The Survivors Story Of The Grenfell Tower Fire | What Went Wrong: Countdown to Catastrophe

The episode discusses the catastrophic fire that occurred at Grenfell Tower in London on June 14, 2017. The fire broke out in apartment 16 on the fourth floor of the tower and rapidly engulfed the entire building due to highly flammable cladding and building materials. 72 people lost their lives in the fire, making it one of the deadliest residential fires in London's history.
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[@WaynePryce]

I remember I worked with a construction company, and we were installing outlets. I noticed that they were flimsy and kept breaking or failing apart. I harmlessly went to the foreman and mentioned it. I was layed off 2 days later

[@PetraKann]

Foreman? You leak the illegal practice to the relevant safety and regulatory body and maybe even to the media if nothing is done. A foreman is usually a gatekeeper for upper management

[@AnaFernandez-jp5uh]

I would have been right with you. I would have had to speak up as well. I lost a job the same way.

[@WaynePryce]

@AnaFernandez-jp5uh one of the journey men called it jib security, it was stupid, but hey...

[@AnaFernandez-jp5uh]

@@WaynePryce doing the right thing sometimes has a price. It didn't change things for us but it may for other people.

[@toyiadecorcreations]

I hope you reported them

[@phil4977]

I live in Melbourne Australia. My apartment building had its cladding removed and replaced last year as a result of Grenfell. This tragic event has touched people all around the world.

[@rickyparrilla2426]

The big fire in Dubai some years ago on New Years Eve. That building had the same cladding on it also. It's a damn shame out of all the buildings in London that have the cladding on them. None of the buildings have had the cladding removed, and you're in Australia and they removed the cladding on your building. Wonderful for you but horrible for the people of London who still live in those buildings. You would think they would start removing the cladding but haven't. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. How many more people have to die. I have never seen anything like that in my 54 years of being on this planet. It still shocks me how that fire spread so quickly. I live in NYC and I was furious cause of the lack of greed and irresponsibility that caused that fire and on top of all that they told many tenants to stay in their apartments. The biggest mistake on top of all the others. God bless those souls.❤

[@lalalili2982]

Regulations are written in blood.

[@mariekatherine5238]

@@rickyparrilla2426They said the same thing at the WTC on 9-11. Those who stayed died. Same with apartment house fire in the Bx. If you stayed, it was too late. The fire doors were broken or propped open. If you didn’t leave immediately, the smoke came in and that was that. An alpine funicular in the ‘80s in the Alps caught fire. Most of those who got out of the vehicle died because they headed uphill. The chimney effect again. About a dozen people headed down. They were injured but all lived.

[@realitybreath4647]

Good to know that it only took them 6 years to do that.

[@AnaFernandez-jp5uh]

The " stay put" needed to be addressed as well. When you're breathing in smoke, put a damp or wet towels around you and move downward as fast as you can.

[@juliemanarin4127]

Omg...stay put???

[@nerysghemor5781]

Yeah. As an American I learned from the brave example of head of security Rick Rescorla who trained the people of his entire company to IGNORE "stay put" orders at the World Trade Center and was therefore one of the ONLY people of his company who died. NEVER "stay put."

[@RachelMartin-di8fy]

During the 9/11 tragedy people in the south tower were told to stay put even as the north was on fire. Tons in the south tower were sent back up and died as a result. If you are afraid, leave. "Authority" isn't always right, listen to your gut. Tomorrow will be the 22nd anniversary of this tragedy. Take a moment to remember lives lost, and lives changed. For those with different opinions of how it happened, respect others and stay silent.

[@watchdog8058]

stay put? no way!! why would anyone say that?! get out immediately, better safe than sorry!!

