What’s needed to avoid another Grenfell catastrophe

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

What’s needed to avoid another Grenfell catastrophe
By The Nation

 

When safety measures are ignored, a horrifying blaze like the one in London could recur anywhere

 

BANGKOK: -- Public fury simmers in the United Kingdom over the appalling death toll in the fire in London’s Grenfell Tower high-rise block. The ghastly event should be ringing alarm bells in Thailand too. 

 

British police this week said 79 people are dead or missing and presumed dead as a result of the horrifying blaze last Wednesday. The gutted 24-storey tower built in 1974 underwent a major refurbishment not long ago, but the changes made could well have spelled doom for its inhabitants. Concern now centres on fire risks at hundreds of other UK high-rises built around the same time.

 

Thailand’s big cities are chock full of tall residential and business buildings, and their occupants are understandably nervous after the news from London. This week a local construction-trade association warned that thousands of Bangkok structures lack safety certification required by law. The danger of a similar fire and resultant tragedy is clear enough – and it will linger ominously unless the government and local authorities enforce the law and the buildings’ owners obey it and impose other necessary safety measures.

 

The rain-screen cladding added to the exterior of the ill-fated London tower last year as part of the refurbishing has been blamed for the fire’s inescapably rapid spread. The cladding – said to contain a non-fire-resistant material – has reportedly been sold in Thailand, though it’s not known to be affixed to any tall buildings here. That’s something we’d like the authorities, architects and construction firms to be absolutely sure about. No one anywhere wants to see a repeat of the London tragedy.

 

Britons are also angry over their government’s poor response to the emergency and want to know, given the shockingly high death toll, if safety measures were ignored, as reported. Prime Minister Theresa May, confronted by an incensed crowd following the fire, admitted that the official response was “not good enough”. Panicked Grenfell residents calling an emergency hotline were told to “put towels around doors and stay put until help arrived”.

 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan blamed the disaster on “mistakes and neglect” and acknowledged that growing public frustration and dismay at the official response was exacerbated by the fact that Grenfell Tower was social housing and part of a working-class enclave within one of Britain’s wealthiest urban districts. “There is a feeling from the community that they’ve been treated badly because some of them are poor,” he said.

 

The Sunday Times described the disaster in an editorial as “a massive safety failure” and avoidable, “the most unforgivable tragedy of our age”. “The anger that such an appalling thing could happen in a modern capital city is entirely justified,” it said.

 

Lest all those lives have been lost in vain, urban leaders and planners everywhere must learn from the catastrophe. In addition to the apparently fire-friendly aluminium and plastic cladding and poor response from the authorities, too many safety concerns were long ignored. Grenfell Tower had no central fire alarm system. Its sprinkler system was inadequate.

 

There was just one stairwell for 600 residents, many of them senior citizens of limited mobility. Electrical equipment was seen emitting smoke. 

 

Residents had complained about these shortcomings for years, but said their words fell on deaf ears.

 

In London, in Bangkok and elsewhere, is anyone now listening?

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/opinion/today_editorial/30318750

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-22

[trogers]

Cheaper and good, they say...

 

And project owners would bite, while buyers are in search of a panoramic view...

[Stargeezr]

What needs to happen in Britain is for the company that put on the cladding to be charged for this fire.

Put them into bankruptsy and never let them do this kind of work again. Then fire all the government people

who knew about this building and its problems but never did a thing about it. If May has to go,as she was

the government leader when this building was getting renoed, Let her go!  Doing nothing but taking years to

investigate this fire is likely what will be done, and that hopefylly is unacceptable to the British people.

Geezer

[Jonmarleesco]

'... it will linger ominously unless the government and local authorities enforce the law and the buildings’ owners obey it and impose other necessary safety measures.'

 

And therein lies the problem, times two: the owners/landlords actuality obeying whatever law currently dictates safety; the authorities actually enforcing the existing, or any new law. 

[Jonmarleesco]

57 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

What needs to happen in Britain is for the company that put on the cladding to be charged for this fire.

Put them into bankruptsy and never let them do this kind of work again. Then fire all the government people

who knew about this building and its problems but never did a thing about it. If May has to go,as she was

the government leader when this building was getting renoed, Let her go!  Doing nothing but taking years to

investigate this fire is likely what will be done, and that hopefylly is unacceptable to the British people.

Geezer

That doesn't answer the high likelihood of such a catastrophe in LoS. 

[Stargeezr]

Thailand hopefully uses more concrete and less of the cheap non fire proof crap in their construction.

   If not  well buy a good spirit house and watch the birds fly to and fro, and just pray a lot.

Geezer

[Cadbury]

14 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Thailand hopefully uses more concrete and less of the cheap non fire proof crap in their construction.

