American Reacts to The Grenfell Tower Fire Disaster in West London

[@ianroper2812]

Hi, something that isn’t mentioned in the video, is the fact that not only the cladding was a problem, but also the fact that other plastic materials had been used. This included plastic cable trunking, which had been used throughout the building. This meant that people trying to get out, couldn’t because the cables had fallen out the plastic trunking as it melted. This meant cables stopped fire doors from opening. Also each of the flats had been fitted with new front doors. These too were found to last no more than 15 minutes. They should have lasted a minimum of an hour plus.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Man, that's just disgusting! Such a needless thing to happen, all because somebody wanted to save some money and cut corners.

[@morgan.williams76]

I believe the fire doors were faulty as well.

[@robward367]

The components all passed building regs when tested individually- but not wheb used together?!

[@Forbidaxe]

Strange you mention the front doors, the fire came in through the windows via the cladding, not in through the front door. Everything was brick and concrete in the halls, what was there to catch fire.

[@iangrice329]

Plus plastic frame windows when originally they were metal.

[@Parker8752]

When it happened, people here in the UK were devastated. When it came out that the reason was cost saving measures, people were pissed. Kensington Council tried to push the blame onto the firefighters, but they had no way of knowing that the building was a death trap until it was too late.

[@jopickett9679]

Yes, blaming the firefighters who were there and shutting down firestations dreadful :((

[@dannyking4138]

Some of the firefighters were poisoned with the toxic fumes and they were blamed it’s ridiculous @@jopickett9679

[@xlerb_again_to_music7908]

Kensington were repeatedly told by residents the tower was a deathtrap; all documented by a resident and in the papers just after the fire. KC to residents warnings: _Go away you socialist bottom-feeders, who cares anyhow?_ (paraphrased). There was a lot of political friction (Tory attitudes vs lower-classes) in the dynamic.

[@reactingtomyroots]

It's just all-around awful!

[@Parker8752]

@@ebbhead20 The council did, sure; not so much the firefighters.

[@janescott4574]

Councils are the local authority for an area covering pretty much all aspects of day to day living from social housing to maintenance of roads and open spaces, refuse collection etc., etc.

[@daisydavis-x3m]

WHAT ABOUT THE KINGS CROSS FIRE THE BRADFORD FOOTBALL STADIUM FIRE THE GRENFELL FIRE WAS STARTED BY A MIGRANT

[@alicemilne1444]

​@@daisydavis-x3mThe Grenfell fire was not "started by a migrant". This was not arson. The cause was a faulty wire in a fridge. So you can take your unfounded racist accusation and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

[@clementsphil]

Idiotic comment. PEOPLE died in this disaster - real human beings. Take your racist opinions some place else@@daisydavis-x3m

[@janescott4574]

@@daisydavis-x3m that was an abhorrent remark to make. You should be ashamed of yourself and also if I remember rightly it was an elderly, single gentleman not a migrant. Save your anger for those who deserve it like penny pinching council officials.

[@ashleycurzon6348]

​@@alicemilne1444 don't worry, I reported the comment

[@Belladonna313]

I’m from Scotland and remember turning on my news and seeing it. Was absolutely heartbreaking. U could hear people screaming and a mother even threw her baby out one of the windows to be caught by bystanders. The government was absolutely disgusting to behave the way they did afterwards.

[@davidlancaster4476]

and which way was that ?

[@SeasideBandit]

As a result of what happened to Grenfell, many town councils removed cladding from high rise apartments. This was such a trajedy that gripped the nation.

[@andybaker2456]

That partial collapse of Ronan Point lead to four dead and 17 injured. The building was repared after the incident, but was eventually demolished in 1986.

[@lisasmith2660]

This is Green fell fire and it was still standing in 2020 when I went past with the covers on

[@brigidsingleton1596]

​@@lisasmith2660 Edit: 'Grenfell Tower'

[@andybaker2456]

@lisasmith2660 Yes, I know. But the video also had a clip of the partial collapse of Ronan Point, which Steve was asking about.

[@vallejomach6721]

@@andybaker2456 Crazy thing about that is the woman whose gas stove had caused the explosion survived and she took the stove with her to her next home.

[@FF_K.C]

I am currently a firefighter in London and there are still people who work in the Fire Brigade that responded to grenfell and they still talk about it till this day

[@onecupof_tea]

Thank you for doing this. It's easy for government's and local Councils to brush it under the carpet. Ten fire stations were closed due to Boris's budget cuts when he was mayor, as he was responsible for London fire brigade, and police budgets. Three stations were closed near Grenfell, adding to response times to the fire. Tragic.

[@amandasmith3716]

The fire engines were also unable to access the ground outside of the flats because of barriers which were locked and pedestrianisation.