[@Og-Judy]

​@@RachelMartin-di8fy That was the biggest failure! After the first terrorist attack on the towers in 1993, they KNEW they were targets for air attack given their shear height..As soon as the 1st plane hit the North tower, BOTH towers and all tall buildings should have automatically been evacuated. Not ordered to stay put. That was just ludicrous to me. And Given the plane hit at the 93rd floor, what was FDNY expected to do with a JET FUEL inferno? They weren't going to get a petroleum-based fire like that under control. Plus it takes time to go up umpteen steps on stairs with heavy gear. 90 some stories Not like a normal 5-6 story brownstone.walk-up apartment they normally fire fught. They died for naught. 🤷🤦🙏💔

[@ForeverSweetx3]

To the lady that said "If the fire didn't happen, none of this would have happened." Well yes, of course. But, that is out of anyone's control. The residents died because of the building codes and cutting corners in renovation. Most importantly, the fact that the residents were told that it would be safer to stay put than to escape. Also, where were the fire alarm and fire sprinklers? I hope the guy that started the fire doesn't blame himself too much. NEVER STAY PUT! I don't care - I will leave immediately upon hearing that there is a fire!

[@KasperochSiri]

She was counting all the things that went wrong that day, the first one being that non of it would have happen in the fire didn't happen.

[@RaptorGoesRAWR]

When the film _The Towering Inferno_ came out, a 'mythbusting' article/review was published by one of the builders associations in the US that thoroughly criticized the film and the two books it was based off (_The Glass Inferno_ and _The Tower_), claiming the film was damaging to the image of the high-rise construction industry, with their arguments boiling down to 'this is just a completely unrealistic scenario' and 'this is why we have regulations besides'. In the supposedly 'unrealistic' film and books, the fire spread so far and fast because of a series of failures in adherence to regulations, improper fire safety in the construction and materials, absence of fire collars and other fire control, complacency, and corner cutting. I couldn't help but remember that very cocksure article when I read about Grenfell, and how alike the scenarios were in the end. 'Completely unrealistic' indeed.

[@sigsin1]

I remember. At the time of the movie, they said it was based on the books that were written due to the height of the new Twin Towers. With the WTC, I was surprised there was no plan to deal with fire other than firefighters carrying heavy equipment 90 stories.

[@gemfyre855]

Reminds me a bit of the Summerland fire. The designers were sold this fantastic new material to clad the building in - which turned out to be highly flammable and meltable.

[@Frazzled_Chameleon]

Grenfell Tower: A case in "How many flammable materials can we load onto one residential building and how effective is the resulting death-trap?"

[@foo219]

I remember listening to a documentary about this, but for some reason I thought it was back in the sixties or seventies. Learning that something this awful was allowed to happen only just recently made the shock and outrage come back twice as strong. This? In Britain? Today? Then again maybe I shouldn't be surprised. My sister who lives in London keeps telling me about the lousy housing standards in Britain.

[@jennifermcgoldrick6323]

My neighbor in Brooklyn died just six months ago. He lived in one of the un-renovated, prewar units and the fire broke out in a renovated apartment next door. He was old and already asleep at 9 pm and died. The doors are large and deadbolted. An 8 unit apartment/ row house. No one could get to him until it was too late and the firemen broke through his windows AND bars - he’s first floor so neighbors couldn’t break the windows due to the iron bars.

[@MissFoxification]

The colour of the smoke and the flames says a lot, but not as much as the cladding material that didn't self extinguish. When it drips and falls and stays alight it means you have a serious problem and need to evacuate. That cladding is basically gasoline, it's hydrocarbons and hasn't been treated to be fire resistant. Personally I think the fire department was negligent, there was no way you can leave people in a building covered in napalm. The temperatures are high enough to cause flashover, even without airflow the curtains and fabrics near the windows will release flammable gases and burst into flames. You can't leave people in a situation like that, people will die escaping but at least they will have a chance.

[@mrdan2898]

The cladding was added to increase the rent of the units. Such a tragedy!

[@mrbane8721]

It was free or fixed rent units. The fire department dropped the ball by telling everyone to remain in their apartments for 40 minutes. Fatalities would have been reduced 90%+ if everyone evacuated immediately.

[@SandraNelson063]

A lot of people in the Twin Towers disaster would have survived if they had ignored the "sit and stay" orders. They should have gone for the stairs as soon as possible and helped each other down. Well, same with this horror fest. Egad, what a dog's breakfast. The management obviously didn't believe in fire alarms or fire safety. Negligent homicide on a grand scale. This is so very painful to watch, but we MUST bear witness. We owe the dead.

