DEADLY DOORS
Grenfell fire barriers resisted blaze for half regulated time
FIRE doors in Grenfell Tower only held back the blaze for half the time they were supposed to.
Police tests on an undamaged front door from the block found it could withstand fire for just 15 minutes, not 30 minutes as required by building regulations and as claimed when it was sold.
Hundreds of councils across the country are said to be awaiting answers about the doors’ safety.
The fire killed 72 people in West London last June.
Natasha Elcock, of survivors’ group Gren- fell United, said: “It’s shocking. The Government should have improved regulations after previous fires.” Kensington and Chelsea Council said three doors were tested, which provided “less protection than guidelines recommend” but results are “as yet inconclusive”. A spokesman added: “We are seeking further information from the Government on what this means for residents.” Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said he does not believe the issue was widespread. But he has ordered a nationwide probe. The doors are no longer on sale.
They are said to have been installed by now defunct firm Manse Masterdor in 2011/12.
Synseal bought the firm in 2014 and is giving “full support and co-operation” to the investigation.
Labour MP David Lammy said the findings are “more and more evidence of people’s lives being put at risk”.
A woman who falsely claimed she lost her husband in Grenfell was convicted of fraud yesterday. Joyce Msokeri, 47, of Sutton, Surrey, claimed £19,000 in cash, hotel rooms and aid.
FAULTY fire doors in Grenfell Tower are another scandal in a preventable disaster that killed 72 in the West London high-rise block.
The more we learn about this blaze the more we see how badly tenants were let down by an officialdom which recklessly gambled with their lives.