[@2eleven48]

I'm not understanding. The present government and local councils are still brushing Grenfell under the carpet?

[@sunseeker9581]

​@@2eleven48lets just say theyre dragging their feet on writing the final report.

[@coldwhite4240]

​@@2eleven48 As a West Londoner myself, I can confirm that the underlying causes behind Grenfell have still not been properly addressed. In the aftermath of the fire it was discovered that many other tower blocks in the UK had been 'upgraded' using the same kind of cladding. While some have since been renovated, many haven't, and there is potentially a huge bill for taxpayers to try and undo that mess and make these blocks safer, yet there has been no real urgency from the government or local authorities to deal with it (probably because no one wants to admit the huge cost and disruption fixing it all would bring). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_cladding_crisis On top of that, we've since had a separate scandal about poor building materials in many schools (not related to fire, but the risk of concrete panels crumbling) which would also cost millions and much disruption to put right. So you can be sure that will also take attention off the post-Grenfell cladding scandal too. Regarding the cuts in fire stations in London, those have not been restored, and they were based on outdated data about traffic congestion and the time it takes fire engines to get to incidents. The roads are much more congested in London than they were 10, 20, or more years ago, but some of the data officials use to determine response times was out of date. The biggest cuts in recent years were in 2016, less than a year before the Grenfell fire: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-37844566 We have the same problem in the UK with ambulance response times too, and with A&E departments (what the US would call "ER") being closed at many hospitals and patients expected to travel further, even though traffic is heavier. So again, governments are not learning the lessons from tragedies like the Grenfell fire.

[@Queenfloofles]

So Boris was indirectly responsible for these deaths as well as all the Covid ones (my Grandad's included). If there is a Hell he will be roasting in it. 😠 This fire was such a tragedy, I felt for all those families affected. Thank goodness that so many ignored the stay put. RIP to those who didn't make it.

[@sarahsreviews5753]

This was such a horrific tragedy. I caught the news alert before I went to bed and ended up staying up all night watching in horror as the fire spread so quickly across the building. People should be prosecuted for the parts they played in this cladding being installed. Not just on this building but on many buildings around the country. I think people are still living in dangerous flats that could suffer a similar fate

[@daisydavis-x3m]

WHAT ABOUT THE KINGS CROSS FIRE THE BRADFORD FOOTBALL STADIUM FIRE THE GRENFELL FIRE WAS STARTED BY A MIGRANT

[@keithparker5125]

@@daisydavis-x3m The Kings Cross fire and the Bradford Stadium fire were different kettles of fish. What is so important that you label a migrant as starting the fire? I guess it must be your racist tendencies. How did you work out that the refrigerator was a 'migrant'?

[@felicitywoodruffe4087]

​Disgusting shameful comment .it was a faulty fridge and the tenant raised the alarm and called emergency services straight away . ​@@daisydavis-x3m

[@felicitywoodruffe4087]

Council housing was supposed to be for those people who did not have the means to either afford to rent privately or to raise a mortgage

[@felicitywoodruffe4087]

It was the cladding that burned incredibly quickly

[@LordElpme]

Several decades ago, all work like this would have Building Regulation approval from the local authority. Part of this process was a specialist from the Fire Brigade going over the plans and specifications to ensure that the proposed build/remodel would not end up like Grenfell Tower. I used to work for a company that did structural engineering design as well as some project management, and often adjustments to plans were needed to get fire reg approval. Sadly, sometime in the last 20 years they excused the Fire Service from this role and it's clear on it's effect. It would have been unlikely that cladding setup would have been allowed with the old Building Regs review.

[@101steel4]

A former LFB safety officer said the same. He blamed the EU regulations but was quickly silenced.

[@fayesouthall6604]

@@101steel4exactly 😊

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

High rises scare me, I turned down living in one when offered by the council years ago. Absolutely terrifying. My friend is disabled and lives on the 10th floor of one, I always worry about how she'll escape if something happens :/

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yeah, that would definitely be concerning to me!

[@cherryclarke4704]

Steve l live 10 minutes walk from grenfell tower, it was Devistating, l have a granddaughter whose best friend died in that fire, it was thee most horrific the loss of life, heartbreaking doesn't even cover how this has affected my community

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

💚

[@martinsear5470]

I lived in a similar style of tower block at the time, I was so relieved to finally leave that deathtrap.

[@Hen71557]

Zinc cladding was initially proposed but was replaced with aluminium type that was less fire resistant but significantly cheaper, saving Ken & Chelsea Council around £300,000. It was nothing but a cost cutting exercise. Councillors blamed Government for reducing their budgets, Government blamed Councillors for their lack of budget control. Subsequently many other tower blocks around the country that had been refurbished with similar material were tested and failed routine fire testing.

