Horrific Fire Engulfs London Apartment Tower

[mistermack]

I thought that the EU was supposed to regulate stuff like fire safety of materials these days.
You see EU safety marks on all sorts of shit. Why was cladding not included?

And if a design was given any official thumbs up by a regulatory body, how come it wasn't subjected to official testing first? If the stuff was banned in the US and Germany etc, then it was no secret.
It's the fault of the relevant regulatory body.

How can you blame councils, for not being fire-experts? They buy this shit subject to the official standard of building regulations. Just like you when you buy a sofa. You assume that the work has been done.

The stupid panic that's now unfolding is ridiculous. The people died because they were told to stay put.
If they had left, nobody would have died.

The only interim measure that's needed is to fit alarms that sound in every flat, if there is more than minimal smoke in the stair well, or when a fire warden sets them off. And change the instruction to "run like fuck" instead of "stay put".

But in the long term, the panels obviously need to be changed.

[Brian Peacock]

The whole regulatory framework is borked. Materials will get tested according to the standards required, so the requirements need to be looked at. But there's safety issues beyond the cladding materials which need to be addressed.

[mistermack]

The whole regulatory framework is borked. Materials will get tested according to the standards required, so the requirements need to be looked at. But there's safety issues beyond the cladding materials which need to be addressed.

There are always issues. But if you take out this one cladding example, high rise has a very good safety record.
Fix the cladding, and you have a property that's one of the safest out there.

You don't redesign the 747 completely, because of one component failure.

[NineBerry]

Opening of the new Airport in Berlin has been delayed for years now, all because of not keeping all fire safety regulations...

[pErvinalia]

We need to get rid of these pesky regulations and let the free market sort it all out. No one takes short cuts in capitalism.

[NineBerry]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCss ... rport_fire

[Brian Peacock]

The whole regulatory framework is borked. Materials will get tested according to the standards required, so the requirements need to be looked at. But there's safety issues beyond the cladding materials which need to be addressed.

There are always issues. But if you take out this one cladding example, high rise has a very good safety record.
Fix the cladding, and you have a property that's one of the safest out there.

You don't redesign the 747 completely, because of one component failure.

I don't think anyone is saying is that high rises are inherently more dangerous, just that they present particular problems and that, in this case, years of residents concerns about the absence of adequate fire safety provisions have gone unheeded.

[Brian Peacock]

Housing crisis threatens a million families with eviction by 2020

More than a million households living in private rented accommodation are at risk of becoming homeless by 2020 because of rising rents, benefit freezes and a lack of social housing, according to a devastating new report into the UK’s escalating housing crisis.

The study by the homelessness charity Shelter shows that rising numbers of families on low incomes are not only unable to afford to buy their own home but are also struggling to pay even the lowest available rents in the private sector, leading to ever higher levels of eviction and homelessness.

The findings will place greater pressure on the government over housing policy following the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in west London, which exposed the neglect and disregard for people living in council-owned properties in one of the wealthiest areas of the capital.

The Shelter report highlights how a crisis of affordability and provision is gripping millions with no option but to look for homes in the private rented sector due to a shortage of social housing.

Shelter says that in 83% of areas of England, people in the private rented sector now face a substantial monthly shortfall between the housing benefit they receive and the cheapest rents, and that this will rise as austerity bites and the lack of properties tilts the balance more in favour of landlords.

Across the UK the charity has calculated that, if the housing benefit freeze remains in place as planned until 2020, more than a million households, including 375,000 with at least one person in work, could be forced out of their homes. It estimates that 211,000 households in which no one works because of disability could be forced to go....

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... elter-rent

Shelter report: http://england.shelter.org.uk/professio ... fit_freeze

[Scot Dutchy]

Just open the work houses.

[mistermack]

What amazes me is that in all the coverage of that fire, of all the residents, I saw practically no white faces, and virtually nobody who spoke with an English accent.

Was it actually in England, or is it some sort of misprint?

[pErvinalia]

Who cares what colour they were or what their accents were?

[Alan B]

Would they worry Alan. I mean who bloody cares? The bloody chattering classes: "What do they expect? Luxury apartments?".

They might worry if manslaughter charges come their way.

[mistermack]

Who cares what colour they were or what their accents were?

Me. I don't like immigration, especially low-skilled immigration.

These people are living on benefits in social housing in one of the more expensive parts of London. And they aren't even British.

[Scot Dutchy]

Would they worry Alan. I mean who bloody cares? The bloody chattering classes: "What do they expect? Luxury apartments?".

They might worry if manslaughter charges come their way.

Just slightly maybe. Some poor lower grade civil service sod will be passed the buck.

[Scot Dutchy]

Who cares what colour they were or what their accents were?

Me. I don't like immigration, especially low-skilled immigration.

These people are living on benefits in social housing in one of the more expensive parts of London. And they aren't even British.

They were living there because they were dumped there. Did any one actually know how many lived there. Illegal subletting? It was obvious the landlords could not care a damn. Imagine putting gas as a energy source into a building. You take the gas out of these buildings.