It's somewhere 'away', but that time I felt shocked as it was somewhere I'd just been.

[@cameracamera4415]

The main reason for the situation is because of the cheap cladding. The Tory government only care about money and had been warned time and time again about the situation and did nothing. Can you imagine this happening in the housing in the more salubrious housing and streets of Kensington and Chelsea? Those poor people who yo this day, have still not been helped.

[@janethaskett1780]

Where I live you can see the tower everyday, from many streets going in that direction. You really can't forget it even after the years since 2017. You could hear all the engines rushing to the building. I saw the smoke, but watched it on twitter all night you could feel the fear coming from the people that had family and friends in the block. alot of debris fell down on the lower buildings and caused a desperate housing shortage in the area. The firefighters were greatly admired for their bravery, and it was amazing how much people of all walks of life, gave and gave, to help the victims. There were also Silent Walks around North Kensington annually to remind the Council and Others that it was not forgotten or finished.

[@ryanodriscoll]

I hate travelling past Grenfell. Even covered up its eerie and haunting to look at.

[@DavidPlant1985]

The stay put policy that the firefighters used is standard in buildings with only one staircase. It is so that the firefighters can get in and tackle the fire without having people rushing past them trying to escape. They did eventually order the evacuation of the building when they realised this wasn't working.

[@catherinewilkins2760]

The whole lot was a mess, the inquiry is still going on.

[@simonsaunders8147]

I seem to recall that the cladding used at Grenfell was one that was considered unsafe in USA and potentially bought 'on the cheap'. The fact it was then incorrectly installed with way too much of a gap from the exterior wall giving air chance to facilitate the fire 'draught-wise'.

[@79BlackRose]

I was already watching the 24 hour BBC News channel when they started reporting this. Within 20 minutes I was sobbing. I have never seen anything like it, the speed was unreal. I was traumatised! Thank you for your sensitivity Joel. It is brave of you to look at what is bad here as well as what is good.

[@charliecosta3971]

Lo Key Released a brilliant single about this and Stormzy calling out the government in the 2018 Brit awards, rapping about the government should goto prison for manslaughter. It is so sad and I get very tearful when I see anything like this. RIP to all the those that sadly died.

[@ian_bradley]

I've just moved out of a tower block of flats and they had a 'stay put' policy, thankfully it wasn't covered in cladding, like Grenfell was! However, this case did put doubt in the policy of a lot of tenants minds! I hope to be sending you something to your PO Box soon! Take care Joel, thanks for another 'great' reaction handled with respect and empathy! You've got a good head on your shoulders and a big heart!💖😘

[@joshuam20]

The policy is a good policy when it is used in conjunction with basic building fire safety codes. Flats are supposed to contain fires for hours. The policy, I believe, is largely to stop people trampling each other to escape as well as preventing them from breathing in smoke and toxic gases. Of course when you’re building has been retrofitted with crappy and unsafe materials, then this policy has the exact opposite effect.

[@lescarpenter162]

@@joshuam20 The block I live in has 17 floors and we had a stay put policy, the front doors and those in the passages were thick fire retaining types. After Grenfell the property owners had smoke alarms fitted in every room (except the bathroom), these being data interconnected to a master control box linked to the local Fire Station. Then they fitted sprinklers in every room (except the bathroom), then making the flats 'get-out' rather than 'stay-put'. I often joke that in the event of Fire, the best place is the bathroom as it must be deemed safe, not requiring sprinklers or a smoke alarm. Prior to Grenfell we were due to have cladding installed but this was hastily forgotten after Grenfell.

[@booth2710]

There are hundreds of fires in high rise flats in Britain every year. Most of which you don[t hear about and nearly all have the 'stay put' or 'defend in place' policy - and it works - there have been one or two exceptions for exceptional reasons. The reason why Grenfell was a disaster almost on the scale of the Joelma fire in Brasil in 1974 is because they as good as wrapped the building in plastic

[@justme1111]

The stay put order is the correct one as long as the building hasn't got flammable cladding the flats themselves are designed to be self contained and with all Windows closed and without the cladding the fire would have been contained to the one flat everyone else should have been safe. It's possible that the fire free might have realised earlier that that wasn't the case but the true crime and blame is on the council who should never have had that deadly cladding out on in the first place

[@louicoleman2910]

The stay in policy was not at fault. If a building is designed properly to meet safety standards, fires will not jump floors. The policy aims to prevent a panicked stampede. The issue with Grenfell (not Greenfell) was that the cladding enabled the fire to jump floors very easily. In such a case you should absolutely evacuate as all stairways are required to be insulated from fire. There is never a scenario where you should go upwards however. If the fire is already jumping floors, it will likely reach the top, and if you need a rescue, you will be harder to reach the higher up you are.