[@mothermaclean]

June 14th it happened on my birthday i woke up to see it on the news, I cried I will never forget

[@warailawildrunner5300]

When i was a toddler I lived in a similar build block of flats in a town much much further north than London. Some people deliberately set fire to the central stair / lift section of our floor by filling it with junk and setting it on fire. While it did traumatise me as a child, and has some lasting effects even now - we were frankly perfectly safe even with the stay put policy. The reason was that the fire couldn't spread. The smoke could, but we had balconies to wait on so again safe. This fire would have not been anywhere near as bad if it hadn't been for the cladding. If it wasn't for the cladding, the stay put advice would have been unremarkable.

[@jonathanbrady5243]

All but one of the 70 casualties were on or above the 13th floor. Thermal imaging cameras and laser thermometers detected temperature of up to 4,000 degrees. The London Fire Brigade was equipped with gear designed for withstand 1,500 degrees and 2,000 degrees momentarily. Despite this, brave firefighters pushed their bodies and equipment to the limits. With their skin literally cooking inside their coats, their gloves burned through, and their helmets melting into their eyes, the firefighters tried to climb the stairs to the 13th floor. Facing inhuman conditions, they were forced to withdraw, many with serious injuries. The London Fire Brigade did their upmost that night, and many of them paid the price with their bodies and souls.

[@kevinhampton2068]

The partially collapsed tower shown briefly was Ronan Point in East London. I live near the Tower and was woken in the morning by a rumble. A gas leak near the top ignited exploding and caused the corner of the block to collapse. Lives were lost sadly.

[@Jinty92]

Dangerous cladding that was a deathtrap. The really bad part is that the people were told not to leave the tower. There is still many towers around Britain with the same dangerous cladding so it could happen again. There were people hanging from their windows with SOS messages and nobody could get to them and people were jumping to their deaths. It was awful to watch as it was televised.

[@adrianboardman162]

I think something was mentioned about there also being a gap between the outer wall and the cladding, so it was impossible to hose it, it needed tackling from above as well.

[@Parker8752]

The thing is, the instruction to not leave would have been really good advice had it not been for that cladding. The fire wouldn't have spread, and everybody would have been safe.

[@rde4017]

And then that b*****d Jacob Rees Mogg said the victims should have use their common sense.

[@psibug565]

Originally the tower was made to isolate fires to individual flats. The supposedly fire proof cladding removed the isolation when added to the building and allowed to fire to flow between flats.

[@theinvisibleneonrainbowzeb2567]

This was awful, a tragedy. Many of us in the UK shared the frustration, exasperation, horror and disbelief you showed while watching this video. On a slightly related topic, you ask about councils, I would recommend you check out Jay Foreman's 'unfinished London' series, in particular the ones regarding London Boroughs, as a starting point (council isn't just a London thing but they are interesting videos and give you a starting point)

[@petermizon4344]

The cladding had insulation attached to it but wasn't fire retardant, it was put on against the fire regulations, corruption

[@fayesouthall6604]

Just spending the least money. I wonder how much its cost in compensation and rehousing? Probably a lot more.

[@joelpayne1193]

I never forgot when I see this news came out about Grenfell Tower fire and it was horrific and sad story. The government has agreed to set up the investigation into what happened to Grenfell Tower. We could find out maybe 2_3 years to see the whole picture and make sure this crisis never happened again. My condolences to victims of Grenfell Tower fire 🙏

[@claregale9011]

Absolutely should never have happened , cheap flamable cladding on the outside of the building , people's safety was an after thought here , imagine people in other high rises with the same cladding you would not sleep would you . Tragic loss and was preventable .

[@rjflores438]

The cladding was there purely for cost cutting and aesthetic reasons for the wealthier residents to see in the other part of the borough.

[@col4574]

Poor building standards encouraged by lax inspection ,for profit making concerns,instead of public safety concerns

[@chriscockram8262]

Love this channel! Sad sad story this one!

[@sammason5178]

There are many commentaries about this tragedy. Akala is a powerful voice, Song for Grenfell is very moving, Adele, Stormzy etc have sung for the Grenfell cause. All of them, and many others, express the anger of millions of citizens

[@heathermurray9939]

My local leisure centre Carlisle Cumbria England has just been modernised and it's found that the material used is not fire retardant and structural deficit. So they have still not learnt

[@mewsli]

I think the Sands also had some of the below code concrete. That discovery led to parts of the Sands being closed and concerts cancelled.

[@heathermurray9939]

@@mewsli do you live in Carlisle Cumbria , I do , it's awful that they never learnt from the fire

[@mewsli]

I do indeed live in Carlisle. 😀

[@heathermurray9939]

I live in Denton Holme Carlisle Cumbria England, a small world. I am at the sands centre tomorrow 3rd January to see the physio which used to be based at the Cumberland infirmary hospital

[@mewsli]

@heathermurray9939 I'm in a new build in Botch right on the edge of Durranhill. It's a small, small world indeed. Good luck with the physio!

