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WORLD NEWS Saturday 24 June 2017
London council evacuates residents amid fire safety concerns

By DANICA KIRKA tate, expressed frustration amination of the refrig-
Associated Press with the lack of information erator model that started
LONDON (AP) — One Lon- they received about the the blaze. McCormack
don community is evacu- evacuations. said the Hotpoint model
ating some 800 households Edward Strange, who lives FF175BP refrigerator-freezer
from five publicly owned on the 11th floor of the had not been subject to
apartment towers be- Taplow Tower, was on his any product recalls before
cause of safety concerns way to the airport when he the fire.
following the devastating heard about the evacu- Hotpoint said Friday that
fire that killed 79 people in ation on the radio and re- “words cannot express our
a west London high-rise last turned to find council work- sorrow at this terrible trag-
week. ers in neon security vests edy” and added it was
The move comes as resi- directing residents to a working with authorities to
dents of thousands of nearby community center, examine the appliance.
tower blocks around Brit- where they were offered The overnight fire rapidly
ain expressed concern air beds on a badminton engulfed Grenfell Tower,
about safety after com- court. with flames shooting up
monly used building mate- “I just think it’s a complete the outside of the build-
rials were blamed for rap- overreaction,” he told ing, raising concerns that
idly spreading the blaze at Sky News. “Or at least we The burnt Grenfell Tower apartment building standing testament the cladding material at-
Grenfell Tower. should be given the choice. to the recent fire in London, Friday, June 23, 2017. tached to the concrete
Camden Council in north If we wanted to leave, we Associated Press block didn’t comply with
London, which announced should have the choice to fire-safety rules.
the evacuation Friday leave. But being told that tigators, and that police ers. “We are looking at all Police are looking at all
night, was the first local we have to leave is just ri- have seized documents health and safety and fire parts of the cladding sys-
government to take the diculous. It’s our home.” from a number of organi- safety offenses, and we are tem and its installation, Mc-
dramatic step of emptying British Prime Minister Theresa zations. reviewing every company Cormack said.
its buildings so safety up- May offered a message of “We are looking at every at the moment involved in “Preliminary tests show
grades could be made. sympathy to the affected criminal offense from man- the building and refurbish- the insulation samples col-
Council leader Georgia residents, taking to Twitter slaughter onwards,” Detec- ment of Grenfell Tower.” lected from Grenfell Tower
Gould said the borough to pledge she would work tive Superintendent Fiona The government has or- combusted soon after the
made the decision after with relevant authorities to McCormack told report- dered an immediate ex- test started,” she said. q
the London Fire Brigade offer support.
and council experts said “My thoughts are with resi-
they couldn’t guarantee dents being evacuated in
the safety of residents after Camden while their homes
inspecting the five towers. are made safe tonight,”
The inspectors were follow- she said.
ing up on previously un- The council encouraged
known safety complaints residents to stay with friends
from residents, she said. and family, but promised to
“I’ve made the really, really provide temporary accom-
difficult decision to move modation, if that weren’t
the people living there into possible. Repairs on the
temporary accommoda- building are expected to
tion while we do the urgent be completed within three
works to guarantee safe- to four weeks.
ty,” Gould told reporters The council gave notice
outside the public housing it had concerns about
complex. “I know it’s diffi- the cladding on its build-
cult, but Grenfell changes ings Thursday, when tests
everything.” showed the material was
Public safety concerns not the fire-resistant variety
have been prompted by it had ordered.
exterior cladding known Earlier Friday, police said
as aluminum composite they were considering filing
panels, which are believed manslaughter charges in
to have rapidly spread the the Grenfell disaster.
fire at Grenfell Tower on In its most detailed briefing
June 14, trapping residents yet on the criminal investi-
in their homes before fire- gation, the Metropolitan
fighters could save them. Police on Friday confirmed
Local councils around Brit- residents’ suspicions that
ain are testing similar pan- the inferno at Grenfell was
els on hundreds of their touched off by a refrigera-
buildings. Fourteen apart- tor fire.
ment blocks have so far The department also said
tested positive for combus- cladding attached to the
tible materials. 24-story public housing
But some residents of the project during a recent
Camden buildings, collec- renovation failed safety
tively known as Chalcots Es- tests conducted by inves-