GRENFELL fire: action group warned of possible risks

Thought this needed another thread. It's shocking.


THIS WAS POSTED BY THE GRENFELL ACTION GROUP IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR:

It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders. We believe that the KCTMO are an evil, unprincipled, mini-mafia who have no business to be charged with the responsibility of looking after the every day management of large scale social housing estates and that their sordid collusion with the RBKC Council is a recipe for a future major disaster.

Unfortunately, the Grenfell Action Group have reached the conclusion that only an incident that results in serious loss of life of KCTMO residents will allow the external scrutiny to occur that will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation. We believe that the KCTMO have ensured their ongoing survival by the use of proxy votes at their Annual General Meeting that see them returned with a mandate of 98% in favour of the continuation of their inept and highly dangerous management of our homes. It is no coincidence that the 98% is the same figure that is returned by the infamous Kim Jong-un of North Korea who claims mass popularity while reputedly enslaving the general population and starving the majority of his people to death.

It is our conviction that a serious fire in a tower block or similar high density residential property is the most likely reason that those who wield power at the KCTMO will be found out and brought to justice! The Grenfell Action Group believe that the KCTMO narrowly averted a major fire disaster at Grenfell Tower in 2013 when residents experienced a period of terrifying power surges that were subsequently found to have been caused by faulty wiring. We believe that our attempts to highlight the seriousness of this event were covered up by the KCTMO with the help of the RBKC Scrutiny Committee who refused to investigate the legitimate concerns of tenants and leaseholders.

We have blogged many times on the subject of fire safety at Grenfell Tower and we believe that these investigations will become part of damning evidence of the poor safety record of the KCTMO should a fire affect any other of their properties and cause the loss of life that we are predicting:

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/fire-safety-scandal-at-lancaster-west/

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/more-on-fire-safety/

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/another-fire-safety-scandal/

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/grenfell-tower-still-a-fire-risk/

In October 2015 a fire ripped through another KCTMO property, the 14 storey Adair Tower in North Kensington, causing mass panic and resulting in a number of residents taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. It is reported that had it not been for the swift actions of the London Fire Brigade the consequences of this fire and potential loss of life could have been much worse.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11967592/50-rescued-from-burning-flats-in-Kensington.html

In the aftermath of the Adair Tower fire the London Fire Brigade found that the KCTMO had not been looking after the safety of residents properly and issued an Enforcement Order compelling them to improve the fire safety in the escape staircases and to provide self closing devices to all the tower block’s front doors. A further audit by the London Fire Brigade of the neighbouring Hazelwood Tower (located alongside Adair Tower) found similar breaches of health and safety legislation and an Enforcement Order was also issued for this property forcing the TMO to address the serious concerns of the Fire Brigade’s inspectors. What is shocking is that a decade ago a fatality occurred due to a fire at Hazelwood Tower and the Fire Investigation Team ordered that the grills on the fire escape staircase be covered over. This never happened and it is believed that the uncovered grills at Adair House (Hazelwood Tower’s twin block) acted like a chimney and were responsible for the accelerated spread of the fire and smoke damage.

In the last twenty years and despite the terrifying power surge incident in 2013 and recent fire at Adair Tower, the residents of Grenfell Tower have received no proper fire safety instructions from the KCTMO. Residents were informed by a temporary notice stuck in the lift and one announcement in a recent regeneration newsletter that they should remain in their flats in the event of fire. There are not and never have been any instructions posted in the Grenfell Tower noticeboard or on individual floor as to how residents should act in event of a fire. Anyone who witnessed the recent tower block fire at Shepherds Court, in nearby Shepherd’s Bush, will know that the advice to remain in our properties would have led to certain fatalities and we are calling on our landlord to re-consider the advice that they have so badly circulated.

The Grenfell Action Group predict that it won’t be long before the words of this blog come back to haunt the KCTMO management and we will do everything in our power to ensure that those in authority know how long and how appallingly our landlord has ignored their responsibility to ensure the heath and safety of their tenants and leaseholders. They can’t say that they haven’t been warned!

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/kctmo-playing-with-fire/

So KCTMO (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) have been issuing warnings for years.
Someone is gonna pay.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/grenfell-towers-management-company-who-are-kctmo-what-other-properties-have-they-worked-on-a3565311.html

See my post on AOVs/vents to let smoke out of buildings...