[@KissMyFatAxe]

Yeah people going to higher floors was a silly move but to be fair I can imagine if your panicking and the fire's coming from underneath you, it's gonna be the only place you can really think to go.

[@Tinaf653]

I’m not from London, but I was in the area a few days after the fire. The taxi I was in actually drove past the tower, and told my friend and I “You hear of the fire recently? There’s the tower.” Just this blackened shell, and all I could think of was the people who died. My friend had her head down, not able to look. Horrible time.

[@carlwilsonpc]

This was so heart breaking 😥 Try looking at the Bradford City FC fire. Wooden football stand caught fire in minutes it was totally engulffed. The fire services uses video from this fire even now to show how fast fire can spread. Laws were changed at football stadiums after this to make them safer.

[@Tilly-f7l]

Gosh yes I remember seeing this not sure what age I was but felt really traumatised by the footage it was horrible and stayed vivid in my age for a long time 😢

[@Tilly-f7l]

Mind

[@antonycharnock2993]

I saw that happen live on the television. Horrible.

[@binkybuns462]

I was gonna suggest the same thing. Absolutely horrific. I can still remember the emotion in commentator John Helm's voice as he described what was happening. His professionalism during this tragedy was outstanding. R.I.P. to all those who dead and my heart goes out to all affected that day.

[@Tilly-f7l]

@@antonycharnock2993 yes thats my memory that I saw it live on TV I remember seeing a poor soul on fire but not sure if this was the case.. yes we must remember all thoes involved in this terrible tragedy 😢

[@Neil_TheShiningMile]

It’s crazy that we only ever seem to learn from tragedy, not intelligence. By which I mean, tragedies occur and we introduce preventative measures which should have been obvious in the first place. Take Hillsborough. The introduction of metal fencing to stop pitch invasions resulted in people unable to escape when there was a crush. After the crush, they were removed. In the late ‘80s, there were two other serious fires. One occurred in Kings Cross tube station when a wooden escalator caught fire after someone drops a match after lighting a cigarette. The fire engulfed part of the station, killing 31 people, and what followed was the banning of smoking in tube stations and the replacement of wooden escalators for metal ones. Another was The Bradford Fire, where a stand at Bradford’s football (soccer) ground caught alight due to a discarded match, the fire rapidly spreading across the entire stand. It took 56 deaths for wooden football stands to be banned. The risks of having wooden escalators underground and wooden sporting stadiums, where people can smoke, should have been obvious. And yet, evidently, were not.

[@Kari_B61ex]

Absolutely horrific. Such a tragedy. I live in a block of flats - it's only 5 storeys, so nowhere near the size of Grenfell, and the building isn't clad. We have a 'stay put' policy in place, but I've often wondered what I would do if there was a fire. We have excellent fire doors throughout the flats and corridors, and the fire-alarm is tested weekly, but I still think my automatic reaction would be to get out.

[@tabitha4135]

I would just get out !

[@flamelily2086]

I would get out. I'm not staying put when there is a fire in the building.

[@101steel4]

I wouldn't remove the fire doors 😉

[@Yewchoobarkontz]

If there's a fire. GET OUT! it's a damn sight safer outside. Follow your instinct not protocols.

[@tabitha4135]

@@Yewchoobarkontz exactly run 🏃‍♀️

[@kaydavis2310]

I remember watching it all unfold on tv. Stayed up all night, Hopi g beyond hope they rescued those at their windows and all in those flats. My daughter's uni found their buildings used the same material we received emails apologising and explaining building works were going ahead to remove all cladding. A horrific event that should never have happened. RIP Grenfel.💚

[@generichuman2044]

This really was a where were you moment in the UK. I remember waking up at a crazy time and turning on the news, only to see pictures of a giant torch that used to be a building. I was really hoping it was an abandoned block of flats but soon saw images of people at the windows begging for help. Just seeing those images on tv was enough for this to stick with me and I can't even begin to imagine how it feels for those who lived there or know those who did. Absolutely awful to see 72 people lose their lives over something so preventable

[@alexanderdonald3342]

Absolutely, I'd been to a gig in Hammersmith that night, travelling home only about and hour before the disaster. I'll never forget that night for all the wrong reasons.

