Posted on 06/13/2017 7:47:02 PM PDT by Brown Deer
Watch live: A huge fire has engulfed a 24-story apartment block in West London.
Interesting to see what it was clad with.
http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/north-kensington-estate-benefits-10m-11329924
grand reopening 2016
I wonder if that “insulated exterior cladding” was chosen more for “environmentalist” energy-efficiency reasons than rational fire-proofing would normally allow??? What is the material, and did it in fact burn easily as reported????
This could be a huge controversy if it turns out that the cladding is indeed implicated in the spread of the fire.
“From what I understand in modern systems, if critical components of sprinkle systems are shut off such as pumps or main valves it triggers a “trouble” alarm in the fire panel. it will not sound the alarm and cause a evacuation, but the alarm company will get a alert that something is wrong”
You are correct. This building, however was built in the 70s, originally. Given the renovations though, it should have been brought up to current standards. The US has no waivers for full renovations, no “grandfathering”. That would mean that if there weren’t sprinkler systems originally, there would be now. I can say, it’s very clear to me that there either were NO sprinklers, or something caused them to fail at the ground floors. You’re mention of a pump is spot on. general water pressure would not make it anywhere near the top floors if that pump isn’t operating and yes, the building manager would have gotten a trouble signal (probably repeatedly) about the problem. Those pumps are tested annually, also. The fact that witnesses are universally saying there was no alarm is a good indicator that either the system was completely broken, or there wasn’t a system.
From a deliberate (terrorist) standpoint, someone could have simply shut of the building main fire riser, and deliberately set the fire. I doubt this, as they are typically locked in the open position, and the perpetrator would have to know that would send a “supervisory” signal to the building manager, at least by phone. At that hour, it’s possible he/she would sleep through the call, but if your me, you pick up all monitoring calls or call back immediately if you miss it. I have responsibility of 22 buildings, office and retail. Generally, mine are unoccupied after 9pm. Residential is quite different, lives are at stake. In any case, there was an enormous breakdown somewhere. This fire never should have gotten so out of control.
The mayor must be trying to recapture some of his eroding support.
I’ve been looking at some of the live feeds.... it certainly appears to me that the exterior cladding burned extensively, although I am no expert. But large sections of the exterior appear to have burned and that would suggest that the brand new “insulated exterior cladding” was not at all fireproof!!!
This may be a gigantic scandal wrt the selection and use of such materials on a residential apartment building. I wonder how many buildings have the same or similar materials, whether interior or exterior????
Building dated..1979
There is no official cause of the fire yet. And there won’t be until it is out and investigated
more photos from Rydon construction that shows the top floor more clearly.
The first floor and the top floor have different exterior treatments. They said the fire started on the 2nd floor?
I’m with you
It is largely Somali...and a no go zone
One man who escaped the fire said he lived on the 4th floor, and thought the fire may have started in his neighbor's apartment. He heard a bang, which he thought might be an exploding appliance. I don't know how they're going to be able to go into that building (if it remains standing), in order to look for clues to how it started. There's no way that building would be safe to go into.
A guy on TV just said he was on the 7th floor and he heard the fire started on the 4th, which was heaviest with smoke at the time he got his family out.
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