Monday 9 September 2019

9/9/19 Goes up in Smoke!



Firefighters battle flames engulfing a block of flats on fire in London, Britain, September 9, 2019, in this photo obtained from social media. London Fire Brigade/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/09/worcester-park-fire-rips-block-flats-south-london-10708093/

Firefighters at the scene of a fire at a four-storey block of flats in Sherbrooke Way, Worcester Park, south-west London. PA Photo. Picture date: Monday September 9, 2019. The London Ambulance Service said no injuries had been reported. See PA story FIRE WorcesterPark. Photo credit should read: Ryan Hooper/PA Wire

'Stephen Nobrega, a father of three children aged between eight months and 13, said he had lost everything when his ground-floor flat was destroyed. He said: “I was woken up by my missus at about 1.20am, screaming and shouting: ‘Fire! Fire!’
“I heard a lot of residents outside and by that point somebody was already banging on my window and pressing my buzzer, so I knew it was quite serious.
“I got out of bed, got what you see me wearing on, got the kids with something on and managed to get us all out safely, which is the main thing.” 
Nobrega, who lived in a part-owned, part-rented two-bedroom flat on the ground floor, described how the fire quickly took hold and spread. He said: “I could hear alarms going off but it was only when I was outside and could see the plume of smoke coming out … The top-right corner is where the fire started.
“Within about 20 minutes, fairly quick, it started ripping through, going from apartment to apartment, right to left, and then it started going down and caught alight on the other side.
“Speaking to one of the firefighters down there, he said my apartment seems to have survived, but the water damage is horrendous. It’s gone.”
Nobrega, who said he was in the process of selling the property, praised the emergency services for getting the blaze under control.
He said: “Fair play to them. I’ve never seen so many fire engines turn up. It’s taken them all night to bring it under control, but, to see it at its full rage, it’s a job and a half. I take my hat off to them.
“I’ve lost everything. The most important thing is everyone’s alive. There are no fatalities to my knowledge.'


Clearly fire separation and retardation not up to much! As usual the questions are how did it start and how did it spread so fast if fire separation was up to spec. Also rather surprising, but pleasing of course, that given the time of the fire, no one was injured or died apparently. So was an alarm raised and how did all the occupants (if there were any more than the one person reportedly interviewed) make their escape in time?

Perhaps it is worth noting that the incident blamed for the Grenfell Tower fire, namely an exploding fridge, has been expressly ruled out as a possible cause. Very strangely, an alternative explanation has never, as far as I am aware, been put forward for one of the most disastrous domestic fires in British history!

The 'explosion' theory initially advanced has been ruled out. It appears that in the light of this a new theory has been suggested of 'faulty wiring to the fridge. It is hard to see how this would lead to such a blaze unless there was a considerable amount of combustible material immediately adjacent to the fault - unlikely in a kitchen - or why it could not have been extinguished at an early stage. (The only suggestion is a flammable plastic backing to the fridge) The man who allegedly occupied the flat (with others) and left it after the fire broke out, was specifically excused from attending the official inquiry or being examined at it! See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44125844 Latest (replacement ) theory here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/.../first-pic-of-the-tiny.../

 Ross Cowan The point I suppose I am making is that the initial explanation of the 'exploding fridge', has in the light of proof this did not happen, the suggestion that it was an over heating wire setting fire to the backing. Of course if this was indeed the cause, the question arises why the fire had not occurred before or anywhere else? I would say it was possible but very, very unlikely. Much more common are dryers overheating and catching on fire or fat fryers or other burning items on/in cookers but this has never been suggested. I find the initial description of an 'explosion' suspicious as indeed is the whole incident.

Palindrome Week!

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Meanwhile, Northern Ireland heats up again!

https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/09/petrol-bombs-thrown-at-northern-irish-police-during-operation-against-new-ira

Meanwhile in Israel: 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/10/netanyahu-vows-annex-large-parts-occupied-west-bank-trump?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3M2oBnlHse9As-ZTlWTi5e2vF_NCoitlQF397bSETdNdkJSbpztBiUJyA#Echobox=1568130897

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1 comment:

  1. The German roots of Environmentalism:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnXatjSeWWE&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

    ReplyDelete

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