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E-book Before Grenfell : Fire, Safety and Deregulation in Twentieth-Century Britain

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Penilaian

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This report of a fire without serious casualties at Grenfell Tower in June 1979 assumes an entirely new and frightening meaning in the context of the tragic events of 14 June 2017, when a horrific cladding fire at the same tower caused the deaths of seventy- two people. Tucked into a folder of newspaper cuttings in the archives of the Royal Borough of Ken sington and Chelsea (RBKC), the article flags up significant issues for our understanding of the Grenfell disaster: the need for good design, building control and management of higher- risk residential buildings (HRRBs); the responsibility of politicians, architects and emergency ser vices to protect communities vulnerable to fire; and the urgency of improving communication between housing providers, emergency ser vices and residents. In this instance alone, one resident reported being told by a firefighter to ‘Get your c hildren and get out down the fire escape’, while another was told to stay in her smoke- filled flat with her children: ‘I went back in and put wet towels against the door and just prayed.’ Another resident reported that a police officer threatened to arrest him if he attempted to enter the building to reach his f amily.2The RBKC had received criticism for its ‘indifference’ towards the safety and welfare of its residents during the initial planning consultation on the estate in the 1960s, and there is little evidence to suggest that this attitude had significantly altered following its completion a de cade later.3 Indeed, the RBKC’s archives rec ord multiple prob lems with the include anti- social behaviour, structural defects including asbestos and damp, and poor cleanliness, which led to the arrival of unwelcome guests such as cockroaches and rodents – a ll reported by residents upset by the conditions in which they w ere expected to live. As one resident angrily complained in a letter to the local paper, ‘If only the Ken sington and Chelsea Tory Councillors could live on this estate as they seem to think it is so brilliant. They would not spend one night here.’ 4 These prob lems – n ot least the complaint that the council did not listen to residents’ legitimate concerns about living in multi- storey estates – resonate with the findings of historians writing about lived experiences elsewhere in the country.5 They are similarly echoed by recent studies of the institutional neglect faced by Grenfell Tower’s residents when raising safety issues concerned with the building’s refurbishment in the years preceding the 2017 fire.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

711.5 EWE b

Penerbit

London : University of London Press., 2023

Deskripsi Fisik

148 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781914477263

Klasifikasi

711.5

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Plans for Specific Kinds of Areas

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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