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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 12 June 2019

Building materials helped spread

Grenfell fire, U.S. suit says

By MARYCLAIRE DALE huge legal awards over manufacturer Arconic Inc.;
Associated Press deadly construction acci- and insulation maker Celo-
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — dents. tex, whose corporate par-
Faulty building materials The lawsuit does not seek ent, French manufacturer
helped spread a devastat- specific monetary dam- Saint-Gobain, has its U.S.
ing fire at London’s Grenfell ages. It would be up to a headquarters in the Phila-
Tower in 2017, turning the jury to decide how much delphia suburbs.
residential complex into a money to award. Monge- The suit accused Arconic
“flaming coffin” for the 72 luzzi expects it to take more of cutting corners by using
people who died, accord- than two years for the case a polyethylene product in- Attorney Robert Mongeluzzi speaks with members of the media
ing to a product liability suit to go to trial. stead of a more expensive, during a news conference in Philadelphia, Tuesday, June 11,
filed Tuesday in the United The Grenfell blaze started fire-resistant material — 2019.
States. two years ago June 14 in sending the message that Associated Press
Nearly 250 survivors and an apartment refrigera- “foreign lives are worth less Both products have since gasoline. They didn’t retard
families of victims joined tor and raced up the side than American lives.” been pulled from the mar- the flames, they acceler-
the suit, which targets U.S. of the 24-story residential The insulation produced ket, the lawyers said. ated the flames.”
companies that made building. The building’s ex- by Celotex released cya- “This fire spread with in- All three companies is-
products used at the com- terior cladding was made nide gas that killed several credible speed, raced its sued statements Tuesday
plex. The suit was filed in a of highly flammable materi- of the victims and caused way up the tower,” Mon- extending sympathies to
state court in Philadelphia. al that can’t be used in U.S. lasting injuries in some of geluzzi said. “The problem victims and pledging their
“This fire originated and skyscrapers, the plaintiffs the survivors, according to with Celotex insulation and cooperation with the pub-
spread because of deci- lawyers said. The insulation another plaintiffs’ lawyer, Arconic Reynobond PE lic inquiry underway in
sions made in the United was similarly combustible, Jeffrey Goodman. cladding is they burn like London.q
States by United States cor- they said.
porations that prioritized The suit names refrigerator
profits over safety,” said at- maker Whirlpool, based in
torney Robert Mongeluzzi, Benton Harbor, Michigan;
who is known for winning Pittsburgh-based cladding

Girl, 11, is 2nd child fatally

shot in St. Louis in 2 days

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Police in St. Louis said Tuesday they were
investigating the shooting death of an 11-year-old girl, the
second child to be shot and killed in the city in two days.
Charnija Keys was shot in the head about 11:40 p.m. Mon-
day, police said. They are calling it a “suspicious death,”
and homicide detectives and child-abuse investigators
are handling the case.
No arrests have been made, and no other details were
immediately released.
A 3-year-old girl was killed Sunday night in a drive-by
shooting. A second child was critically injured in that
shooting. There also have been no arrests in that case.
In a Twitter post, Mayor Lyda Krewson called Sunday’s
shooting “Outrageous, abhorrent, unthinkable. Unbear-
able pain for these families.”
St. Louis has seen 77 homicides so far this year, a slight
increase from the same period in 2018. The city often has
among the highest homicide rates in the U.S.
The Board of Aldermen’s budget committee recom-
mended last week that $500,000 be set aside starting July
1 for an anti-crime effort. Public Safety Director Jimmie
Edwards would determine which program, but one under
consideration called Cure Violence seeks to resolve con-
flict and change the culture of high-crime areas.q