[@helenafranzen9828]

This is really the stuff of nightmares. Tragedy that might could have been avoided. My sincere condolences to all who lost a loved one in the fire. May I just remind everyone about having fire alarm and fire extinguisher at home.

[@mrsbooth1964]

😢 I can’t believe it’s been 6yrs I cried thinking how those poor people were trapped. So awful 😢 I remember there was a young girl and her mother trapped and waving out the window, they were not saved 😢

[@gordonsands]

Better than her being an isis wife

[@leighpennington2350]

🙏 Prayers To The Families Of Victims 🙏 As Well those that survived 🙏

[@patricialessard8651]

When I was in England in 1965, there were no highrises. They were still cleaning areas from bombed buildings. It is really strange to see London covered in buildings so high that you lose sight of the ground. People seem to have changed there as well. I miss the old London. Peace & Blessings to all.💖

[@garycard1456]

Furthermore, the Soviet-style and brutalist high rises are unsightly. People need their own gardens and green space. Having a private/personal garden and contact with Nature does wonders for health and wellbeing. Being able to grow one's own organic food is a rewarding experience and it enables some degree of self-sufficency and less reliance on the supermarkets. In my opinion, high rises should be demolished and more architectually pleasing detached homes or cottages with gardens built in their place. Nobody should have to live in a high rise. I think that the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is way overpriced! Some parts of London are an eyesore- Kensington and Chelsea inlcuded. Concrete, concrete and more concrete.

[@667neighborofdabeast]

This was replicated all throughout the UK too, they were monstrous and ugly. Thankfully in Northern Ireland we got rid of most of them, the most famous to still exist are the Divis flats in Belfast.

[@vertigo2894]

What do you mean people seem to have changed?

[@sarikagoode1505]

3 most common causes of accidents: 1) Greed 2) Corruption 3) Everything else

[@asmodeuso6]

2013, Kiss nightclub fire, 242 killed. Irresponsible companies + cheap materials is a disaster waiting to happen, and it seems no one is paying attention since it keeps happening to this day. May all who lost their lives rest in peace.

[@scottc9414]

this was a great piece. thank you for sharing.

[@dorothykilgallenwasmurdere1653]

Never stay in a motel past the 2nd floor for this reason.

[@RachelMartin-di8fy]

The government wanted the revenue that the property would get if they sold it to a real estate broker. It's expensive to have to rehouse thousands of people so they simply maintained it to the minimum standards. They figured they could maintain the property to the bare minimum required and let it fall apart. I don't imagine they expected a catastrophic fire to happen, but to them the problem solved itself. To the poor people in those apartments, flats, a generation was lost. Every treasure and memory lost. Lives lost.

[@yolandas.6193]

This was so tragic. I had heard of it but watching documentaries on it and hearing the people scream and cry out and learning their stories is heartbreaking. Im in memphis tn. We often have poor people who also die in house fires. Entire families get wiped out and its usually the poorest. We need to realize these rich people and the governments dont care about us. We should watch out for ourselves.

[@SM_PP]

Fire Visuals are horrific 😢 Its heartbreaking that they waited for fire brigade than trying to evacuate

[@mariekatherine5238]

So, they built perfect chimneys every three or four feet across and vertically up the entire building. Polyethylene and styrene are solid gasoline. The glue was probably flammable, as was the rubber gasket and press board beneath the entire apparatus! Way to go!

[@rexrobo2512]

I'm only 5 minutes into the video. I had to pause to make this comment The thing that frustrates me most about that fire is the blame for so many of the deaths was not because of the cladding. Don't get me wrong, I could go on an expletive filled rant about how ridiculous and even criminal it was to use that cladding. The primary blame for why the cladding was allowed to cause so many deaths is placed solely at the feet of the fire brigade and their (insert expletive here) policy of stay-put-wait-to-be-rescued.