   If not  well buy a good spirit house and watch the birds fly to and fro, and just pray a lot.

Geezer

I think Thailand uses more concrete but whether it has much cement or re-enforcing in the concrete is another matter. 

Last year or the year before the government introduced an emergency number for people to ring if they saw a building likely to collapse. It was called "Building about to Collapse" hotline. That was a typical Thai kneejerk response to some under specification building collapsing in a pile of rubble with the loss of life. 

In my mind's eye I can see someone sitting alone in a room with cobwebs on them manning this hotline phone that never rings. 

[chrisinth]

1 hour ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

What needs to happen in Britain is for the company that put on the cladding to be charged for this fire.

Put them into bankruptsy and never let them do this kind of work again. Then fire all the government people

who knew about this building and its problems but never did a thing about it. If May has to go,as she was

the government leader when this building was getting renoed, Let her go!  Doing nothing but taking years to

investigate this fire is likely what will be done, and that hopefylly is unacceptable to the British people.

Geezer

I believe that this cladding came in two types, fireproofed and non-fireproofed and that it was the latter that was chosen by the building management company. The installation company just followed instructions.

 

So until all the facts are made public, I think it would be fair not to hang anyone yet, especially the ones at the broad end of the decision making tree.

[Stargeezr]

I believe that the building management company deliberately used the cheaper non fire proofed

material  and therefore they should be held accountable for this. Firing the top and some of the lower

level people of this company is a start. I guess some of this may happen as May did not need this

to happen. She has enough troubles already.

Geezer

[tigermoth]

6 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

I think Thailand uses more concrete but whether it has much cement or re-enforcing in the concrete is another matter. 

Last year or the year before the government introduced an emergency number for people to ring if they saw a building likely to collapse. It was called "Building about to Collapse" hotline. That was a typical Thai kneejerk response to some under specification building collapsing in a pile of rubble with the loss of life. 

In my mind's eye I can see someone sitting alone in a room with cobwebs on them manning this hotline phone that never rings. 

The actual structural material, which holds the building up is not a problem for the grenfell tower, it is all the adornments which have burnt. It sounds very much that the insulation backing on the new cladding was not of the required fire standard but that is not the total fire reason and consequent tragic death toll. No high rise building can be built with one escape stair, even in the UK I doubt wether this was permissable in 1975. There are a multitude of other issues and the management must be held responsible for these.  Some of these are the fire rating of all apartment entry doors must have 1 hour rating. Escape stair doors similar and cannot be locked. These doors can only be opened from each floor into the stair and discharge to the open air at the bottom. The stairs must all be pressurised in the event of a fire so smoke cannot enter. The fire rating between floors should be 2 hours. There should be smoke alarms in all rooms and heat detectors in nominated areas. Alarms should be loud enough to wake people from sleep and there must be regular fire drills conducted by the management authority. This is of huge benefit as it ensures that people know the procedure in case of emergency evacuation and there is no panic.

It is a lesson for Thailand where many high rise, over 4 floors have open stair wells,  plus other materials of dubious fire qualities. Another problem here is the poor construction, even in concrete. Low strengyh concrete. All concrete pours should have test cylinders which are about 200mm in diam and 400mm high. These are then tested  several days after setting to check the strength of the concrete.  This procedure is often ignored. A major problem in Bangkok with concrete delivered on site by trucks is the traffic. The hold ups are so frequent that the driver has to keep adding water to the concrete to stop it setting in the truck thus weakening the strength. The use of cheap chinese reinforcing steel which is not of the required tensile strength. Added to this is the frequent reduction of the specified steel in the concrete to save money by unscrupulous contractors who  frequently pay corrupt inspectors to look the other way. I could go on and on but until a major disaster happens here, either through fire or earthquake nothing will be done.

[IMA_FARANG]

The first thought would be for the mandatory retro-fitting of fire suppression   sprinkler systems in ALL high rise blocks of flats at the expense of the buildings owners.

And secondly LOUD fire alarm warning  bells as many residents in Grenfell Tower said they did not hear fire alarms ringing.

Here in Thailand , has anyone ever checked the fire alarms in your Condo?

Smoke detectors? 

 

 

 

[natway09]

The Royal Society of Thai Architects are aware this product  is used here along with PU.

I can show you many death traps in Bangkok just waiting for a match

[trogers]

2 hours ago, natway09 said:

The Royal Society of Thai Architects are aware this product  is used here along with PU.

I can show you many death traps in Bangkok just waiting for a match

Consultants can specify, but project owners can override the material used in finishing works. And cladding is deemed a finishing.

 

Only structural materials need certification by professionals and okay by the authorities.