London Fire: After the Fire Comes the Anger of the People

London authorities have been accused of ignoring fire safety warnings after a 24-storey building fire killed several people.

Fire and smoke engulf the 24-storey Grenfell apartment building in west London. Photo: Reuters

According to the British newspaper Independent, Prime Minister Theresa May's government is facing public pressure to explain how it responded to accusations that it ignored fire safety warnings that were raised long before the recent tragedy at the Grenfell Tower.

Gavin Barwell, May’s new chief of staff, did not initiate a fire safety review while he was Housing Secretary. The proposed review has been delayed for years.

The previous Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, also refused to enforce a rule requiring builders to install fire sprinkler systems, arguing that it was not the government's responsibility.

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has added to the pressure by demanding that Mr Barwell and other officials who failed to implement the proposed fire safety assessments for buildings be questioned and held to account.

On the afternoon of June 14, Prime Minister Theresa May requested an urgent meeting with officials to discuss and quickly resolve the consequences of the fire at Grenfell Tower. A specialized team was also requested to conduct fire safety assessments at other buildings.

In 2013, the cross-party Fire and Safety Organisation asked the UK government to conduct a review of fire safety management standards after six people died and more than 20 others were injured in a 2009 fire at the Lakanal building in Camberwell.

However, Mr. Ronnie King, honorary general secretary of the organization, said that successive ministers have ignored and refused to conduct an assessment of fire safety regulations in apartment buildings as his organization's report strongly called for.

Speaking on LBC radio, Mr Ronnie King said his team had reviewed fire prevention measures in all apartment buildings with similar structures to Grenfell Tower and found that about 4,000 buildings did not have fire sprinkler systems installed.

“Our team recommended that due to the rapid spread of the fire at Lakanal, the building’s management regulations should be reassessed. However, it is nearly 11 years since that was assessed,” said an angry Mr Ronnie King.

According to Tuoi Tre