[@christiecakes014]

I don't think that's fair. The stay put order was put in place with the assumption that each apartment was fire-tight. There is only one stairwell in the building - if all the residents are trying to evacuate when a fire breaks out, then the fire brigade would not be able to reach whatever apartment they needed to get to in a timely manner (this is the reason why we are told not to take elevators during a fire; not because the fire will cause it to fail, but so that firefighters can use it to get where they're needed quicker). If the building was constructed and operating as intended (which, why would the fire brigade think any differently? They have no knowledge of how the building was renovated) then the residents staying put would be the best option. Not to mention, if residents or people outside the building are telling firefighters that someone is still in XYZ apartment, and that person tries to leave by themselves, then valuable time could be wasted trying to get to someone who is no longer where they should be. At the end of the day, it still all boils down to those who put profits above safety, not those trying to clean up their mess.

[@thaismatsumoto]

Nope..it's because of the cladding . The stay put policy would have actually saved lives in this fire if the cladding was not involved. A lot of people died in the stairwell.Those who made it out were stepping over or on people in those stairs. If the cladding had not been installed then stay put would mean those people wouldn't be in the stairway to die.The fire department would have been able to put the fire out without worrying about people in the way And they could have concentrated on the fire instead of rescuing people.

[@erickeller162]

So, if someone told me to stay put in a burning building, I'd not listen, I dunno. This never made any sense; how these people stayed in their apartments.

[@kateemma22]

Most people that died spoke English as a second language and were refugees. They trusted that the first world country they had moved to were doing the right thing. They didn't fail to save themselves - they were betrayed.

[@Goldrefinedthrufire]

In my apartment building our alarms go off all the time. I always go out and check. Why so many people didn't leave when it first started baffles me. No alarms?Because we have so many false alarms 90% of the tenants don't go outside when the alarms go off. We have had a couple real fires that were quickly put out. In Canada we are taught to leave from childhood. I only recently heard about this stay put policy recently. It drives me nuts and makes no sense at all. Many immigrants live in our building and honestly they arent taught fire safety with the stoves. Always leave right away.

[@FreelancerFreak]

Yeah, in united states they always advise get out

[@toyiadecorcreations]

Why would you have a sign saying stay put and why would anyone be silly enough to listen to you id sue them. And the fire fighters didnt do theie job why would you leave people this neglect

[@giot8067]

Did you not watch the doc? They have experts explaining WHY they have those protocols, WHY they SHOULD have worked and WHY the first responders followed protocol If the building had been built safe each apartment should have been self contained and that’s why the protocol was in place. Afterwards when they knew the building was on failing communication was nearly impossible.

[@Nigelsmom2136]

Survivors and families of victims will have to wait til 2027 for suspects to go on trial. 10 YEARS. That is disgusting.

[@Aranimda]

I love since the 1980s. Time and time again I hear news stories of fires in large buildings claiming many lives. Every fire is unique and so are the causes. But there is one factor that unites all of them. There were no sprinklers installed. And every time the answer is that sprinkler systems are not required to be retrofitted into existing buildings. How many more lives need to be lost before sprinklers will need to be required in any large or public building, regardless of the buildings age?

[@wizzardofpaws2420]

Did they not have smoke alarms?

[@shopaccount8909]

i remember when this happened i assumed this happened in China. I learned something today.

[@rickster3488]

- kind'a reminds me of a big island in the south Pacific.

[@insightbytes2136]

I never listen to authorities saying... Everything is fine go back

[@matthewrocco4138]

When seeing this, it reminded me of 9/11.

[@skylongskylong1982]

A major problem they had no idea who was in the flats Why ? Many flat council tenants, had relet their flats illegally to other families getting up to double money they were paying. No one to my knowledge has been prosecuted for this, and the MSM ignores this horrible practice.

[@juliemanarin4127]

That needs to be addressed. This happens from illegal immigrants pouring in the country

[@maybemablemaples2144]

​@@juliemanarin4127no try again.

