8 reasons for the large casualties in the London fire

• June 16, 2017 14:52

The failure of authorities to heed fire safety warnings from experts led to a huge loss of life in the Grenfell Tower fire in London in the early morning of June 14.

Cháy ở London: 8 lý do gây thương vong lớn
The red fire turned Grenfell Tower into a torch - Photo: Reuters

According to information recently released by The Sun, the number of people currently believed to be missing after the fire at the Glenfell apartment building in London is 65. This is also a very large number, but it is still a lucky number compared to the government's estimate that there are still 400 people missing, based on the number of residents who usually live in the building.

Meanwhile, the British Telegraph newspaper listed eight “failures” of the authorities in the tragedy at the Glenfell apartment building. This is also a lesson in managing crowded apartment buildings for any country.

1. Law changes

Before 1986, all buildings in the City of London had to comply with the London Building Act, which included a provision requiring walls to be fire-resistant for at least one hour to prevent flames spreading between flats or entering from outside.

But under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the act was replaced by the National Building Regulations, which also removed the requirement for heat resistance of building materials.

2. Hazardous coating materials

Three years ago, a British fire safety expert warned the government that tragedy could happen if they did not change regulations to ban the use of flammable insulation materials on the outside of buildings.

In the case of Grenfell Tower, a gap between the walls acted as ventilation, fanning the fire, helping it spread to higher floors.

3. The government does not care

Following the 2009 fire at the 14-storey Lakanal House building in south London, which killed six people, authorities called on the government to review building and fire regulations. They assessed that up to 4,000 buildings in London were at risk due to a lack of fire risk assessments.

However, so far that petition has not been heeded except for a few promises.

Cháy ở London: 8 lý do gây thương vong lớn
Smoke billowed from Grenfell Tower on the morning of June 14 - Photo: AFP

4. There is only one staircase

Residents of Grenfell Tower have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the building having only one staircase leading out, a common situation in buildings in the UK despite experts warning about its safety.

Those who escaped from the 24-storey Grenfell Tower described how the stairwells were not only jammed with people and filled with smoke, but also lacked an automatic sprinkler system, and firefighters struggled to move up.

5. No fire protection system

If the Grenfell Tower building had been fitted with a fire sprinkler system, many lives could have been saved, according to experts.

6. The door cannot prevent fire

London Fire Brigade said it would investigate claims that some doors in Grenfell Tower were not fireproof. Fire doors are designed to prevent flames from spreading quickly through a building in the event of a fire.

7. Inspection work

The last time Grenfell Tower was inspected for fire risk was in December 2015. The UK government requires that these inspections be carried out regularly on buildings, but the law does not specify how “regular” (!). Experts say every 12 months is best.

Cháy ở London: 8 lý do gây thương vong lớn
Artist Leo Sayer (right) came to sing near the burning building to comfort the victims - Photo: Reuters

8. Fire-resistant design

Under the UK Building Regulations 1991, buildings are recommended to install a system to prevent fire spreading between floors.

Grenfell Tower was not equipped with such a system. On the other hand, with the extent of the fire, experts say it would have done little to stop the fire.

The refrigerator that burned down Grenfell Tower

A malfunction with the refrigerator in an apartment burned down a 24-story building that was badly designed. That was a big lesson.

A journalist for France Info working in London, Charlotte Gilard, confirmed that the authorities were almost certain about the cause of the fire: "The fire originated from an apartment on the fourth floor. A faulty refrigerator was almost the first cause. But what puzzled investigators the most was why the fire spread so quickly in a 24-story building that had just been renovated in 2016."

Residents of the building who escaped the fire described smelling the distinctive smell of burning plastic. It is a highly flammable material and that caused the building to quickly become engulfed in flames from the bottom up.

According to the BBC, the building's exterior is covered with plastic and they are no different from fire starters.

Of course, until now that is just one direction of investigation by authorities into the cause of the fire that killed at least 17 people and injured nearly 90 others.

Mr. André Picot, Director of Chemical Research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), put forward his hypothesis as follows: “Normally, if using plastic materials to cover the outside of buildings, people often use PE (polyethylene), which is easy to make and cheap. But it could also be PET (dupolytéréphtalate d'ethylene), which people often use to make plastic bottles.”

When these plastics burn, the consequences are terrible because they emit CO2, CO and water, which cause suffocation and lead to quick death for those who inhale them.

According to Mr. Picot, when using plastic materials in construction, people often have to add fire-resistant components such as polybromés to minimize the risk.

The fire risk at Grenfell Tower was not unnoticed. David Collins, who was chairman of the Grenfell Tower residents’ association until October 2016, confirmed that he had asked the local government to investigate the safety of the building.

“Up to 90% of the residents in the building signed a petition in late 2015 protesting the poor management of the building management company,” Mr. Collins told the media.

According to TTO

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