On Grenfell anniversary, group posts call to action
LONDON — Two days before the second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people in London, a group of campaigners projected messages onto public housing blocks across Britain to call attention to persistent fire-safety issues.
High-rise towers in three British cities — London, Salford and Newcastle — were illuminated on Wednesday night with messages spotlighting dangerous cladding, the absence of fire doors and the lack of sprinklers inside buildings.
Grenfell United, a group of survivors and relatives of the victims of the 2017 fire, organized the campaign.
The deadly blaze two years ago spurred national outrage over what many said were the failings of the building’s quasi-governmental owner in ensuring that it had fireproof cladding. The 24-story London tower block turned into a death trap because of cheap, flammable material and other shortcomings, advocates say.
The advocacy group said it hoped the messages drew the government’s attention to the thousands of people still living in buildings that are unsafe and that could expose them to a similar fate.
The campaigners want all tower blocks in the country made safe and are calling for change in the way housing regulations and concerns raised by residents are handled.
The British police investigating the Grenfell blaze are considering offenses including corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter. A decision on such charges will not be made until the end of a public inquiry.
On the NV Building in Salford Quays, an area of Greater Manchester in northwest England, large block lettering projected the message: “2 years after Grenfell this building is still covered in dangerous cladding.”
The Grenfell fire was ignited when a refrigerator on the fourth floor burst into flames, officials said. Low-cost flammable cladding installed on the outside of Grenfell Tower helped the fire race up the side of the building.
Grenfell residents had spent years complaining about shortcomings in fire safety within the block. The building had only a single staircase and lacked fire alarms, sprinklers and a fire escape.
“It’s been two years since Grenfell, and people are still going to bed at night worried that a fire like Grenfell could happen to them,” Natasha Elcock, chairwoman of the Grenfell United group and a survivor from the tower, said in a statement.
“After the fire, we were promised that blocks would be made safe,” she said. “Two years later, we cannot wait any longer, we need action now so everyone is safe in their homes.”
Outside the 25-story Cruddas Park House block in Newcastle, in northeast England, the message warned: “2 years after Grenfell and the fire doors in this building still aren’t fit for purpose.”
On Tuesday, hundreds of survivors and relatives of victims of the fire sued makers of the flammable cladding and insulation in an American court.
A public investigation into the fire began last year, with the first nine days dedicated to survivors and family members of victims chronicling their experiences and sharing tributes to the dead. The inquiry is continuing.
It is not the first public campaign calling attention to Grenfell and the tragedy’s aftermath. Another group called Justice 4 Grenfell put up billboards last year seeking to publicize what it called a lack of progress in the investigation.
The billboards were emblazoned with the words “71 dead,” “And still no arrests?” and “How Come?”
Though it is now covered in scaffolding, Grenfell Tower still stands, providing an unavoidable reminder of the fire on June 14, 2017.
A short walk away, the third Grenfell-inspired warning was plastered over a block called Frinstead House, which is on the same social housing estate. The message: “2 years after Grenfell this building still has no sprinklers.”