London fire (construction, environment, environmental, build)

[Katarina Witt]

So what do you density advocates think of this? Little kids trapped, people trying to jump from high floors, etc.
'A Number Of Fatalities' In Massive London Building Fire : NPR

[Natnasci]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

So what do you density advocates think of this? Little kids trapped, people trying to jump from high floors, etc.
'A Number Of Fatalities' In Massive London Building Fire : NPR

I blame building codes for fire safety not being retroactive.

This CBC article was in response to the fire in London, since many Vancouver residents, like myself, live in high-rises.

Towering inferno unlikely in Vancouver high-rise, says fire expert - British Columbia - CBC News

[lvmensch]

Going to be an interesting story. Las Vegas is getting close to requiring fire sprinklers in all new construction. Likely by next year.

And here we have a multiple story building with a single exit stair which people are told not to use as that is the only route to the fire for the fire brigade.

And it appears the cladding added to the building for environmental reasons was supposed to have a fire stop every floor...want to bet it never happened?

Interesting problem. The Theory is that the fire will be confined to a unit. So the firemen can come up the stairs and fight it in the unit. But it is not supposed to burn up the outside of the building...which defeats the whole scheme.

Goning to be very sad but fun to watch the Brits deal with this one. Big screw up. But no one will want to admit it. Flint with fire instead of water.

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

Going to be an interesting story. Las Vegas is getting close to requiring fire sprinklers in all new construction. Likely by next year.

And here we have a multiple story building with a single exit stair which people are told not to use as that is the only route to the fire for the fire brigade.

And it appears the cladding added to the building for environmental reasons was supposed to have a fire stop every floor...want to bet it never happened?

Interesting problem. The Theory is that the fire will be confined to a unit. So the firemen can come up the stairs and fight it in the unit. But it is not supposed to burn up the outside of the building...which defeats the whole scheme.

Goning to be very sad but fun to watch the Brits deal with this one. Big screw up. But no one will want to admit it. Flint with fire instead of water.

They're not already required!

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by Spazkat9696

They're not already required!

What are you talking about? they are not required if you don't mind killing a dozen people now and then.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by Natnasci

I blame building codes for fire safety not being retroactive.

This CBC article was in response to the fire in London, since many Vancouver residents, like myself, live in high-rises.

Towering inferno unlikely in Vancouver high-rise, says fire expert - British Columbia - CBC News

"Unlikely"? Like the Titanic was unsinkable?

[citylove101]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

So what do you density advocates think of this? Little kids trapped, people trying to jump from high floors, etc.
'A Number Of Fatalities' In Massive London Building Fire : NPR

This has nothing to do with the building being big, and everything to do with it being poorly designed (only one staircase?) poorly renovated, and poorly maintained. When you turn over public housing to private operators it's not surprising that profits become more important than safety

[Nerys52SoSilver]

The building cladding according to Daily Mail is why tower flat was turned into roman candle and is alight all outside. There are a lot of articles on that online newspaper today also pictures of how inside furniture melted in flats..........Just horrible.
They are not sure how many were in building as many people have extra persons living with them in those type of flats.
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lock-fire.html

[maf763]

"That landlord is the Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation (KCTMO), a for-profit company in charge of refurbishment and maintenance of the building. The building is owned by the local borough of Kensington and Chelsea—London’s wealthiest borough. In a trend now typical across London, the borough contracted KCTMO to refurbish the tower, in part to increase the number of apartments available for private rent or sale. That work left the tower with just one staircase and exit—an exit that the management company has failed to keep clear. Protests about the safety of the people living in the tower fell on deaf ears."

For profit management of a publicly-owned entity is a bigger factor than the density of the building.

The Grenfell Tower Fire and London's Public-Housing Crisis - The Atlantic

[JR_C]

I'd heard about this tragedy, but didn't pay close attention until this thread.


After reading some of the above articles, this reminds me a bit of the recent Oakland nightclub fire. In Oakland, the building was clearly used illegally, in a way that wasn't intended. Apparently, it's still unclear whether the work done to the Grenfell Tower, compromising its residents' safety, was permitted.


If an investigation reveals that the work done was legal, I expect to see sweeping changes to their building codes.