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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2017/jun/14/grenfell-tower-major-fire-london-apartment-block-white-city-latimer-road
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Version 16 | Version 17 |
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London fire: six confirmed dead, 20 more critical after tower block blaze – latest updates | London fire: six confirmed dead, 20 more critical after tower block blaze – latest updates |
(35 minutes later) | |
1.09pm BST | |
13:09 | |
Holly Watt | |
According to the annual accounts of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), the group has focused on developing new homes from unused spaces across the borough. | |
The most recent accounts stated that the £10m Grenfell Tower refurbishment had created new accommodation from “unused spaces” in the building. This created nine “much needed new homes, all providing a good level of accessibility for disabled people.” | |
KCTMO took over the management of the homes of tenants and leaseholders from Kensington and Chelsea council in April 1996. | |
1.08pm BST | |
13:08 | |
Alexandra Topping | |
Throughout the morning at St Clement’s church, evacuated residents ofGrenfell Tower and surrounding buildings gathered, many in tears. Somehugged and clung onto each other, others huddled in silence and shock.Amanda Fernandez, 31, who runs local art organisation FerArts, wasnervously waiting for news of numerous friends who lived in GrenfellTower. | |
I went to primary school just here, I probably know someone | |
living on each floor, some I probably know everyone on the floor. This is a very very tight community, people have been here for generations - it’s tragic. | |
Fernandez, who lives on nearby Barandon walk, said she heard sirensaround midnight. Told by her mother that there was a fire, she rushedto the scene as her cousins live in a building at the base of thetower and got there about 12.45am. She managed to contact them and theyand their children had run out of the house wearing only the clotheson their backs. | |
At that point it looked like there was a string of fire along the stairwell, at that point it looked containable we thought. We were just watching, thinking ‘someone is going to stop it soon’. There’s been fires in that tower before but it’s never escalated like that before. There are these new panels on it, I don’t know what they were made of but it smelt like plastic. | |
When [the fire] got outside [the building, it] was literally so rapid, like when a hair catches fire. First one side went, then another. Then you are just counting the floors, you can see people hanging out of the windows. And the screams, the constant screams. | |
Amanda Fernandez, 31: "First one side went, then another[..] you can see people hanging out of windows. And the screams, constant screams." pic.twitter.com/7Qv2M9r9tt | |
Saimir Iieshi, 39, a painter and decorator came to the UK as a refugeefrom Albania in 1997 and also lives on Barandon Walk. He watched inhorror from his balcony as the tower went up in flames, telling histwo sons to go inside. | |
I didn’t want them to see what I saw. I said there had been a fire but the police had evacuated everybody. I tried to protect them but they could hear the people. | |
I could hear people shouting: ‘Please, I have got kids, please save my kids’. It makes you feel useless. You hear that, you have children and it makes you feel so weak, it makes you feel like nothing. | |
1.06pm BST | |
13:06 | |
Haroon Siddique | |
The London fire commissioner, Dany Cotton, said, thankfully, firefighters, have suffered only “minor injuries”. | |
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the cause of the fire but added: | |
If there are mistakes made, we want to make sure we learn [from] them. | |
1.02pm BST | |
13:02 | |
Haroon Siddique | |
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is at the scene. He says his thoughts and prayers are with with the victims and their friends and families. | |
He says there are concerns people are still on the premises. | |
Khan praises the emergency services for “running towards the fire”. | |
Dany Cotton, the London fire commissioner, says firefighters “continue to work tirelessly”. She adds: | |
This will of course be subject to a major speculation but at this moment we do not want to speculate about the cause of the fire or the fire spread. | |
Cotton says these questions will be answered in time. She expects firefighters to be at the scene for the next 24 hours. | |
12.46pm BST | |
12:46 | |
The Met police commander Stuart Cundy has confirmed that at least six people were killed in the fire. “I anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly rise,” he told reporters. | |
He said he could not confirm how many people were missing. “There may be people in that building who are as yet unaccounted for,” he said. | |
Cundy confirmed that the building was considered structurally sound after advice from structural engineers. | |
Updated | |
at 12.52pm BST | |
12.37pm BST | |
12:37 | |
74 people injured | |
NHS England has released a new update to say 74 patients are being treated in London hospitals and 20 are in critical care. | |
Here’s the breakdown: | |
There have been six fatalities. | |
A total of 74 patients are being treated in London hospitals. | |
64 of these patients were treated at the scene by ambulance crews and taken to hospital for further treatment. The remainder made their own way. | |
