A devastating Fire has engulfed Grenfell Tower in flames. The tower block is located on the Lancaster West estate in the north region of Kensington in London. The fire service was called to the scene at around 1:00am this morning and the fire continues to burn. In a statement released, the fire brigade have been said to be “working extremely hard in very difficult conditions” to contain or put a stop to this “large and very serious incident.”
20 patients critical across five hospitals
Emergency services in London did not provide any details about the incident, which is still ongoing, but eyewitnesses claim they saw people still trapped within their flats.
Firefighters are still struggling to get the situation under control. More than 50 patients have been brought to five hospitals, with 20 of those patients in critical condition.
This is the next event in a string of terrible goings-on in the London area, following the ISIS terrorist attack on London Bridge a couple of weeks ago that left seven people dead. Some parts of the building are still up in flames, leading some onlookers to fear that it may collapse as the fire develops and the situation continues to worsen.
Approximately 30 flats in surrounding area in London have been cleared out following fears of follow-up incidents. Emergency centres have been opened up that are taking in people who have been evacuated from their homes.
The emergency phone number set up by local Police for the friends of families of those involved who are worried to call: 0800 0961 233.
Residents were repeatedly warned about fire risk
A group of residents within Grenfell Tower had repeatedly warned of the risk of a potential fire in the building. Apparently there was very almost a serious fire in the building back in 2013 following a power surge.
However, they went ignored and now a major fire is underway. The councils in London recently invested millions of pounds (reportedly £10 million) to renovate and regenerate the building. The regeneration was completed in 2016, and now, a year later, the building is horrifically ablaze and killing people.
According to London authorities, specifically those in the areas of Kensington and Chelsea, have pledged to investigate exactly what caused the fire in order to prevent a similar disaster from ever taking place.
However, the investigation is now taking a back seat to giving emergency services all the support they need in rescuing the people trapped inside and getting them out safely.
The fire commissioner has released a statement
Dany Cotton, the commissioner for the London fire service, has given a statement, confirming that there have been a number of fatalities in the fire, although she could not give an exact figure due to the hectic nature of the situation. She said that the fire brigade arrived on the scene within six minutes. Later on, the death toll was confirmed to be six and expected to rise.
Nick Paget-Brown, the man in charge of the councils of both the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, has appeared on Sky News UK to give a statement and give updates on the fire.
He said that his main priority at the moment is determining how many people were in the London tower block at the time the fire broke out, in order to figure out where to go with the incident from here. He estimates it to be “several hundred” people and added that his work at the moment is all about “a question of establishing how many were in there at the time of the fire.”
He also gave updates on the work of the London emergency services, saying that the emergency rest centres that have been set up for the victims who have been evacuated from their homes are part of their bid to continue “providing as much support as we can.”