[@donnajoyner8907]

The same happens here in America with “low income” and “section 8” housing. The rule is that only the ones on the lease are to live in the property. That is because they are based on their income and the people usually have to pay about $75 a month. The government(taxpayers) pay the rest which is hundreds of dollars. But what most end up doing is letting their adult child and girlfriend live there, their friend, their parent, etc and will charge them $300 or $400 a month for the room. So they end up getting free housing with extra cash in their pocket. We need to crack down on this too! It ridiculous and nines times out of 10 they get other welfare benefits such as food stamps, free daycare, free medical, free phone and internet service, and don’t work at all. It becomes a way of life from one generation to the next. When you think about it, they are getting the same amount from benefits that most get from working full time. (Unless they are making more than $60,000 a year…most don’t). I don’t even blame them!

[@TC8787-yq7og]

And nobody did or will ever go to prison for it, how they sleep at night I have no idea.

[@Karia331]

😢

[@bly-nyx_ef6]

When something is banned in the UNITED STATES, you know it’s hazardous… why theyd still choose to plate a building with 0 sprinklers on it is beyond me. You’re not that broke to disregard the safety of hundreds…

[@michalaleskandr3985]

I'm sure the new developer will be more than happy to put some "council estates" in the new plans! They will act like a nice tax shelter!

[@daveyboy_]

Sounds to me like the FireBrigade f'd up

[@carriebizz]

I feel sick when i hear the people begging for help as they are stuck, ww unfortunately know their fate 😢

[@thclabeforthestom175]

9/11 meets greenfell

[@juliemanarin4127]

Isn't West London a wealthy area? You'd think they would use good materials

[@kateemma22]

This apartment building was in one of the richest boroughs in London but it was built solely for refugees and people on social welfare so they spared EVERY expense because rich people don't care if poor people die. The Victorian London that Charles Dickens wrote about still exists today.

[@justgary7614]

I worked for a company which built its buildings the same way here in Canada just last year. Can't wait for parts 2 and 3 😅

[@toyiadecorcreations]

What's part 2 & 3?

[@gordonsands]

​@@toyiadecorcreationshe's hoping for more fires to kill people

[@toyiadecorcreations]

@@gordonsands oh that's shady to say nobody she wish that on anyone

[@gordonsands]

@@toyiadecorcreations huh? Smoke a bit too much crack buddy?

[@SM_PP]

What is this laughing smiley for?

[@faynuexunqi4042]

never "stay Put" always try to leave the area and keep a wet rag over mouth and nose.

[@grapeshot]

Yeah London's Towering Inferno

[@TiemposDePaz]

I was visiting London while this event occured, and continue to visit (I'm in NY USA). I just can't forget the lack of care and concern over these people's lives. The term "Black Lives Matter" make people shut off and not hear what the message is. But there are people in this world that are ignored because they are poor and have lower social status. The residents lives mattered, and they deserved better. Shame on the people that were proud, that they were under budget and cut corners, because they just wanted to save money. Look what happened. I hope they walk around with guilt.

[@vertigo2894]

You know what else is sickening? There are comments here from people like 'the people in London have changed'. So none of these deaths and criminal negligence matters, they only see the nationalities of the people in the buildings.

[@blinkspacestudio8892]

Shouldn't there be standard fire alarms and water sprinklers when a fire happens in any building? Everyone should have been able to know what to do and get out safely and without panic. Being told to sit and wait to be rescued....sorry no I would be out of there with a wet duvet over me. I would rather die walking of you get me.

[@winnifredcox]

These "stupidities" slways happen to poor people.. .

[@jacobsockness571]

You'll never see a fire like this in any housing for rich people. They do this by design, it's intentional.

[@WaynePryce]

They knew they were using faulty equipment

[@mikefoehr235]

Define who the "rich" are????

[@abikeanditsboy3449]

Did you forget the whole Surfside Condominium collapse in Florida? It happens even to rich people. You just have to choose to remember it.

[@dawnreneegmail]

Point taken. We're all questionable when it comes to maintenance. IN my complex and most shared housing it's 'let the HOA/council/etc pay for it when in truth since I pay HOA dues I am the HOA and I do pay. Surfside had red flags all over and just kept going though they were in the midst of another inspection. careful out there... @@abikeanditsboy3449

[@opossum4463]

Is this Narnia?

