Grenfell Tower fire: Action group warned of '˜catastrophe'

An action group at a west London tower block ravaged by fire have said their warnings fell on 'deaf ears' after highlighting safety concerns about the block.

The 'horrendous' blaze struck the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Picture: SWNS

The cause of the blaze at the Grenfell tower, north Kensington, is not known, but a blog post from the Grenfell Action Group from November 2016 said “only a catastrophic event” would expose issues residents had.

Several hundred people would have been in the block when the fire was reported at 1.15am on Wednesday, while 30 have been taken to hospital.

The group said there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during improvement works at the block in Latimer Road and it had issues with evacuation procedures at the building.

Following the fire, the group posted: “All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time.”

The group claimed access to the building was “severely restricted” for emergency services and other vehicles and that residents were advised to stay in their flats in case of fire.

In their November blog post The Grenfell Action Group claimed a major fire disaster at the block of flats was “narrowly averted” in 2013 when “residents experienced a period of terrifying power surges that were subsequently found to have been caused by faulty wiring.”

The 'horrendous' blaze struck the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Picture: SWNS

The authorities have yet to confirm the cause of last night’s blaze.

The campaign group formed in 2010 to oppose the Kensington Academy and Leisure Centre development, which they consider to be a “gross overdevelopment” that would involve the destruction of a nearby green space.

More to follow.