[@rosie4696]

I was awake on Facebook when it started, I saw a live post from one of the first people on the seen...he's was desperately trying to alert tenants by yelling that there was a big fire! People were hanging out windows asking what was going on! It was so strange watching it live as the man filming it was running round and streaming at people to get out. When it hit me people were dying as I watched...it physically made me feel sick and cry! I had to stop watching...but I just couldn't sleep (only right obviously) my stomach was churning, I was sobbing so much I woke my partner up just before five so we put the news on and it was reporting it live by then, I tried not to watch but it was worse not knowing what was going on! It was one of the worst nights iv ever known! There saw some really disturbing things going on that I will never forget, I cried so many times over the next few weeks 💔 😪 it brought me to tears watching this! The poor children 😢

[@pyeltd.5457]

I was told by an American on the internet

[@ryanodriscoll]

I did the same thing. I had fallen asleep with the TV on, woke up at about 3 and it was right there in front of me.

[@chrisemptage1366]

This is a bot of a melodic video try and find the BBC broadcast that will give you a more British view on the tragedy.

[@TheMaraki2]

We had been at a wedding in Edinburgh and on returning to our hotel we switched on the telly, only to be confronted by the horrific images of this disaster. Stayed up most of the night in tears.

[@beckyhill6813]

You can see Grenfell tower from my aunt's bathroom window... I remember when it went up, it's so sad and could have been prevented

[@MarkPMus]

While watching this, I thought of the survivors searching for loved ones after they escaped and it made me cry. Theresa May, who was our Prime Minister obviously didn’t think a fire was worth her attention, and so didn’t visit until a day after. Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party MP for Islington (the area of London where Grenfell is) was on the scene as soon as he could get there. On the day of the disaster about 10am, I was working at my computer and saw a notification about making a donation to the Grenfell fire victims. I made a donation, not having heard about the fire beforehand. Then I turned on the BBC News and just stayed transfixed all day. It was terrible, seeing all those displaced families. Tragic.

[@lumpyfishgravy]

As an engineer (electronics and firmware) I take an interest in the Grenfell case. Sadly, it seems to be one where all the holes lined up, with several parties bearing blame. Where politics is involved there is a tendency for scapegoating: singling out one party to take the blame for all. But this is self-defeating. The airline industry has shown what is possible when every responsible party handles blame: an enviable safety record. If only we took as much care over tower blocks where poeple live 24/7 as we do over a plane they occupy for a few hours.

[@ts16electric92]

Happy to see that someone is still covering the tragedy. This will always be in my thoughts.

[@kamc1959]

This happened less than a month after the Manchester Arena bombing 2 horrible events so close together was absolutely heartbreaking. RIP to all. Its worth noting that people in the twin towers on 9/11 were initially told not to leave either. Another shocking fast deadly fire that happened in the UK was the Bradford City fire 1 of the worst football disasters after Hillsborough

[@booth2710]

Not long after the fire I went to an event in Shepherd's Bush which meant taking a Hammersmith and City line train to get there. I will never forget when the train came out from underground-and was travelling along the line over ground. Through the windows of the train one minute you were looking at trees and buildings as travelling and then all of a sudden you were faced with the burnt out shell - larger than life, of Grenfell Tower. Just seeing it as a burnt out shell after the fire turned your stomach.

[@angelogandolfo4174]

Actually dude, a LOT of modern (like less than 10 yr old) high-rise buildings, have ‘Do not head for the exits unless told to, in the event of fire” policy. This is because, as described, internally, modern buildings have heavy ‘Fire Doors’ that simply won’t burn, even after hours of fire. If these are KEPT shut, and the walls are CORRECTLY built with the right materials, you are in a virtually ‘fire-proof’ bunker. And since 99.9% of fires are put out by the Firefighters within a few minutes/hours, this makes sense, and you are then rescued. It’s a bit like looking yourself in a ‘panic room’, or a bomb shelter. You would not leave a secure, safe ‘panic room’ if your ‘mansion’ or whatever, was being overrun by bad guys, out to get you, right?? You lock all doors, call for help, and wait. In 99.9% of cases (not an exact number; but I mean, almost every time) it works. If you leave your apartment, you find thick.deadly smoke (that kills quicker that the flames; updrafts via elevator shafts and ventilation ducts brings thick smoke and flames sweeping through the building; this is all WAY more dNGEROUS than staying out & waiting for rescue. Except, this was a freak event, with problems with the building materials, etc etc as it discussed, leading to the tragedy. But the ‘stay put’ issue is quite normal, if the building is ‘modern’ in much of the world. That directive was NOT the actual problem.