[@Imonplanetmarz]

This all could have been prevented with common sense…so infuriating

[@rolo8950]

Probably lit it on fire on purpose to get the insurance money and then to kick the immigrants out, demolish the remains and build big houses and apartments.

[@PhoenixMoth]

I knew something was about to happen I just didn’t know what! I live in America.

[@kalevmateo4588]

What is important laptop or life that's crazy

[@lorig7077]

Manhattan is 8 million people also

[@yawzerdoink-a-sore-as8159]

This was done on purpose

[@cperterpan6860]

Sacrifice to the devil for more riches.

[@dustinwatkins7843]

So no british people living in it at all!!!

[@kateemma22]

Plenty of British people living in it.

[@insightbytes2136]

Hummmm and they never worried the building would pancake down like in 911

[@soleiltounsi6754]

Even with subtitles I don't understand the Italian guy.

[@d.e.p.5624]

I guess you are a French-speaker... sorry if we don't place the accent on the final syllable whatever language we speak! 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@chrisjohnston6171]

The Ethiopian taxi driver... never would have guessed that.

[@vertigo2894]

Pardon?

[@chryseluna1648]

High density living 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

[@zariballard]

Please make a note that the engulfed Grenfell Tower burned for HOURS and HOURS in full blaze...yet it never fell in free-fall into its own footprint (imagine that!!) unlike, of course, the North & South Twin Towers in New York on 9/11, both buildings that, due to the height of the buildings, been SPECIFICALLY designed and built 33 years prior to withstand the impact of two passenger jets (according to the plaque in the lobby...yes, it stated this and I read it myself AND THIS FACT WAS ALSO TOLD TO ME by a bartender at Windows on the World, the restaurant on the very top floor of the North Tower, where I happened to be having lunch in the 80's, enjoying the view. EVERYONE KNEW THE TOWERS WERE PROUDLY BUILT TO WITHSTAND EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO EACH....but of course both steel buildings "withstood" nothing and fell to the ground like poor quality cinder blocks in 8 seconds from 100 floors up, pancaking in quick succession, after having burned only the top quarter floors. Again, please note that the Grenfell, a rather shoddy piece of architecture after all, remains standing to this day after being ENGULFED! And of course let us not forget Building 7 blocks away from the Twin Towers which also came falling down into its own footprint hours later for no apparent reason after suffering just small fires in some offices on the 4th floor. This tragedy in the UK ALONE is proof that the American people - and the ENTIRE WORLD - were DUPED on 9-11 and that 3200 people were murdered ON THAT FATEFUL DAY by their own government AND FACTIONS THEREOF (including a lying media) in a what was likely a combination of controlled demolition explosives, remote controlled aircraft or missiles and directed energy weapons. Shame on ANYONE who still believes the ridiculous narrative that 12 Muslims possessing piloting skills learned in a week on a Microsoft Simulator computer program and all carrying nothing more than boxcutters, breached security at four different airports on the same morning and then commandeered 4 passenger jets, flying them all with absolute precision into the Towers, a field in Shanksville and the Pentagon, changing the world forever all the while performing maneuvers that hundreds of highly trained pilots with thousands of hours have testified to be an impossibility, warranting a WAR THAT KILLED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN lasting over 20 years. God help us all.

[@giot8067]

Disgusting that you’re that old and writing such non sense. Everyone can claim a building or structure can work withstand x thing but until it happens it can’t be proven. Go tell the unsinkable titanic what happened. Grenfell was an electrical fire that affected the outside first 9/11 had tremendous force, jet fuel, etc impact the internal supports. The towers crumbled from within. Also, how many floors of difference between the three structures?? Be respectful and keep your tinhat activities to your own basement.

[@Slickfootball7]

BORING

[@Dylanesque]

You might have thought very differently had any of your relatives or friends had been a victim. Although I suspect you're just here to cause friction just like any other sadist might.