UPDATED 13.52: A go-fund-me page has been set up to collect money for those affected – gofundme
The Harrow Club is taking donations and has posted the following tweet:
Their address is 187 Freston Rd, London W10 6TH. The Grand in Clapham Junction is also said to be taking donations.
A blog post has been unearthed from the Grenfell Action group, who actively campaigned against the lack of fire safety in the block. The final paragraph of the post reads as follows:
“The Grenfell Action Group predict that it won’t be long before the words of this blog come back to haunt the KCTMO management and we will do everything in our power to ensure that those in authority know how long and how appallingly our landlord has ignored their responsibility to ensure the heath and safety of their tenants and leaseholders. They can’t say that they haven’t been warned!”
This post was written 7 months ago. The full text can be read here.
A letter sent to members of the resident’s group before the blaze has also been made public:
UPDATED 13.05: Venture Community Centre is currently set up as makeshift resue centre and is in need of baby food and bottled water, their address is 103A Wornington Road W10 5YB if you can help. St John’s Church in Ladbroke Grove is also taking donations.
Sadiq Khan has arrived on the scene after making this statement earlier today:
UPDATED 12.32: Rydon, the company that carried out the work on the building last year have released a statement.
“We are 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 refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the Council, which met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards. We will cooperate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their enquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time.
Given the ongoing nature of the incident and the tragic events overnight, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate or comment further at this stage.”
Video is going viral of one West London Resident explaining his views on what the cause of the blaze were:
A map of the floor plan of the block has also been made public:
UPDATED 11.31: Police have confirmed 6 people have died and they expect that number to rise.
UPDATED 11.22am: The following image is being shared on social media to encourage others to help the now homeless people who are stranded after the blaze. Noel Clarke was one of those who shared the image:
There are also shocking accounts from those who witnessed the blaze, including statements that a baby was thrown from the building and survived.
Other truly horrific stories of those who attempted to flee the building but did not survive are also now emerging.
There are currently concerns on the high possibility the building will collapse.
Latymer Christian Centre have set up a rescue centre which they say has received an amazing amount of donations of food, water and clothes but is now instead asking instead for cash donations, those who survived the blaze will need to be re-homed and the long term plan for this is already being considered.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE 10.18AM: At around 1am this morning a fire broke out in Grenfell Tower Block in North Kensington which is continuing to ravage through the entire building, killing and injuring an unconfirmed amount of people.
Reports are emerging of residents screaming for help from windows and others attempting to jump from the building which is 24 storeys high.
There were apparent delays in fire fighters being able to tackle the blaze effectively, the reason for this has not yet been specified.
Statements of outrage are appearing as those living in the building have been making complaints on the safety within the tower for several years. The entire building underwent an £8.6 million refurbishment in 2016 by a construction group named Rydon. It has now been made apparent that the company who made the building’s cladding on behalf of Rydon has since gone bust.
A website named the Grenfell Action Group has been posting warnings to the the council about the safety standards for many years.
This was the statement on their website this morning:
The Met Police has set up an emergency number 0800 0961 233 for those to call with any concerns about friends or family.