An action group at a west London tower block ravaged by fire have said their warnings fell on “deaf ears” after highlighting safety concerns about the block.
The cause of Wednesday’s blaze at the Grenfell tower, north Kensington, is not known, but a blog post from the Grenfell Action Group from November 2016 said “only a catastrophic event” would expose issues residents had.
Several hundred people would have been in the block when the fire was reported at 12.54am, while 30 have been taken to hospital. It’s unknown yet how many people have been killed in the blaze.
The group said there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during improvement works at the block in Latimer Road and it had issues with evacuation procedures at the building.
Following the fire, the group posted: “All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time.”
The group claimed access to the building was “severely restricted” for emergency services and other vehicles and that residents were advised to stay in their flats in case of fire.
The tower block was recently refurbished at a cost of STG8.7 million ($A14.7 million), with work completed in May last year.