[@abigailjohnson4270]

This is what happens when someone in power makes a bad decision that kills over 70 people… they’d put dangerous flammable cladding over the outside of the tower. The towers were designed to NOT burn like this did. And wouldn’t have but for the cladding. Someone penny pinched and killed people. Fire is the only thing I’m properly scared of. This was my terror and I sat up all night watching the absolute horror unfold. It was a living nightmare. Hearing people screaming for help from the upper floors. This fire shot up thru that cladding SO fast. The firemen heading to it couldn’t believe what they were seeing as they got closer, literally commenting that it couldn’t be happening. Shouldn’t be happening. These towers were built in such a way that they were supposed to keep a fire within a single unit/flat. Having a ‘stay in place’ rule assuming fire wouldn’t travel. And this had worked before. But obviously the cladding changed this utterly. They also didn’t have sprinklers which shocked me. And there’s only one stairwell. It was absolute hell. Truly hell. The firefighters were exhausted. Absolutely traumatised. They had molten chunks of burning cladding falling on them. No one had seen this happen. The inside of the cladding was hugely flammable and the entire wall went up. And then spread. The tower underneath wouldn’t have burned. The cladding was a death trap. It was horrifying to watch and listen to. Traumatising for anyone nearby. It was hell. Absolute hell. 😱😰😰

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Ronan Point,the corner collapse tower,4 of 260 residents were killed and 17 were injured (including a young mother who was trapped on a ledge when the rest of her living room fell away in the collapse)🎩

[@sallyrobinson2285]

What was also so heart breaking, was people watched this and was having to put their children to bed knowing they lived in buildings just like this one.

[@matty007]

Every area in the UK has it's own council who is in charge of keeping the local area running with things like rubbish collection, repairing roads, helping low income with help towards rent or a home. They are in charge of many other things in the local area they decide how much rent shops pay in the high street and more.

[@BP-of5cp]

The craziest thing is that this happened in one of the richest Councils in the country, the very same council where you find Kensington Palace of the Royal family

[@peterbrown1012]

In the 70's, most people rented and most of them rented from the council, you put your name down and eventually got a property, how much you earned didncome into it, when Thatcher got in she forced councils to sell their stock to the tenants, with less stock they brought in restrictions on who could rent, people on benifits etc.

[@StephCunningham-o4k]

Not always true I know someone who’s not on benefits and earns over 40k a year. Who has a council flat. That being said they have lived there over 20 years now

[@donnabarnes4930]

the mention of that fire sends chills down my spine. i remember watching on the news and seeing people throw babies out the higher floor windows. it was a truly awful fire for sure

[@elizabethtrudgill3567]

£5000 would have seen Grenfell tower covered with fireproof cladding.

[@Will-nn6ux]

This was/is a fairly tall building at 221 feet. The tallest building in London is the Shard skyscraper, at 1016 feet (95 storeys).

[@cameronallan3034]

I live in scotland but I remember watching this live on the news I was crying my eyes out that I couldn't do nothing it was an afull night I couldn't sleep all I could do was pray for them and it was a shock for the whole of the uk

[@davidknell8831]

Tragic ! Poor people had no escape!

[@KayosHybrid]

There is only one way down and out of the building, which is a major fire hazard. In a major incident, a panic would call trampling.

[@drewhyland9574]

Remember exactly where I was when this happened In Hyde park sun bathing And all I could see and hear was helicopters and sirens I'm about 15 minutes drive away from grenfell I was working around grove About 2weeks after and all the missing posters where heart breaking I actually know a girl that lived on the 3rd floor who got out alive with her fella She was on the news giving A interview about the incident Very sad day for London ...😔🙏🇬🇧

[@laura6107]

The council is the local authority that oversees public services such as roads parks, bin collections, schools etc. Each town and city in the country is under their own local council. I remember seeing the Grenfell tragedy on the news as it happened and hoping the people were able to get out. It's absolutely awful what happened there.

[@onecupof_tea]

When Boris was mayor, he asked the fire brigade to make savings of 29m. Then closed ten fire stations, three near Grenfell. He wont accept any responsibility but he's responsible for the delays and lack of equipment.

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

He's an utter disgrace.

[@adeleheywood7454]

The Council knew it was a death trap, but chose to ignore residents concerns and tried to blame the firefighters. This was entirely preventable and should never have happened. Absolutely heartbreaking

[@Jbatley1]

No, Council Housing is Housing that is built by the local council. These days we don’t have council houses being built anymore. They generally built by housing associations which offer low-cost accommodation alongside their regulate housing projects

[@XclusiveAaron]

This was really bad... A block of flats near where I live (only about 20 miles from London) has the same cladding on it as Grenfell, yet nothing has ever been done about it! Sure the fire starting had nothing to do with that but that cladding was apparently flammable and the main reason the fire was so hard to extinguish.

