What is happening to this country? First the killings on Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Manchester, then the uncertainty arising from Brexit and the hung parliament, and now the huge blaze which raged at the 24 storey tower block, the Grenfell tower, in North Kensington which housed between 400 and 600 people.
At the time of writing, six people have died and the number is expected to rise. Fire engulfed the 24 storey tower block at about 1.00 am on the morning of Wednesday, 14 June. The televised pictures of the huge building on fire somehow reminded me of the twin towers of America which were engulfed in fires on the 9/11 attack a decade or so ago.
At the moment it is unclear as to what started the fire and how it spread so quickly? The frightening scenes of one person throwing his baby from the window and then jumping after him, or other people jumping from lower floors, were something we only see in disaster movies.
One senior fire officer had said that this fire was something she had never seen before. This begs the questiion. How should people prepare for such unforeseen incidents? What should they grab when in a hurry to escape from such life threatening events? I would think that the priority should be their identity papers like passports or driving licences, bank books or saving certificates and cash or credit cards. These are few things which come to mind.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
