https://www.theguardian.com/uk
Looks very serious, hope nobody here is involved.
It looks like something out of a seventies movie. Must be horrible to be caught up in this. Hope everyone gets out safely.
It can't be nice, having this sort of disaster played out as entertainment for the 24 hour news cycle.
I don't think rolling news is very good for the soul, it seems to encourage speculation and ramp up emotions.
A witness on Sky said his neighbour's fridge exploded and was the cause of the fire, something the neighbour had time to explain when he woke them up to warn them.
Sends chills down your spine thinking people could be trapped inside.
Oh god it sounds awful. I'm in tears. I'm reminded of a fire in a block I grew up in and that was a low rise.
Hoping against hope that there's no loss of life. My thoughts are with all the residents.
Jesus, there's a wiki page already.
You wonder whether there were contingency plans for a tall tower like this. Somewhere on top for a helicoptor maybe? We know someone who has family in this area and will speak to them later. Looks like neighbouring residents will have to move out too as the block may collapse. Bad for them but obviously worse for those in the block. Heartbreaking.
Unfortunately it seems that the residents association had concerns https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2016/11/
20/kctmo-playing-with-fire/amp/
The sight is horrific and the probable consequences heartbreaking.
Horrible. I hope all the residents got out.
I hope this has nothing to do with domestic appliances which are known to catch fire and which have already caused serious fires in high-rise blocks. The damage looks so serious we probably won't know, though.
Terrible thing - never seen anything like this in London (Britain,even?) before - you can add review of fire services to things the PM has to do, too.
The Beeb World was going a bit thick on overcrowded diversity earlier. Its a dreadful fire and I share Pinkgums rolling news views.
This is awful. They're giving eye-witness accounts on BBC News at present. There will be significant loss of life. Christ, those poor people.
Previous: Ronan Point. ( gas explosion which partly demolished the building ) No fire spread to the rest of the building.
You wonder whether there were contingency plans for a tall tower like this.
I work in a tower block of similar height and age. There are supposed to be refuge areas and stairways which are safe for at least 60 minutes if a fire breaks out. Even in an office building, though, it's a constant battle to keep those areas safe and secure - people leave stuff everywhere! - so a residential block will be much more difficult to keep safe.
Tower blocks like that are supposed to have fire breaks and refuges so residents above the fire can stay in their flats and wait for the fire brigade to put out the fire or evacuate then from their balconies.
There was a horrific fatal fire in a tower block of similar vintage in south London a few years ago and there were a number of clear recommendations from the fire brigade.
We live in a low rise much smaller private block and have spent a good couple of years complying with new fire safety regs including wired in smoke alarms, smashable alarms, low level led lighting and clear fire exits divided by fire doors on each floor.