[@chrispearson2329]

This event lead to changes in the law forcing thousands of properties being required to refit cladding across the country at the cost of billions of pounds most of which had to be paid by tenants!

[@michael_177]

This was horrific, I remember it happened a handful of years ago now. Really awful stuff, R.I.P

[@flamelily2086]

I was doing a night shift when that happened. I was allowed to watch television as long as I was available if my client needed me. I watched the news as Grenfell Tower was burning. It was horrific to watch. It was burning like a torch and right from the start I knew that there was something very wrong with how the building was burning. The initial stories put out to explain the fire were ridiculous and nobody believed them. That cladding was cheap and extremely flammable. The stay put policy would have worked for a normal fire that could be easily controlled but was not helpful in this case.

[@DavidJohnson-rj8zu]

Ronan Point building top corner collapsed owning to a Gas Explosion in 1968, we were told after this that all buildings over a certain level would not have Gas installed

[@AniMewAlex]

Needless to say that this was a very embarrasing and tragic event to have unfolded. To this day the government still hasn't removed cladding from all of the countries tower blocks and this been financially problematic for the people that are still having to live in these buildings even now. We are getting there though, just way too slowly. Needless to say RIP to all of the dead who didn't deserve this neglect.

[@dereknewbury163]

So horrible. And the aftermath has just exacerbated the situation

[@leslieshand4509]

There were firefighters who resigned after this fire. It is heartbreaking

[@tinaannvyze7966]

What I remember most was the families not knowing if there loved ones got out or not, and the fire fighters being so exhausted and upset that they couldn't get to everyone

[@richardwani2803]

Because of this London fire brigade have new fire trucks that can reach about 250 feet

[@TheEclecticBeard]

I highly suggest reacting to Lowkey Ghosts of Grenfell about this incident. Powerful song.

[@jasonthrelfall682]

the investigation is just coming to an end and hopefully they will have the construction companies, the local council and manufacturers up on charges

[@euronick61]

I was trapped in a house fire when I was two years old .. luckily I was rescued, lived to tell the tale and I don't remember it but my heart went out to all the victims and families who lost their loved ones ... whoever had the bright idea to insulate the block with flammable material needs to be jailed

[@drogna3905]

I live in a 10 storey block and we have a stay put policy too. However I feel quite safe, we have regular inspections and th fire service is here regularly practicing, they're based just about 3 minutes away, If the alarm does go off, and it has happened, the Fireservice are here, in force within minutes, they're wonderful. We've had our cladding inspected and tested several times since Grenfell and luckily it's been done safely. Alarms are tested weekly and we have really good heavy firedoors through out. Grenfell is a tragedy that should not have happened

[@KimmiVincent]

UK citizen here........I remember this like it was yesterday. Yes there were many lawsuits and still to thus day some are ongoing due to the amount of people suffering after effects due to toxic fumes etc. I know its caused cancer amongst other ailments. Thing is the local council didn't want to hand any money out and the locals had to literally protest and storm council buildings to be heard. There is footage on YT of the things that happened afterwards, ie the storming of the buildings, the council meetings where local maps are demanding justice etc

[@lisasmith2660]

It was on the TV live at the time, you could just see the building melting, you knew something was wrong and was just praying people would get out, you can still the building to this day it's covered up with a green heart 💚 but it looks like a giant gravestone 😢

[@nigelgordon]

I remember waking up in the early hours of the morning and hearing reports on the World Service News (this was about 2AM) that there was a major fire involving a tower block in West London. Spent the rest of the night listening to news updates as it became clear that this was a major disaster.

[@seanhopton.]

Nobody as been charged yet.The cladding was banned in tbe USA.There are hundreds of buildings like this across the UK.The tenants can't replaced the panels because of the cost.The people who own the buildings say owners/ tenants should pay for it to be removed and replaced.They say it will cost Billions to rectify. The owners of the flats/condos can't sell them,because of the risk of fire.

[@markg6860]

One side-issue is that having had the cladding and insulation removed, tenants of these tower blocks are now complaining about living in an ice box.

