Britain marks six months since deadly tower fire
Service remembers 71 victims, families still left homeless.
LONDON — Marking six months since the deadliest fire in modern British history, members of the royal family attended events Thursday that commemorated the 71 dead but also underscored the lingering hardships and questions since the Grenfell Tower was engulfed by flames.
More than 100 families remain in temporary accommodations after the June 14 blaze, and some survivors and nearby residents worry their concerns may not be given full attention in the official inquiry into the tragedy.
Fire safety measures still loom large, including appeals to root out the type of flammable exterior material used on the 24-story Grenfell that contributed to the fast-moving inferno - leaving some Grenfell residents trapped high above the street.
The fire occurred in one of Britain’s richest boroughs Kensington and Chelsea - and highlighted the stark contrast between the rich and others in lower-grade housing in the neighborhood.
More than 1,500 people attended the six-month memorial service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in central London, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry.
Some of the family members at the service - some weeping - clutched pictures of loved ones lost in the fire, which started in the kitchen of a fourth-floor apartment and quickly enveloped the high-rise. Fifty-three adults and 18 children died.
At one point during Thursday’s service, voice recordings of those who escaped were played.
“I smelled smoke, but I assumed it was — my mom always has a little candle, so I went to blow out the candle,” said one male voice.
“Windows broke, things were falling to the floor. And then, in the space of six minutes, the fire had already reached six floors above,” said a female survivor.
A total of 111 families still live in emergency accommodation, including hotels. According to Kensington and Chelsea Council, 45 households have moved into a permanent address and 54 into a temporary home. More families have accepted permanent housing offers, but have yet to move.
“We have an army of 300 staff working around the clock,” Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said in a statement emailed by the council.
The council came under intense criticism for how it ignored complaints from Grenfell residents before the fire over various fire safety concerns, such as the lack of sprinklers.
Emotions remain so raw that some of the Grenfell families said they did not want the council at the service. Campbell, who was elected leader of the council after the Grenfell fire, did not attend.
“I want them to know that we will be thinking of them. We hope to rebuild trust, but we understand that we have a long way to go,” she said.
Reflecting the diversity of Grenfell Tower, the multifaith memorial service on Thursday included a girls’ choir from an Islamic faith school, and a piece of music played on an oud. At the end of the service, children from schools near the Grenfell Tower scattered green hearts - a symbol of the Grenfell fire - in memory of those who lost their lives.
Earlier this week, the first hearings were held in a government-ordered public inquiry into the fire. The probe has come under criticism from survivors and locals who are concerned that their voices are not being given the prominence they deserve.
Ahmed Chellat, 60, was at the procedural hearings this week. His brother-in-law, his wife and their three children died in the fire.
“It’s still devastating,” he said.