One frustration i guess i can vent after doing the job i do, is that people really like to sabotage their own fire doors. the number of times we have to go out and repair door closers or remove things like tape and other things that people have used to stop the doors closing is really frustrating and you know theyre just going to keep doing it until people stop bothering to report it. I think most of the time its just so they don't hear it closing at night...
In the long term, every single tower block in the country has to be replaced with low-rise housing. This was an experiment that went badly and tragically wrong.
Cured by soft close mechanisms that have been around since the Greeks. They cost money to buy and maintain though [not having a prod at your housing association, you have to work to a budget]. Where ordinary people are concerned, money will always fall just short of the minimum required. It's the respect we have for our ordinary, everyday people in this country.
People have been saying this ever since the first residential and office blocks went up. Yet they still put these hi-rise blocks up like its some status symbol. With local area networks there is no need to have people all under one roof, or even in the same country, let alone on top of each other, anyway. Yet the hugely outdated idea of a modern city is to build vertically. I appreciate that I expanded your point to include office blocks, but people still spend half their lives in them, so they are almost as vulnerable.
obviously its different from block to block but we do have them, and people still mess around with them so we have to go out and adjust them.
Of course, by their construction, they have to be adjusted at least twice a year, even if nobody interfered with them. And they do when they get fed up. It's the little details which can often build to a tragedy. Several years ago I was laying a floor in a pensioner's secure home, and she asked me if I could stop the firedoor outside from banging. So I adjusted it so that it closed silently. But when the winter came it became colder in the corridors and the door never quite closed. It needed adjustment. Tbh, it's about time someone came up with a redesign that isn't affected by seasonal temperature changes. Metal springs are less affected.
Did this quiz on the BBC website: Sick of the UK, where would you like to live.? http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/...tc_linkname=article_countryquiz_contentcard48 For me it picked Australia. Been there. Last place I'd want to live. It missed by a 1000 miles. Now if it had said New Zealand it would have been nearer as an alternative, but still missed Southern Europe by 12,000 miles. Phew, did it again and it reported back with France, showing a picture from the South. That's way better.
Among my occasional hobbies these days is a fairly regular watch of Mount Etna on Sicily, mainly because it is very rarely not doing something, and because I hope to catch it doing something really spectacular. There is also the fact that in my environmental degree, volcanoes popped up for 5-10 minutes [it's really geography/geology stuff], but my fascination hasn't been for 5 minutes. Back in 1991, I drove several hundred miles out of my way to climb up Mt Ngauruhoe in NZ [classic LOTR Mt Doom volcano], so it's safe to say that I like 'em. Anyway, back to Mt Etna. I've mainly brought up the subject so that you can also tune into watching it on two of Italy's 250+ hi-res webcams [Absolutely brilliant. The UK has 4] Here's the view of the south face: https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/sicilia/catania/vulcano-etna-sud.html and the north: https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/sicilia/catania/vulcano-etna-nord.html Unless its blowing, you'll have to view it before night time, otherwise all you see is black. But here's the thing - I've been watching pretty much daily and I think it's grown a bit. Volcanoes can bulge and gain height when they are about to have an episode. They fidget around, like you might if you wanted to go to the loo badly. Have a look. It's having a small puff-puff today. Note: Any wide black tracks are old lava flows. Note the dead trees in the north view. Incidentally, evidence from ancient cockles trapped in strata under Etna found by geologist Charles Lyell, helped Darwin finally realise that his theory of Evolution was the real deal.
Tories getting **** on for Grenfell. They sat on a report saying high rises were vulnerable. They closed 3 fire stations near Grenfell. While Boris was Mayor they nuked a bunch of stations and jobs in the fire department. And a Tory MP filibustered a debate on the safety of highrises. The owner and people that fitted the place recently need locking up.
During a refurbishment aimed at regeneration last year, cladding was added to the sides of the building to update its look. That cladding then seems to have helped the fire spread around the building, leading it to destroy almost the entirety of the structure and kill people inside. And that cladding – a cheap way of improving the front of the building – was added in part so that the tower would look better when seen from the conservation areas and luxury flats that surround North Kensington, according to planning documents. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...arance-blaze-24-storey-west-a7789951.html?amp So updated because rich people didn't like the look of it....
These tower blocks in the foreground are of slightly different original design. They don't appear to have been part of the upgrade. It's entirely possible that the upgrade of Grenfell Tower made it less safe than before. please log in to view this image
Once again we've seen the best of humanity today with hundreds of people donating food, clothes etc to the poor people who are now homeless and left with absolutely nothing. Food and water was handed out to the emergency services who had such a horrific job to do. Amongst the tragedy there's been kindness, empathy and hope - ordinary people helping their fellow humans. We need more of that daily and not just because of a terrorist attacks or other catastrophes... Right, I'm off my soap box now
Indeed. I agree with all of that. I would add that this catastrophe is a direct result of austerity policies administered by this government. If you under-fund local councils, they will try to do something with less. The upgrade wasn't done with the correct more expensive non-flammable materials, it appears, plus the government department sat on findings from other hi-rise fires which recommended sprinkler systems and other such safety measures. There you go, I said it. I made a political point out of tragedy. But in this case, I think it's entirely warranted.
It seems appropriate that on Saturday the Great Get Together takes place, with picnics and street parties happening in communities all over the country. It's being held to commemorate the murdered MP Jo Cox, who was killed a year ago, and her belief that there is more which unites us than divides us.
Someone or some people have to go down for a long time for this. Manslaughter by gross negligence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. It's extremely rare for someone to be given life for manslaughter but there has to be a case for it here.
