LONDON FIRE FLAT CHECKS: Emergency tests scheduled after devastating Grenfell Tower blaze
Policing and Fire Minister Nick Hurd said they wanted to provide reassurance to people living in other buildings as soon as possible. He said: "We have discussed with the Department for Communities and Local Government, local authorities and the fire service a process whereby we seek to identify towers that might have a similar process of refurbishment, run a system of checks so that we can, as quickly as possible, give reassurance to people."
SWNS The speed at which the fire caught hold shocked those at the scene
The Government is absolutely determined to make sure we are there to support the emergency and support services but also the people who have been caught up in this tragedy Nick Hurd
Mr Hurd, who only took over the role on Tuesday, refused to comment on reports that ministers had received warnings about the urgent need to update building regulations. He said: “I hope people will understand that the priority of the Government at the moment is to manage the emergency response, to deal with the security, to deal with lives to be saved, lives to be rebuilt, and to make sure that we have got the support in place for this emergency response. "That will then move into recovery phase and then we will move into a phase where we seek to answer the questions that people quite understandably have, so we really understand what happened here, what went wrong, so we don't find ourselves in this situation, because I don't think that anybody wants to go through another night like last night." After the tireless work of firefighters and other members of the emergency services over the past few hours, Mr Hurd said whatever resources are required to deal with the situation would be made available.
Grenfell Tower fire latest images Wed, June 14, 2017 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared the fire a major incident as more than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, while at least 30 people are receiving hospital treatment. Play slideshow SWNS.com 1 of 70 Firefighters continue to try and bring the blaze under control at 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City, London
He added: "Everyone I have spoken to on the frontline - the fire, the police, the ambulance services - resources have not been the issue. "People arrived very quickly in good numbers and with the right equipment to deal with an unprecedented situation last night. "The Government is absolutely determined to make sure we are there to support the emergency and support services but also the people who have been caught up in this tragedy." The company which refurbished Grenfell Tower last year has insisted it met health and safety standards.
GETTY Nick Hurd said authorities want to provide reassurance to people living in other buildings
Construction firm Rydon, which completed the £8.6million refurbishment, said: "We were shocked to hear of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower and our immediate thoughts are with those that have been affected by the incident, their families, relatives and friends. "Rydon completed a partial refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation on behalf of the council. "The project met all required building regulations and handover took place when the completion notice was issued by the Department of Building Control, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. "We are working with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their inquiries into the causes of this fire." Meanwhile, a health & safety expert has claimed the cosmetic cladding on the Grenfell Tower which went up in flames in the killer London fire may have acted as a massive set of bellows - turning a minor blaze into a cataclysm.
EXPRESS Grenfell Tower is located close to Notting Hill and Westfield
GETTY There were concerns earlier on Wednesday that the fire could cause the building to collapse
As councils across the country were checking their own tower blocks, a leading council health and safety expert said a working theory was not so much how the so-called fire-proof cladding had burned so easily, but how it might have acted to fan the flames of the initial blaze. The expert, who advises on similar tower blocks elsewhere in the country but who did not want to be named fearing 'whistleblower' repercussions, said: "Anything will burn if you get it hot enough, even fire proof cladding. But there is some industry speculation today that when cladding is applied, the gap between it and the building acts as a chimney - air would rush in and feed a small fire, like bellows, making it very hot and hence spread quickly." He added for a blaze that fierce to engulf a tower block so quickly should have been impossible because of a strict system of physical fire breaks designed precisely to prevent whole buildings going up in flames.
London fire: Grenfell Tower aftermath Wed, June 14, 2017 The fire has spread from the second floor to the roof of the enormous 120-flat block, with 200 firefighters struggling to bring it under control Play slideshow SWNS.com 1 of 34 Firefighters continue to try and bring the blaze under control at 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City, London