20 are in critical care. | |
The six hospitals that have received patients are the Royal Free, King’s College, St Mary’s, Chelsea and Westminster, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Charing Cross. | |
Updated | |
at 12.53pm BST | |
12.32pm BST | 12.32pm BST |
12:32 | 12:32 |
PM 'deeply saddened' | PM 'deeply saddened' |
No 10 says Theresa May is “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in Grenfell Tower”. | |
The prime minister has called for a meeting of the civil contingencies secretariat at 4pm. | The prime minister has called for a meeting of the civil contingencies secretariat at 4pm. |
Number 10 statement on the Grenfell Tower fire: pic.twitter.com/Pbxlmp5ToO | Number 10 statement on the Grenfell Tower fire: pic.twitter.com/Pbxlmp5ToO |
Updated | |
at 12.53pm BST | |
12.29pm BST | 12.29pm BST |
12:29 | 12:29 |
The police and fire minister Nick Hurd has expressed his condolences to the families affected and thanks to the emergency services. In a statement, he said: | |
My thoughts are with the residents and families of everyone caught up in this dreadful event. London fire brigade and the Metropolitan police have confirmed there have been fatalities and I extend my condolences to their loved ones. | |
The search and rescue operation is still going on and I wish to commend the brave actions of firefighters and other emergency responders who arrived at the scene within minutes and have been at the scene throughout the night. | |
I should like to stress that this is an ongoing incident and I would urge anyone in the area to stay away from the scene and follow the directions of the emergency services. | |
Updated | |
at 12.54pm BST | |
12.26pm BST | 12.26pm BST |
12:26 | 12:26 |
Contractors said refurbishment met fire regulations | Contractors said refurbishment met fire regulations |
Rydon, the contractors who carried out the £9.7m refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, insisted it met fire and health and safety standards. | |
In a statement it said: | In a statement it said: |
We are shocked to hear of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower and our immediate thoughts are with those that have been affected by the incident, their families, relatives and friends. | We are shocked to hear of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower and our immediate thoughts are with those that have been affected by the incident, their families, relatives and friends. |
Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the council, which met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards. We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their inquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time. | |
Given the ongoing nature of the incident and the tragic events overnight, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate or comment further at this stage. | Given the ongoing nature of the incident and the tragic events overnight, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate or comment further at this stage. |
Updated | |
at 12.55pm BST | |
12.23pm BST | 12.23pm BST |
12:23 | 12:23 |
Holly Watt | Holly Watt |
Christopher Miers, an architect and the founder of the construction dispute resolution group Probyn Miers, said he was surprised how fast the Grenfell Tower blaze had spread. | |
He said the panels on the outside of the building should not have been able to catch fire, and fire compartmentation and firebreaks should also have stopped the spread of flames. He said: | |
Nowadays, in the UK, we don’t use materials with this degree of combustibility. They are sandwich panels which are two sheets of aluminium with a core, and the core can be made of different materials. In other parts of the world, in the Middle East and in China, the core material was still being made of combustible plastic product, but that is no longer permitted and has not been permitted in the UK for a long time. The panels are not likely to have a combustible element to them. It’s much more likely that the fire spread is not the panels themselves, but it’s more likely to have spread by other means. | |
Miers said Grenfell Tower appeared to have undergone fairly standard renovations: “The exterior of this building was clad in a rainscreen cladding system. What you see on the outside are aluminium composite panels. Behind that there is a void, to allow air to circulate, and behind that again is normally insulation.” | Miers said Grenfell Tower appeared to have undergone fairly standard renovations: “The exterior of this building was clad in a rainscreen cladding system. What you see on the outside are aluminium composite panels. Behind that there is a void, to allow air to circulate, and behind that again is normally insulation.” |
Miers said the renovation would have been carried out to improve the insulation of the building. | Miers said the renovation would have been carried out to improve the insulation of the building. |
There are very specific regulations which limit the combustibility of the materials. Once a building is over 18 metres, all the materials in the exterior have to be of limited combustibility. One would expect that we will find that the exterior walling itself is not what we would think of as combustible. Having said that, most materials in intense fires can ultimately can show some degree of burning. Even when we think of material as of limited combustibility, in certain extreme situations, it can still burn. | |
Updated | Updated |
at 12.57pm BST | |