[@ginag1662]

I remember this and them poor people , not being able to do anything

[@hyedore]

the reason they "predicted" or "foresaw" the fire happening is because of the grenfell tower action group. they had multiple meetings with the council AND the mayor of that borough at the time to talk about not having hot water or water at all, the fire extinguishers being expired, no sprinklers, no fire alarms, the fire doors lasting 15 minutes, and the builders leaving doors open (which would cause the fire that night to come into the landing later on), they didnt predict the fire, they just said (paraphrasing) "we think it would take a disaster for TMO to take action."

[@mrandrews3616]

I remember the day it happened I had actually slept in. Normally I would watch the news before going to college but that morning I just rushed out. On the train there I overheard people talking about a fire in London, so as soon as I got to college I went to a computer and checked the news, only to be confronted with the images of the fire. I was in shock.

[@onecupof_tea]

I wonder if people forget to empty the filter tray at the bottom of washing machines and dryers, where pieces of material and fluff can build up, overheat and catch fire. Electric heaters also overheat due to the fan drawing in dust and fluff. They should be cleaned once a year and never left on over night.

[@searleflesher6689]

The cladding on the building was suspected for the spread of the fire. Many other buildings in the UK had the same cladding

[@Rachel_M_]

Barton House: Evacuated residents face fear and uncertainty over safety-hit Bristol tower block. Around 400 people were given just hours to leave their homes on 14 November and are yet to return, amid concerns about the structure of the 15-storey building and the latest construction scandal to strike the UK (sky news)

[@BritishAdam]

They still do have the same cladding, it was reported a year or two ago that around 40% of those that had the cladding, still had the cladding in place.

[@harbl99]

There was a air gap between the cladding and the building structure. It formed a forced draft that spread the blaze like wildfire.

[@positivelyacademical1519]

⁠@@harbl99You do need an air gap between the exterior wall insulation and the outermost cladding though. It’s to allow the back of the cladding / front of the insulation to dry when water vapour condenses on those surfaces. There are two possible solutions: 1) use only non-flammable cladding and insulation materials. The advantage of this is that it is consistent with the traditional British approach to designing fire resistance into structures - the preference for brick walls (in low rise structures), reinforced concrete walls/floors/columns (in mid to high rise). The disadvantage is the extra cost of those materials. 2) design fire mitigation strategies into the structure. The obvious one is putting fire breaks in between every story and at the edge of party walls. How you do this depends on the materials your using, but to keep as close to the Grenfell Tower design as possible, you’d be looking at using uninsulated (likely MgO board backed) aluminium cladding, slightly thicker poly-iso insulation, a narrower air gap, and regular fire breaks (where the poly-iso is replaced with non-flammable rigid insulation and an intumescent seal is present to close the air gap in event of fire). Basically you have to design how the building will burn. This is more like the US approach to building design.

[@dave_dyl_1655]

Hey man yeah the tower is still there still covered in scaffolding, at least it was when I was in Kensington last September. It might be worth checking out the music video that low key made regarding grenfell.

[@CollieDog24]

There was a lot of controversy around the claimants after the blaze,but the blaze itself was caused by inapropriate cladding on the outside of the tower block. The reason it was used ,because it ws cheap and it was not tested.Ofcourse the blame game comes in to effect .Nobody takes responsibiity..People died,and people not living in the block,claimed they were there. I would never reside in a tower block for that reason.The fire brigades always say ,get everyone out ,do not re enter and forget documents just get out.What a tragedy!!

[@NimpanZ]

Kensington is on average the most expensive place to live in the country. A previously safe tower block was made unsafe in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing for the surrounding community. The post Grenfell cladding scandal continues to this day.... Buildings up and down the country have been found to have been built with serious fire safety issues. People have been evicted (evacuated) from their homes due to imminent danger assessments from fire departments around the country. It's an absolute nightmare for those involved but their immediate safety must come first and at this point the only people you can trust to do the right thing are fire safety specialists hoping to avoid another catastrophe. Home owners have been unable to sell their flats because no-one wants to live in a death trap. Landlords can't get new tenants in because they can't guarantee tenant safety by law and are going bankrupt. Building insurance quotes have now become astronomical. Some councils were despicably passing on the costs of fixing the problem onto the leaseholders and residents, other councils are nowhere near to getting boots on the ground to sort the issue out and are stuck in planning and costing limbo, all the while another incident could happen at any time.

