London fire, attack add to public discontent in Britain

It’s only supposed to happen in the Third World: Numerous victims from a horrific fire in a public-housing high-rise, and reports of cheap, less flame-resistant building material fueling the inferno.

But the 79 deaths – either confirmed or presumed dead – following the blaze occurred in one of the most important, wealthiest cities in the world: London.

Public anger continues to mount as residents and neighbors of the city’s Grenfell Tower public-housing block demand answers about how the fire last Wednesday spread so quickly and trapped so many of the tower’s 600 or so residents.

Adding to public unease in the British capital was a terror attack early Monday when a man plowed his vehicle into a crowd of worshippers outside a mosque, injuring at least nine people. It was the fourth terror attack in Britain in the past three months.

News of that attack broke just as London police Monday confirmed 79 people were killed in the most deadly fire in Britain since record-keeping began in the early 1900s. It is expected to take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead at the building, which is now a charred hulk.

British media have reported that contractors installed a cheaper, less flame-resistant exterior paneling on the 24-story tower in a renovation that was completed just last year.

MAY IS TARGET OF ANGER

Much of the public anger has been directed at Prime Minister Theresa May and her Conservative government for their response to the disaster.

May already was reeling from the spate of terror attacks and the results of a national election that left her party without a ruling majority.

The prime minister had called the early election with the goal of increasing her party’s majority in Parliament. May had intended to use the political clout in her negotiations over Britain’s exit from the European Union.

The Conservatives emerged with the largest number of seats, but not enough for a clear majority. Therefore, May has been forced to form a coalition government with a minor party from Northern Ireland.

But while she remains prime minister, she has had to reassess the exit strategy from the EU. Before the election, May had talked about playing hardball with the Europeans, but now a soft exit will be pursued.

The Grenfell Tower fire has also put the government on the defensive. In the midst of public criticism over her response to the fire, May met Saturday with 15 survivors and community leaders at her official residence at 10 Downing St. in London.

The meeting lasted more than two hours, but participants did not speak to reporters.

The prime minister did announce a $6.4 million emergency fund to help displaced families. The 600 or so residents were living in the tower’s 120 apartments.

May acknowledged after the meeting with the residents and community leaders that there have been “huge frustrations.”

“ … [T]he support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough,” she said.

The reports of cheaper flame-resistant material being used in the renovation have triggered a criminal investigation. That’s a necessary response by law enforcement given the death and injury toll.

A government task force on the fire has also been formed.

THIRD-WORLD FIRE IN FIRST-WORLD NATION

The question that demands to be answered is this: How is it that in one of the top cities in the world with many office and residential high-rises a fire can cause so much death and destruction?

When such a question was asked in November 2012 after more than 100 people died in a fire at a garment factory outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, the answer was obvious: Fire safety, education and training are not a priority.

The fire at the Tazreen factory in Savar, northwest of Dhaka, started in a warehouse on the ground floor that was used to store yarn and quickly spread to the upper floors.

Bangladesh’s garment industry, the second-largest exporter of clothing after China, has recorded more than 500 deaths in factory fires since 2006 because of lax safety and building codes.

In addition, inspections for code violations are virtually nonexistent.

First World nations, on the other hand, are supposed to place a higher value on human life. That is why the fire in London demands a full and transparent investigation