Hundreds evacuated from towers

Fire fallout widen as residents angry, confused

LONDON, June 24, (Agencies): The scope of Britain’s fire-safety crisis broadened Saturday as London officials scrambled to evacuate four public housing towers due to concerns about external cladding, fire doors and insulation around gas pipes.

Hundreds of residents hastily packed their bags and sought emergency shelter, with many angry and confused about the chaotic situation. Some refused to leave.

Camden Council said it decided to evacuate the buildings on the Chalcots Estate late Friday after fire inspectors reported that the blocks were “not safe for people to sleep in overnight.” Inspectors uncovered problems with “gas insulation and door stops,” which combined with the presence of flammable cladding meant residents had to leave immediately, council leader Georgia Gould said in a tweet.

The evacuation comes amid widening worries about the safety of highrise apartment blocks across Britain following the inferno that engulfed Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14, killing at least 79 people. Public attention has focused on the external cladding material blamed for the rapid spread of that blaze — but now it appeared that multiple other fire risks have been identified in some blocks.

Britain’s government said Saturday that cladding samples from 27 highrise apartment blocks in cities including London, Manchester, Plymouth and Portsmouth have failed fire safety tests.

So far, Camden Council has been the only local authority known to have asked residents to leave as a precaution. It said about 650 apartments were evacuated, though initial reports had

authorities charged an unemployed man from Wales with murder and attempted murder Friday in connection with the van attack on a crowd of Muslim worshippers said that as many as 800 were affected.

“I know some residents are angry and upset, but I want to be very clear that Camden Council acted to protect them,” Gould said in a statement. “Grenfell changed everything, and when told our blocks were unsafe to remain in, we acted.”

Residents — including families with babies and elderly relatives — trooped out of the buildings Friday night with suitcases and plastic bags stuffed with clothes as council workers guided them to a local leisure center, where some spent the night on inflatable mattresses packed into a gym. Others were being put up in hotels and other housing projects.

Council

The council said residents would be out of their homes for three to four weeks while it completes fire-safety upgrades.

Many residents complained of a lack of information and confusion. Officials first announced the evacuation of one building, then expanded it to five and later reduced it to four. Some said they learned about the evacuation on television news before officials came knocking on doors.

Renee Williams, 90, who has lived in Taplow tower since 1968, told Britain’s Press Association: “No official came and told us what’s going on, I saw it on the TV so I packed an overnight bag. “It’s unbelievable. I understand that it’s for our safety but they can’t just ask us to evacuate with such short notice. There’s no organization and it’s chaos,” she added.

Dozens refused to leave their homes. Carl McDowell, 31, said he took one

near two north London mosques.

Darren Osborne spoke only to confirm his name and will appear at the Central Criminal Court next week. Prosecutors look at the inflatable beds offered on the floor of the leisure center and went back to his own apartment.

Flammable external cladding that is widely used to provide insulation and enhance the appearance of buildings has been identified as the culprit in the Grenfell disaster. But fire-safety experts have said the blaze was probably due to a string of failures, not just the cladding.

Police said Friday that they were considering filing manslaughter charges in the Grenfell disaster and they were conducting a wide-ranging investigation that will look at everything that contributed to it.

The Metropolitan Police said cladding attached to the 24-story public housing project during a recent renovation failed safety tests conducted by investigators, and that they have seized documents from a number of organizations.

“We are looking at every criminal offense from manslaughter onwards,” Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack told reporters. “We are looking at all health and safety and fire safety offenses, and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.”

“It’s totally crazy. What difference would another night have made?” asked Melanie Tham as she evacuated her home on the Chalcots Estate in north London following a snap decision by the Camden Council local authority, a few hours before midnight Friday.

“I was at my boyfriend’s, I received a text message, and I had to rush back home. They told us we had to evacuate before midnight,” Tham told AFP.

allege he carried out a premeditated attack motivated by a hatred of Muslims and extreme political views and that he acted deliberately to maim, injure and terrify.

Makram Ali, a 51-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, died in the attack. The father of six appeared to suffer a medical problem moments before the collision, but an initial post-mortem examination found he died from “multiple injuries.” (AP)

FB bids to fight extremism:

US social media giant Facebook launched a campaign in Britain on Friday to counter the spread of online extremism following warnings from Prime Minister Theresa May after four terror attacks in three months.

Facebook said it would seek to educate charities and other organisations on how to fight hate speech, in the wake of recent terror attacks in Belgium, Britain and France.

The Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI) will act as a forum for charities and other nonprofit organisations to share their experiences of extremism and develop “best practices” to tackle the issue, both on and offline.

There are already OCCI schemes in France and Germany.

Earlier this year, Group of Seven (G7) leaders had urged online giants like Facebook and Google to do more to curb extremist content online. (AFP)