[@evelynroadmedia9415]

The population of London is growing, and fast (new homes spreading/spilling outwards to outer London), so the councils of the outer boroughs are making flats as fast as they can (one as cheap as possible and two can gain as much council tax as possible) so they can accommodate the extra population. In this case the cheap materials and bad design is evident and lives was lost not to just cheap materials, but errors by the emergency services, which led to sickening claims by random people trying to make a quick buck by making false claims. My borough, on the outskirts of outer London is doing the same, building flats, and on a recent visit to the local hospital, the staff was saying they are struggling to cope now, and when the extra few thousand residents arrive in a few years, it is going to strain the hospital real badly and it is a fairly modern hospital too.

[@suziewong5305]

This cladding is to this day still decorated on tower blocks, apartment buildings, schools, care homes, hospitals etc.. Apparently it’s being replaced with safer materials but local councils haven’t yet made sure that this cladding is gone forever! We all say Grenfell was just a huge candle and someone lit it! Absolutely heartbreaking! This is a controversial opinion but this tragic disaster isn’t televised enough because these towers house mostly immigrants and brown/black people. However, I will say the good people of GB sent food, clothes and necessities for the people who had survived. Most have since been rehoused but unbelievably some are still living in hotels as the local council are offering them homes that are way too small, too far away from their kids schools etc.. Utterly tragic situation! Oh and one more thing…Kensington Council is by far one of richest in London so they definitely had the funds to make buildings look “Posh” without using cheap materials! People who live in Kensington are the likes of Kate Moss, Hugh Grant, Madonna when she lived there, It’s basically MONEY people so the local council earns a bloody fortune! Shame on them… Perhaps not spending the money they received on Tax and Dines (to name a few) lined their pockets more, who knows?

[@aimeedean1]

Gosh I remember seeing this on the TV when I lived in Sweden. I used to work in Ladbrooke Grove which meant walking past those towers. This is a Conservative council area and they are well known for this type of cost cutting measures to h*ll with those on low income. The Ronan Point corner collapse killed 4, injured 17.

[@simmysi5156]

Love your videos and reactions. There's a song called "ghosts of grenfell" by a uk rapper called lowkey. Its a sad song and rap but the names of the missing or people that died are given in it.

[@BuinidhMoChridheDoAlba]

I'll never forget the firefighters breaking down. Worst day of their careers and probably always will be. Boris Johnson has a lot to answer for. He shut many fire stations when he was mayor.

[@BuinidhMoChridheDoAlba]

The fire brigade got given the blame, Britain wasn't having any of it though. We all know where the blame lies

[@robertlowe4784]

The local authority wanted to improve the view for its newer builds to justify the house prices , and then chose to pick a cheaper covering for the solid concrete building with flammable materials that didn't even meet the fireproof standards

[@WJS774]

But the makers of the cladding had fiddled the fire rating, so the council can hardly be blamed for picking one that was sold to them as being fireproof.

[@jopickett9679]

The Council is the local government authority

[@Amber-md8ut]

God I still remember watching this live on the news when I was 11/12. It was awful.

[@juliabell2629]

Grenfell was a tradgedy waiting to happen. I still cry for the victims who died needlessly.😢. We need a change from the current government of this country to REAL, unpolticised councils who will be there for people in council properties.

[@Cee75-mm9hq]

I know it’s an electrical appliance and I know this might sound stupid but until The Grenfell Towel tragedy I didn’t know fridges could catch fire. I want to say this was and still is absolutely heartbreaking but heartbreaking doesn’t even seem close to describing it. There really are no words.

[@AutomaticDuck300]

Any electrical appliance can catch fire.

[@samanthacampbell4152]

At 5am on the morning I woke to start making my partners breakfast and lunch when I put on the radio there was news breaking from London about huge fire. I turned on the TV sat I disbelief watching this in blaze 😮😢 suddenly people started going live on socials filming it I was in shock that i forgot about the food

[@saml8510]

It gets worse... They found flammable cladding on many high rises up and down the country and there still removing cladding/replacing cladding to this day

[@johnhall7679]

The CBD is being looked at , that is the the "The Construction, Building, Design Management" and the law is in place its called " The Negligence Corporate Manslaughter Act".

[@victoriaoliver4324]

Just a small comment to say it wasnt just fire "men". Fire fighters that night did include women. The voice over made it sound like only men were involved. A tragic night for so many people.

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

👍🏻

[@Roadent1241]

Fireofficers then. Or firestewds. Whatever works? Jobs aren't graded by gender, just by training and/or skill. Fireman is just the general term for humans in the brigade.