[@susanashcroft2674]

I was living in a flat (or apartment) at that moment in time and I recall seeing this on TV and was sick to the core seeing people in windows of these flats surrounded by fire. The notices in my block clearly stated make your way out, do not stay put. I no longer live in an apartment but it shook me up and made me think. Bless those whose lives were tragically taken and for those who continue to suffer and be troubled by this horrific event.

[@joshuam20]

The stay put policy is standard because these tall buildings are supposed to contain the fire for hours which prevents a mad rush causing trampling. This building was not built to code and so the policy ended up having the opposite effect to what it’s supposed to. The policy isn’t actually a bad idea as you say it is however, it must be backed up by a building which can actually contain the fire as they’re supposed to.

[@SageRue]

I remember seeing it on the news when I was getting ready for school that morning. It was horrific to see. They where trying to keep track of some of the residents who where at their windows and it showed the guy with the bedsheets but also someone who threw their baby out of their window to someone below to save it. It really was a sad day. It was also heartbreaking to see people searching for their families hoping that they had got out and the hope slowly fading.

[@Jamienomore]

What it didn't tell you was, Experts had said it had to be Fire Proof Material that was used and the Authoraies said no.

[@Xela20j]

The residents where also begging there local council to take of the cladding and were telling them the water sprinklers failed the test if there was a fire but they were ignored, is such a terrible tragedy 😢 there was also a song they did for grenfell called bride over troubled water to raise money for grenfell victims and for help

[@keithatkins4033]

I was actually there on that day making my way to Portobello Market in Notting Hill and had to pass through where the Grenfell Tower was It was shocking to say the least like I'd walked out on a Movie set. There were Police and Film crews everywhere and the Tower engulfed by the flames it's Not a sight I shall forget in a Hurry.

[@holdtightadele8017]

The second the cladding was mentioned you see his face change, even he, who was completely unaware at the time knew the cause of the fire.

[@AniMewAlex]

I would also like to note that Kensington and Chelsea is actually the wealthiest London strict and is where most of the cities rich live. South Kensington is especially wealthy. North Kensington (where the Grenfell tower in located) is not as wealthy in comparison. Alot of europeans live in Chelsea and a lot of French and also Americans live in South Kensington.

[@rhh3582]

By accident I was trolling the internet that evening and landed on a site which was covering the Grenfell Tower fire live. I watched in horror from the beginning until the end . There were so many problems with that building were never corrected it was also impossible for people to get out of the building - like there was only one stairway top to bottom of the building. There were no fire alarms in the building and no sprinkler system. The tenants were lower class but they were human beings living in an area of expensive buildings . To upgrade (?) the building only the least expensive materials were used and the entire refitting of the building, inside and outside, was a disaster waiting to happen, and it happened. The last body count I heard was 72 men, women and children had died. I do place blame! For those 72 who died I grieve. For those who stood by and did nothing I say to them your God will deal with you when your time comes. Not even watching the video that is being shown, I can see the flames reaching so high into the night sky, I can still hear the cries for help, I can see people in windows being burned alive. Those thoughts, those visions will never leave me. I am thankful for the volunteer and trained professional firefighters in this country and the good equipment they have and the good training they undergo each and every year.

[@vivienwilliams1538]

Living in a council house high rise is no joke. My son and I have been there and done that for many years. Barstewards in Ealing Council put me in a flat with electric wires hanging out of the walls and a 5 year old son. No kitchen units - nothing. I will never forgive or forget.

[@DruncanUK]

You should check out the Ibrox disaster at Rangers football ground in 1971. A long forgotten tragedy. The only KZbin videos I can find are 45 mins long so maybe too long for a reaction but really worth a watch anyway.

[@lornaparadise2670]

Look at the zebrugge ferry disaster. That was horrific

[@rabbitsonjupiter6824]

I remember the news footage from the time. It was an absolute tragedy. Those poor people.

[@racheldicker5611]

I will never forget watching the mobile phone lights at the windows then seeing them going out dreadful

[@col4574]

Us too but I dont think anyone had to account for it......because it was cutting costs ,by businessmen.......Conservatives,and the people were poor or immigrants,so..."did not matter".

[@meezursrule]

Kensington was "posh" at the time of the fire and has been for years. But London is a crowded city. You can find poverty a half mile from vast wealth. The cladding was put on the tower to improve the aesthetic, so that it gave a better view from the windows of luxury accommodation not too far from it. Without the cladding, the building might well have been fire-proof and the stay-put policy would have been the safest because it would have avoided a stampede on the stairs.

