Death-trap inferno: why were residents’ warnings ignored?
At least 12 dead and 18 critical as PM promises probe into London fire horror Eyewitnesses tell how people leapt from flames All high-rise flats in NI undergo urgent checks
A LONDON council has admitted it received complaints over the refurbishment of a tower block which was the scene of a catastrophic fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
A residents group spoke out angrily yesterday after 12 died and 18 were left critically ill following the inferno at Grenfell Tower in north Kensington.
There are fears that the death toll could rise further yet, with people last night still reported as missing.
Police added that it was set to be “some time” before victims could be identified.
The cause of the huge blaze is not yet known but residents had raised concerns about exposed gas pipes at Grenfell Tower weeks before the devastating blaze.
The Grenfell Leasehold Association asked for an “independent adjudicator” to examine the installation of the pipes but were refused by management company Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO).
Renovations to replace new gas risers at the 24-storey building, which bring in supplies from street level, were carried out earlier this year by National Grid Gas Distribution - rebranded as Cadent at the end of March.
In a statement on Wednesday, Cadent said pipes in the stairwells had been boxed in using fire-proof material that could withstand flames for two hours, but that work was still being done to box in pipes running along floors.
A spokeswoman for the company said: “All our gas work was carried out to regulatory standards.”
The GLA repeatedly emailed the KCTMO in March over worries that one riser was installed in the single stairwell - the only emergency exit - and could have been vulnerable to vandalism.
Association representatives also raised concerns about health and safety issues around exposed pipes.
In a letter to representatives on March 28, Sacha Jevans, executive director of operations at KCTMO, said the organisation takes its health and safety responsibilities “very seriously”.
She wrote: “We do not see that it is necessary to instruct or fund an ‘independent adjudicator’ at this time.”
Ms Jevans also told them National Grid had found the stairwell was the only option for the riser pipe, and the fire safety consultant had “not raised any specific concerns with regards to its location providing it is located within a suitably fire-rated enclosure”.
Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday promised a “proper investigation” following the Grenfell Tower fire, saying that if any lessons are to be learned they will be and “action will be taken”.
Hundreds of firefighters tackled the blaze, rescuing 65 people, but more than 70 have been left in hospital, with 18 in critical care. Emergency accommodation has been provided to 44 households affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, the local council has said.
Council leader Nick Paget-Brown said: “This is a terrible day for Kensington and Chelsea and we are doing all we can to support the victims and their families. At present all our focus has to be on supporting the rescue and relief operation. But the cause of the fire will need to be fully investigated and we will keep people informed.”
Earlier Police and Fire Minister Nick Hurd chaired a meeting of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to co-ordinate the re- sponse to the disaster, and the government said it was ready to assist “as necessary”.
Mrs May said it was “impossible to comprehend the horror” of what the victims of the fire have gone through.
The tragedy comes little more than a week after Londoners stood defiant in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack, and Mrs May applauded the “incredible bravery” of the emergency services and the reaction of those who helped those caught up in the fire.
It was agreed at the meeting of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat that further checks would be carried out on similar tower blocks.
But Mrs May refused to comment on whether such checks should have been carried out before, or claims that the government has failed to bring in tougher regulations promised last year.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered her country’s “deep sympathy” to the families of victims.