Yahoo News 6 London tower blocks where residents are terrified of being the next Grenfell 7 years on
On June 14, 2017, 72 people lost their lives to a preventable tower block fire. No one has ever been held responsible. Seven years on, the remains of Grenfell Tower act as a haunting reminder of who London has lost.
Despite the government and the councils declaring a disaster of this level can never happen again, many tower blocks across London still have life-threatening fire safety failures and residents who are terrified their homes will be the next to go up in flames.
READ MORE: Aunt of girl, 12, who died in Grenfell fire calls for perpetrators to be jailed
Royal Artillery Quays, Thamesmead
Flats in the Royal Artillery Quays (RAQ) complex are at high risk of a fire spreading rapidly due to the cladding on the external walls. They are now watched by fire wardens 24/7, which has reportedly taken a toll on residents mental health.
Saint-Gobain, the manufacturer of the cladding used on RAQ, also admitted to using plastic, flammable fixings in one of the blocks. They also found the adhesive used to fix the insulation in the building was not applied properly.
Residents were told work to fix these issues would begin in July 2024 but as of August 29, this was not the case.
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St Mark's Square, Bromley
Residents of Bromley's St Mark's Square don't feel safe after flats caught fire twice in the past two years. The most recent incident on August 15 saw eight fire engines tackle a blaze on 10th and 11th floors of Varney Court caused by a faulty extension lead.
Josh Cope, who has lived in the block for five years, said: "I don't want to live here, I've had enough. I've completely had enough, it's just getting too scary. Part of me wonders if the building is safe. My whole family is asthmatic… I do not feel safe here."
Other residents told MyLondon that flats were not inspected after the first fire and that they are worried about insuring their homes after the repeated incidents.
Ward Point, Kennington
Ward Point resident Zach Mendelsohn fears his 20-storey block will be the next disaster due to the number of issues in the building. The 47-year-old dad told MyLondon the Ethelred Estate tower has missing fire stops, fire doors that blow open, and disused solar panels that have already been declared a fire risk.
He said: "It’s going to be another Grenfell when something happens here. It’s going to be serious. We’ve been banging on about problems for 10 years since they did the cladding.
“We’ve been told if there’s a fire we should stay in our flats. But I’ve said to my mother-in-law, who is visiting, to get out the building if something happens because it’s like Swiss cheese in there.”
Another resident, Aaron, added that fire doors were often left open and council tenants were given priority over leaseholders when fire doors were installed.
Lambeth Council were ordered by the London Fire Brigade in November 2022 to fix several fire regulation breaches, including a failure to maintain emergency routes and exits and a failure to review the building’s fire risk assessment.
The Barbican
Blake Tower was found to have almost 200 fire hazards following a safety inspection in 2022. Fire protection consultants discovered exposed wiring, poorly sealed sprinklers, and walls without fire-stopping insulation.
Building managers Redrow Homes were also unable to provide up-to-date blueprints of the building detailing where the fire compartment lines are. They have now been given until 2026 to fix the issues despite previously being told to by the London Fire Brigade when firefighters uncovered a lack of safe cladding months before the inspection.
Residents told MyLondon that fire exits had been blocked off to make way for balconies separated with 'unsafe glass'. One, an architect, said: "If a fire breaks out then you're doomed. No one could escape. I feel safe because I'm on the bottom few floors but I feel sorry for the people a few levels up. I'm pretty sure there is a guy with five kids on the top floor."
Spectrum House, Dagenham
Just last week (Monday, August 26), a fire engulfed Spectrum House on Dagenham's Freshwater Road in the early hours. Scaffolding surrounded the building as plans were in place to remove flammable cladding from the fifth and sixth floors.
The burning material was later seen falling to the ground as the fire grew. Residents have since voiced their concerns about what they saw that night.
Cydney Parker ran for her life in her pyjamas only to find some fire exits blocked off. The 26-year-old told Sky News: "I've looked outside and seen loads of fire engines pull up… I looked through the front door and the whole corridor is covered in thick black smoke.
"We had to run and we realised that the [exterior] fire gate had been padlocked shut so we couldn't get out. It felt like I was going to die then and there."
Irina Vasile, another resident, added that the fire alarms did not sound and she was instead woken up by her partner's shouts about smoke.
Thankfully, no one in the 7-storey tower was seriously injured but fire crews said the incident was 'far worse than expected' as it should not have spread as quickly as it did.
Westland House, North Woolwich
People living in the Westland House block have been left fearing for their safety after flat alarms failed to ring when a fire started on the tenth floor in June 2024. Emma Ali had to escape with her three young children after noticing smoke through her window from the burning house above.
Her husband, Ali Amed, told MyLondon: "...if my neighbour has a fire then I should hear it as well, they might be sleeping, you don't know. If the fire started from here or there, they can't get out, some people are in a deep sleep or take medicine to go to sleep."
Another resident questioned the government advice to stay put that is given to all tower block residents in the UK as he was worried about smoke inhalation. Paul Hawkins, who lives on the sixteenth floor, said: "If I didn't leave, if I would have left it for another five minutes, I would have been trapped up there because I wouldn't have got past the smoke, it's as simple as that."
Do you fear your home is dangerous? Email mylondonnewsdesk@reachplc.com to share your story.
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