Arnold Turling is a very angry and
unhappy man -- vindicated but at what cost. Three years ago, he advised
the All Party Parliamentary Rescue Group that cheap flammable
insulation filler inside the new waterproof cladding and lack of a
sprinkler system made buildings like Grenfell Tower a disaster waiting
to happen. Mr. Turling is a Chartered Surveyor as well as a fire expert
and member of the Association of Specialist Fire Protection. It is ironic that he adds
the building would not have burned down in its original concrete form.
The
reason is straight forward: The gap between the cladding and concrete
serves as a chimney which becomes more efficient as the insulation
catches fire. For this reason that particular type of plastic core
called PE is banned in the U.S., "because of the fire and smoke spread,"
for buildings higher than 40 feet. So said a spokesman for the U.S.
manufacturer Reynobond. The PE version he added is used for small
commercial buildings and gas stations. In the UK, the fire resistant
panels cost 24 pounds ($31) per square meter, the cheaper ones are two pounds
($2.56) less. The regulations allowing the latter were introduced in 1986 during
the Margaret Thatcher era, when they relaxed the prior more strict code.
If
the previous iron lady is still wreaking havoc from the grave, the new
one did not endear herself to the bereaved by avoiding them when she
visited the area -- she met only with emergency services. Opposition
leader Jeremy Corbyn, on the other hand, hugged and was hugged as he
called for requisitioning the empty housing belonging to the rich to
accommodate the people who had lost everything in the fire.
The
borough of Kensington and Chelsea is enormously rich. Council estates,
as public housing is called in London, occupy a fringe of it and offer
affordable places to live in a city where real estate has experienced an
astronomical rise.
Prime Minister May has other problems more serious for her government as they threaten to cut short its existence. Her alliance with the Northern Ireland DUP is at risk. Gerry Adams the Catholic Sinn Fein leader has protested it violates the power sharing Good Friday agreement where London was to be the neutral arbiter. Thus most people assumed the deal with the DUP was informal. Now it seems someone is holding out for a formal alliance. Strong voices can be heard calling it a sordid deal that could destroy 20 years of work in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Gerry Adams says his party will refuse to take their seats in the new parliament if it goes through. Ms. May gives the impression of being busily ahead of a Rube Goldberg contraption tumbling down behind her.
The question one is left with after the fire is simple if uncomfortable: What is a human life worth in the 21st century? And the answer now is apparent. It depends on where, how wealthy, and to whom you were born. Not much has changed in that regard.
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