Why were inferno victims told to stay?
LONDON: The row over safety advice that may have condemned scores to die in Grenfell Tower has escalated.
Survivors said they escaped only by ignoring official advice from 999 operators to stay in their flats and wait for help.
Some waited for more than three hours until they decided to make a run for safety. Others stayed and died in their homes.
Emergency operators, officials on megaphones and building signs urged tenants to stay put when the fire broke out at 12.50am on Wednesday.
Many were trapped, scream- ing for help before succumbing to the infer no. One relative said a family was “wiped out” after refusing to leave, while a woman said she “will never listen to officers again”.
Those responsible for the safety of tenants faced urgent questions about why the fire spread so quickly through the 24-storey building.
Fire Brigade Union safety expert David Sibert said: “The principle that tower blocks are built on is that every flat is a fire-resisting box – every flat is completely surrounded by fire-resisting construction from the rest of the building.
“So you should be able to set fire to your own flat and leave it to completely burn out and it won’t affect anybody else in the building.”
That this did not happen at Grenfell Tower will be a key element of an investigation. – Daily Mail