[@WattsZen]

Something not mentioned about the cladding, that rainproof aluminium shell? Yeah that made it harder for fire fighters to get water on the fire too

[@petermizon4344]

ALSO THE COUNCIL ONE OF THE RICHEST IN THE COUNTRY WITH A RESERVE OF 250 MILLION ALLOWED THE CORRUPTION BY THE COMPANIES THAT PUT CHEAP CLADDING ON TO SAVE MONEY,

[@Cossfrack]

There are people outthere living freely who signed off on that cladding, despite knowing the danger. And the fact that these people are not currently serving life in prison makes my blood boil. It wouldn't even be difficult to trace them. Theres a huge coverup happening.

[@bradleypeate3266]

it reminds me of the fires that use to happen on aircraft in the sealed cargo holds that would take down the whole aircraft and passengers onboard due to not wanting to spend a few quid on basic smoke alarms since the crew wouldn't have any warnings that a fire was starting until it spread out of control right below them only after countless deaths did they get forced to make sure all aircrafts were fitted with them such a simple thing just to save money

[@revenant_scot]

This situation was made even more complex by the fact that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had delegated day to day responsibility for the management of their housing stock to what's known as an 'ALMO' (Arms Length Management Organisation), in this case Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). It is separate to the Council and it is that organisation which would have had direct oversight of the works to upgrade the building despite the Council making decisions on the budget. An element of the Grenfell story that isn't really unpacked in this film is the considerable concern that residents had about the poor management provided by KCTMO which predated the upgrade and the fire itself by many years. For example, in 2005, an independent study of the emergency lighting systems in Grenfell was undertaken and a report produced. We now know that major failings were identified and that the report highlighted both inadequate management and inadequate installation amongst many other criticisms of KCTMO and their contractor. This was 12 years before the fire. However, the report was supressed despite the residents asking to see it and campaigning for all those years to achieve that. The report was finally released AFTER the fire. Another issue was that fire safety standards have changed dramatically since Grenfell was first built in the 1970s. It was therefore built without an internal sprinkler system. When the building was refurbished, it was decided that retrofitting a sprinkler system was 'too complicated' (and doubtless too costly as well). So as well as the foreseeable problems with the insulation and cladding installation, there were also known problems in regards to the emergency lighting and the lack of sprinklers. And as if that wasn't enough, residents had also highlighted the lack of safety information posted in the building on how to behave in the event of a fire as deeply problematic. In November 2016, less than a year before the fire, the Grenfell Action Group, representing tenants, published a blog post that stated they believed only an incident leading to a catastrophic loss of life would bring the external scrutiny needed to spotlight the failings of the Tenant Management Organisation. How prophetic that was. Grenfell was entirely avoidable. People should have been prosecuted for the failings that led to this tragedy. Final comment. Apart from the obvious that I've already discussed, the thing that I found most disgusting in the aftermath was those people in the country who revelled in the fact that many of those that perished in this tragedy were non-white and either immigrants themselves or descendants of immigrants. They celebrated that the fire took those people. To me, anyone who celebrates death in such a way is just vile and I cannot comprehend the lack of humanity displayed by such idiots. It truly was a moment of national shame that anyone had to listen to such nonsense.

[@ianclark7331]

I don't live far away. We were kept awake by sirens and helicopters that night but that was nothing unusual for our area, it was only when we got up for breakfast & checked our phones we found out what had happened. I went to the roof of our flats and could see it smouldering. Shocking.

[@LauraRiley-eo7mq]

It was the cost cutting measures the council put as priority over lives of residents.

[@Justabitnosey]

There was firefighters on a grass verge exhausted. Watch the video of the fire fighters leaving Grenfell and the song for Grenfell. Produced by Simon Cowels media company really emotional. The cladding they used was a whole £2 a peice cheaper. So people went through that to save money. But if that cladding is to be put on buildings. It should be illegal to manufacture if flammable.

[@geoffwright3692]

A similar one to react to if you haven't already is the Bradford City disaster.

[@ianjardine7324]

This entire disaster was caused because modern designer's who care more about aesthetics than function thought they knew better than the people who designed the buildings. When these tower blocks were designed the architects understood that a large fire would be an uncontrollable disaster because the fire fighters had no equipment to fight large fires at such heights without accessing the building. They made sure the walls doors and windows could contain a fire to just the flat it started in and allowed no flammable materials anywhere outside or in the hallways or stairwells which could spread a fire. When the local council modified the building ignoring these restrictions they created a ticking time bomb.

[@Rhianalanthula]

If i remember correctly, one girl who got out with her family went into school and sat her GCSE scheduled for that day. Im assuming they overlooked her sitting it in her pyjamas, as that was all the clothes she now owned, and someone lent her a pen!

[@TheAustralia24]

yeah it was in london an it it was a big fire i remember seeing it on the news it was big and sad

[@grendel1960a]

cutting costs, cutting corners, not following the design specifications.

[@megatronskneecap]

It's actually the same issue and principle as what happened in 911 - Obviously it wasn't a flipping plane barrage crashing into it, but the staircase was right in the middle of the tower - So it ultimately became a vortex inferno as the fire travelled up the middle of the building meaning people couldn't get out.

