Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

GDB2222

Percy, I am truly sorry to hear your sad news.

Tahlullah

zagubov wrote: »

I've seen high-rise apartment buildings abroad with fire escapes on the outside and wondered why nobody builds them here. Not aesthetically pleasing pops up as the obvious answer. But if, instead of that, the cladding we put on buildings contributes to fires spreading, maybe we need a big rethink about how we build large-scale housing and what needs to be outside them.

Looking at that fire, no-one would have been able to use the outside fire escapes due to the flames.

As far as I understand, the issue is using cladding that was combustible. There is fire resistant insulation available, but it's more expensive, so everyone goes for the cheapest because its all they can afford.

If Authorities have to refurbish existing buildings rather than demolish and build again, someone has to insist hat they can only use the expensive stuff. But that doesn't say what will happen to the buildings that have already been refurbished recently. They won't be able to afford to do them all again. Not for a long time.

Percy1983

What is really odd is this weekend I had already agreed to help with a fund raiser for young healthy minds and the Manchester victims. The Young health minds is due to a young man who committed suicide just after his exams, little did I know a few weeks later both causes would mean so much to me.

Pyxis

Tahlullah wrote: »

Looking at that fire, no-one would have been able to use the outside fire escapes due to the flames.

As far as I understand, the issue is using cladding that was combustible. There is fire resistant insulation available, but it's more expensive, so everyone goes for the cheapest because its all they can afford.

If Authorities have to refurbish existing buildings rather than demolish and build again, someone has to insist hat they can only use the expensive stuff. But that doesn't say what will happen to the buildings that have already been refurbished recently. They won't be able to afford to do them all again. Not for a long time.

One wonders how much of this 'penny-pinching' might be due to the relentless capping of council tax in recent years, with so many services being curtailed and /or under financial strain as a result.

PasturesNew

LydiaJ wrote: »

... Ronan Point.

This was caused at 6am when a lady went into her kitchen and struck a match to make a morning cup of tea on her gas cooker. Because of a gas leak it blew out her kitchen and caused the collapse of the entire pile of flats directly above her. Four died.

Strangely enough .... she survived - and took her gas cooker to her new flat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

... 'penny-pinching' ...(

I read that they were doing a makeover at the school and other buildings and there was a lot of talk about disruption and one of the parts of the "sweetener deal" was to clad the tower in the same cladding as the school.

Another report says that part of the reason for the cladding going ahead was so the richer people didn't have to look at a grim council block.

I looked into those flats as I was so surprised at how few were in the block. The two bed flats I looked at on Rightmove had huge rooms - a living/kitchen room of 22'x15'! I bet if it were built today by private developers there'd have been 2x the number of flats.

Pyxis

I'm amazed the gas cooker survived too.

Especially if it had been leaking gas. Wouldn't it have been condemned?

You'd have thought she would have been put off gas for life.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

I'm amazed the gas cooker survived too.

Especially if it had been leaking gas. Wouldn't it have been condemned?

You'd have thought she would have been put off gas for life.

People were more used to faulty things back then; she was born at the end of WW1 and had already survived WW2 - people didn't have many belongings.... I bet there was NO WAY a little explosion was going to stop her having her first/best ever gas cooker... that might have even still been on tick.

It'll have most likely not been the cooker itself, but the connection/supply or something.

Pyxis

I've just read the Wiki article about Ronan Point.......

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Point


.........it contains some very interesting points which are pertinent to what happened yesterday.

It provoked lots of enquiries into the stresses on high-rise blocks across the country,and the fire safety of such blocks, in the late 1960s, resulting in a lot being demolished over the following twenty years. That was nearly 50 years ago. Hmm.

Just heard on the news that several local councils are now carrying out inspections and reviews of their own highrise housing. However, if, as has been said, all existing regulations had been adhered to in the Grenfell Tower situation, it begs the question whether such inspections would produce any meaningful outcomes, especially where councils are cash-strapped.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

.......a little explosion....

:eek: :eek: :eek: