Everyone deserves to sleep in safety
THERE is a special horror in the images of Grenfell Tower transformed into an inferno. Unlike so many of the tall buildings throughout London, it did not contain offices that would all be almost empty at night.
Behind its great grid of windows were homes. This was an edifice where human life unfolded, where children grew up and where friendships were formed – and we watched it go up in flames and burn amid terrible billowing smoke.
People around the world will have looked in dismay at the pictures of this fire. But along with sympathy for the victims and the bereaved another emotion will have flared: anger.
Everyone who made their home in that building entrusted their lives to those responsible for its safety. At this time in our history people should be able to assume that a building will have the highest possible safety standards in place.
We assume that houses and flats will not be death traps, that you can say goodnight to your children without worrying that flames will rip through your dwelling.
Our society professes to prize the dignity of the individual. Yet we have failed to honour the sanctity of human life if hundreds of people can somehow end up living in such dangerous conditions.
It is absolutely right that a full independent inquiry will be held into the disaster. If negligence contributed to the deaths then it will be clear that the trust of the people of Grenfell Tower was betrayed.
The least we can do in honour of the victims is ensure that other people do not live in such danger. Thousands of people living in highrises across Britain will wonder if they are at risk of such a terrible fate. They need to know that we care enough about their lives to make sure that the horrors are not repeated.
It would be a scandal if well-off people living in designer high-rise apartments enjoyed a standard of safety that was denied to people who make their home in a tower block because it is the only place they can afford.
We are not a civilised society if wealth determines your likelihood of surviving the night. It is intolerable if poorer people are less likely to have functioning smoke alarms and adequate fire-evacuation arrangements. This is a matter of social justice. It is also essential that lessons are learned from the response to the blaze. This is not about a hunt for scapegoats, but so we know what went right and what went wrong during the hours of profound danger and stress.
There are reports that some residents were told to stay where they were and wait for rescue. If a different approach could have saved lives then this should change response plans for the future.
But surely we do not have to wait for the findings of an inquiry to move forward with basic safety improvements? At the very least, effective sprinklers should be in place in tower blocks.
Tears of sympathy are not enough. Real solidarity demands action.