[@fatsam2564]

I was working in London when this happened it was 5am driving over dartford Bridge could see the building glowing in the distance with a massive black cloud of smoke stretching across London, put on the radio to find out what was happening. Was working on a rooftop ash was raining down and could see the black cloud all day. Was such a horrible day. RIP to all those who died and #justiceforGranfell

[@Sir.T]

What wasn't mentioned is that all of the residents were legal immigrants and very low income people. Which no doubt is most likely why the council cut corners and didn't want to spend the money.

[@Bungle-UK]

Why would they want to spend money on illegals?

[@llamagirl2679]

Steve Council housing is not the same as Section in the US. You also have the right to buy your council home. Yes it was the cladding that they used that caused the tragedy.

[@duncanward1718]

There are still high rises that have the same faulty cladding today, and despite protests nothing is being done.

[@andrewhallam237]

Not really, the Shard has 96 floors. London City Airport is the reason there is a restriction on how high a building is but it's a sliding scale depending on how close the building is to the airport.

[@MDM1992]

The worst part is all of those people would have lived if they weren't ordered to stay put, i would never take that advice in a burning building.

[@Beautycomesoutofashes]

You should watch the Grendel tower bridge over trouble water video :(

[@simongoodwin5253]

What we in the UK call the "Ground" Floor, in the US that would be the "First" Floor. Therefore your second floor is our First floor, and your third floor is our second floor.

[@drziggyabdelmalak1439]

Originally council housing was built [usually tower blocks] so as many people as possible could have a new home instead of living in small, one bedroom [no matter how many adults or children there were] flats owned by private landlords who charged expensive rents. You didn't have to be poor but had to need re-housing and a connection to the area such as working in the borough or were born there or had family there. For many, many years [like well over 40] councils have maintained they just don't have the funding from the government [which is true] and have all but stopped building. For all those years hard-working people with limited income have been forced to rent again from private landlords - this time some flats are very good, some still sh*t-holes...but the issue is that the rents are astronomical and young people, students, nurses, anyone really can be paying $1,900 a month {London} for a tiny flat or one room in a shared house! Outside of London rents are about $1,011 a month. Private landlords will not do repairs so people can be living in very bad conditions. Any private landlord can give the tenant 2 months notice to leave at any time - so the tenant never feels like the flat/house is theirs. To now get a council flat/house you have to get on a waiting list and some people have been for over 10 years. Many, many people are rejected from the list because they do not fit the criteria - you have to be in an abusive relationship and need to get away from your partner; be the victim of hateful neighbours like racists; be an unmarried pregnant woman and so on. The regular Joe Bloggs [John Doe] hasn't a hope in hell of ever getting a flat...until the government in the UK start putting money into building more [afforadable] housing. A huge problem here. Many people who are refused a house from the list might get their name ON the list but if they are offered anything it will be a room in a house full of undesirable people, a cheap hotel room or a B & B!

[@wendykinnear9151]

The Council was given enough money for fireproof materials, but didn't use them, but bought cheaper ones.

[@kitsul9474]

Pretty sure I grew up in a similarly made building although it was maisonettes in Birmingham. I was 4 when we moved in, same material used, no sprinklers. It was demolished when I was 10 and houses put in place. Came down easily enough.

[@DylRicho]

22:09 The shell of Grenfell Tower still stands and is currently awaiting demolition. What you see there is how it currently looks.

[@iangrice329]

Greed, pure and simple, thats how it happens.

[@gallowglass2630]

Steve you have local government in the states,you have counties therefore you have councils

[@richardfrais_backyard_projects]

Such a horrible tragedy due to poor building and organisational practices, soo sad. ❤Council housing are houses owned by the local council, which are used to house people who are on benefits, elderly or universal credit, un employed or homeless etc. These homes are allocated to people on low income / no income to stop people from becoming homeless, which still can happen. The social network is quite good in the UK but is notorious for being misused. Worth checking out the current universal credit system and social housing in the UK! I was given a council house during covid when both me and my partner were out of work for nearly 18 months, lost our private rental property and had to be housed by the council. We are now back in work and pay full rent but do not have to move ever and we can buy the house at a discounted rate when we decide to. It can be a good system like the NHS when used correctly

[@gaynor1721]

Each county has a council which is a local authority employed to provide public services such as schools, libraries, street lighting, roads, refuse and recycling collections etc. They also use local council tax money, paid by every resident in each county, to build cheap housing which we call council houses or council flats and council tenants pay rent to the council. Councils are run by local politicians that we call councillors that the public vote for and they make decisions for the county where they are employed.

[@alacarte5073]

The building is as you see it, wrapped in white sheet. Councils are local authorities.