An inferno that poses many questions
The inferno that engulfed a tower block in London is the ultimate nightmare of residents of such buildings. There have always been fires wherever people live but highrises add to their danger by making escape more difficult. Over the decades tougher building regulations, fire-suppressant materials, alarms and sprinklers have been introduced that should in theory make such a tragedy almost impossible. Even when fires happen, they should be contained and not destroy the entire building as was seen here with dreadful consequences.
It is far too early to apportion blame for what happened, though that has not stopped people from doing so. After a fire in south-east London in 2009, a government review made recommendations for preventing a repetition, including the installation of sprinklers in local authority tower blocks. It is not clear what happened to that report but it is going to feature in political arguments over the cause. Jeremy Corbyn implied that the failure to implement the measures was the fault of council spending cuts, but he has no way of knowing that and it was inappropriate to say so when the burned-out shell was still being searched for victims.
None the less, residents had long expressed their concern over the fire-safety regime at the block but say they had been ignored, though many of their complaints were to do with access and means of escape. It is also known that work has been undertaken recently to install energy-efficient cladding around the building and this will clearly be something that the investigation will need to examine. Were corners cut? Was the advice of the London Fire Brigade followed? Is the local authority culpable in any way? Once the grieving has ended for the still unknown number of dead, there are many questions to be answered.
There are an estimated 18,000 high-rise blocks in the country and their residents are entitled to have a full explanation of what caused this conflagration and whether anything could have been done to prevent it. Such disasters are mercifully rare, which indicates that regulations are scrupulously adhered to in most cases. When they do occur, the emergency services respond heroically, as they did in Kensington with hundreds of firefighters risking life and limb to save others. For them, and for the victims, a full, open and transparent inquiry is essential.