[@olienajh]

It was heartbreaking. I remember the news coverage where they interviewed survivors. One girl sticks in my mind. She went to school in her pyjamas the same day she escaped from the fire as she had no clothes & had to sit her GCSE exam. The unnecessary loss of life was devastating. The survivors continue to be traumatised by it. New legislation is now in place re the cladding & its being removed from buildings. The big issue now is who funds the alterations. The owners of the tower blocks are trying to get the tenants & leaseholders to foot the bill, which runs into thousands of pounds per resident. Completely unacceptable.

[@stuartfitch7093]

Jps, in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire enquiry, the findings have trigged what we call the UK cladding crisis because multi storey residential buildings right across the UK were checked as to the status of their cladding. They've found thousands of buildings both low rise such as four or five storeys high and high rise buildings the likes of Grenfell that have multipul problems that need rectifing such as flammable cladding, missing fire breaks, flammable balconies etc. All these things need to be replaced to make these thousands of buildings fire safe but the problem has been who should pay for the remediation work. Though a total cost of £15bn is often mentioned, the total cost of remediation of all buildings needed is estimated at £50bn. In the meanwhile owners of the flats are unable to sell their flat because its valued at £0, their home insurance has soared, they've had to employ a waking watch scheme then they are facing huge remediation bills. Its turned into a real complex issue that truly is a scandal. I used to envy people who live in the city, have high value property, high paid jobs etc but in recent years, with the cladding scandal, it makes me grateful that though I live in a low wage area with few employment opportunities, that I've grown up and lived all my life in a quiet, rural environment where there aren't any of these affected buildings. I can look out my window and see open land and hear birds in my garden hedge. It makes you realise the important things in life and that in many ways, though I struggle for money, I'm privelaged to live where I do. Nothing against anyone owning an affected flat but I wouldn't have one now if they gave it to me for nothing.

[@Jeni10]

Grenfell is a British surname.

[@alansmithee8831]

Hello Joel. The first person I met at university became UK Housing Minister about a day before this. I had no sooner written to congratulate him than he was having to meet the survivors and grieving families. He was genuinely in tears on TV, whilst people were asking where the PM had gone.

[@radiyhakhatun1041]

I will never forget grenfell Tower. I always remember it watching on TV live. 💚 Im from Manchester but I watched it on TV it broke 💔 😢 me so much watching them on fire 🔥 it felt like I was there it was so sad to watch. RIP 🌹 🙏 🕊 THOSE THAT DIED in hands of grenfell tower. Also can you look at Manchester arena bomb . Because lots of people died it was a concert where ariana grande was performing while it was bombed . That God ariana grande was OK.

[@grahamcasey9188]

This is one I never really got caught up in....Any fire is tragic and loss of life is always a hard time for the families....These events happen..Its a learning step for future building materials..

[@ericg5791]

Thank You JPS. I feel a little bad for suggesting something this grim,and these types of disaster videos will be seldom,but given my own witness (albeit from afar) to it, there is always a sad side to Britain as much as elsewhere,to be aware of. What makes this more brutal,is that among the many shocks,the lady that was filming the smoke outside her door,uploaded it live on social media..She never made it out alive.

[@ivylasangrienta6093]

I remember watching the live news for hours when this was happening. Horrible.

[@MrChris1533]

And yet our British government and british opposition parties are no willing to do anything about it. Money in politics should be made illegal across all governments and every country.

[@joshuam20]

Politicians in all countries on all sides are absolutely useless. I’ve given up on them honestly. You know they used to solve problems, a big shooting at a school in the UK and they made the gun control a hell of a lot stricter. Now we rarely ever see a mass shooting.

[@cliffsinclair4900]

also the restrictions on this type of cladding now means that there are thousands of people across Britain who are paying rent and mortgages on homes that are worth nothing. They cannot move or sell because of the blight and the value is officially nothing. Individuals are being asked to pay for recladding. This can only happen if everyone in your flat, black or complex pays (120 families??) and it can cost each owner £120,000 each for recladding.

[@kathryndunn9655]

They have since then removed all covering from out side blocks of flats but now the people who live in these blocks have other problems like being cold in there homes and even a plastic cover has been wrapped around the blocks which means there homes a dark inside all the time

[@dianeferguson3555]

Stay put order is not unusual for multi occupancy properties and it normally would have worked. The lack of fire breaks was the problem which was a cost cutting exercise from the ‘landlords’.