In June it will be seven years since the Grenfell Tower fire in London, in which 72 people died and another 74 were injured, and the investigation has not yet concluded. The police are waiting for the final judicial report to file charges, but some victims and their families see a premeditated tactic so that the crimes expire and no one goes to jail.
The 24-story skyscraper with 120 apartments, in the west of the English capital and which can almost be touched from the subway, is still standing, supported by steel pylons and covered with a white canvas, with a heart drawn in a kind of hood that they have put on top. The technicians recommended its demolition, but it would not be easy to carry out due to the proximity of other buildings. And there is also no agreement on whether to preserve part of it, in homage to those who died, and as a memory of the incident, rebuild it, make a park… The bill for its maintenance as a ruin has already cost 120 million euros, with renewable contracts that They are making a company rich.
A provisional report after the accident, in 2017, attributed the tragedy to several factors, including the coating of its exterior with polyurethane (an insulating but highly flammable material), and the recommendation to the neighbors (85% non-white, of African, Asian and Caribbean) that, in the event of a fire and if it was not their own apartment, they would stay at home even if they heard the alarms, waiting for the firefighters. Those who followed that unfortunate advice instead of escaping died.
Although no charges have been brought against the builders, architects, or municipal authorities, compensation has been paid. The survivors were relocated to officially protected housing (as was the damaged building), and they have negotiated a package of 175 million euros. A total of 114 firefighters have received between 12,000 and one million euros per head for the physical damage and emotional disorders suffered.
The Grenfell Tower cladding materials were manufactured by the North American company Arconic, which denies all responsibility and alleges that correct installation, and in accordance with current safety standards, is the responsibility of the owners, builders, engineers and architects of the buildings. buildings. According to the CBS television network, emails that have emerged in the course of the ongoing investigation indicate that some employees of the firm were aware that their product carried risks, but continued to sell it. Experts and witnesses have testified for 85 weeks “in order to be able to make recommendations that are as precise as possible to prevent something like this from happening again.” But the vast majority of additional security measures initially proposed (evacuation plans, more alarms…) have been discarded by the City Council as “disproportionate”.