It appears to be the case here that it was smoke in stairwell and communal areas that prevented many people from escaping...


In the op it says that vents were sealed in one block as a result of intervention after a fire to improve safety... if vents were sealed in glenfell too after this then that could have contributed to loss of life too...

eddie wrote:So KCTMO (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) have been issuing warnings for years.
Someone is gonna pay.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/grenfell-towers-management-company-who-are-kctmo-what-other-properties-have-they-worked-on-a3565311.html

I thought the complaint was about KCYMO.

Most of those links were about illegal parking and the possibility that fire engines couldn't get through, or about old mattresses being dumped in the foyer at the time of the refurbishment.

I saw one of the 'local action group' people on news saying about serious issues constantly being raised... but when asked 'what issues?'... he said old furniture/bedding/rubbish etc being dumped throughout communal landing areas of block... then he said some concerns about stairwell emergency lighting... then he ran out of issues and started blustering...


I remember hearing from my mate with the pigeons that none of the fire doors closed properly because someone had nicked all the mechanical door return/closing devices from the top of all the doors!!!


I know they are not cheap... I dont know how much they cost... but the council would have installed good ones... lets say 50 quid each unit... and someone nicked 3 per floor off 12 floors...


Thats 36 units worth 50 quid each... = 1800 quids worth of door return units!!!


They couldnt care less about the fire doors not closing properly... that'll be ok cos the council will have to install new units... and then they can nick those ones too!!!

An ex-fire chief also commented on the mechanical door returns that seemingly were not fitted in the first place?

Not fitted???

Or fitted then stolen???

There is no way the work would have been signed off unless they were fitted... so someone nicked them...!!!

pointless thorin...the pillock doesnt want to debate...just stir shit..


4-5 times over a number of years I have posted a long post outlining both fiscal and social policy that I would introduce, as a minimum....

is anyone actually interested in using that as a starting point for debate...are they F**K, like most .on both sides they havnt te attention span or concentration ....they only want pointless soundbites....

thats whats wrong with politics today....no one wants to actually think...its been reduced to the "instant gratification" game that society lives in now....

"Follow the money trail"...


Penny pinching councils, developers, contractors ?

Complicit government and council agencies and inspectors, turning a blind eye to "non compliance" issues..

Government cutbacks to emergency services,  inevitably making matters worse.


The buck stops with St. Theresa,  Boris, and their relevant ministers...

No matter how hard the Thorins, Tommys and Horatios of this world try to spin it,  in their desperation to deflect the blame elsewhere, and 'shoot the messengers', instead..

Who are you posting that to LF?

umm wrong thread methinks....


DOH!

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

"Follow the money trail"...


Penny pinching councils, developers, contractors ?

Complicit government and council agencies and inspectors, turning a blind eye to "non compliance" issues..

Government cutbacks to emergency services,  inevitably making matters worse.


The buck stops with St. Theresa,  Boris, and their relevant ministers...

No matter how hard the Thorins, Tommys and Horatios of this world try to spin it,  in their desperation to deflect the blame elsewhere, and 'shoot the messengers', instead..

EU rules are to blame...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/817651/london-fire-grenfell-tower-block-cladding-latest-updates-european-union-regulations

Tommy Monk wrote:

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

"Follow the money trail"...


Penny pinching councils, developers, contractors ?

Complicit government and council agencies and inspectors, turning a blind eye to "non compliance" issues..

Government cutbacks to emergency services,  inevitably making matters worse.


The buck stops with St. Theresa,  Boris, and their relevant ministers...

No matter how hard the Thorins, Tommys and Horatios of this world try to spin it,  in their desperation to deflect the blame elsewhere, and 'shoot the messengers', instead..

EU rules are to blame...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/817651/london-fire-grenfell-tower-block-cladding-latest-updates-european-union-regulations

I don't think so. That clip on Boris that sassy posted is instructive. Arrogant twit, Boris, no brains, just cute slogans and catch-phrases.

Lord Foul wrote:umm wrong thread methinks....

DOH!

No probs, Vic...we got it.  Try "Massive West London Fire" thread.  It's where you were stating a very good analysis of the fire cause.