Grenfell Tower

The most important purpose of a home is to keep people safe. The events at Grenfell Tower in West London this morning are the most awful example of this failing. Not only did the building fail to protect its residents, it appears that its flaws were a major contributor to the disaster. A fire broke out in the 24 storey block of flats in a social housing estate in the early hours of the morning. It spread at alarming speed engulfing the whole building into an inferno. So far we know that several people have died, many more have sustained critical injuries and hundreds have been made homeless.

The sheer horror of what happened is just emerging. The circumstances that cause a mother to throw her baby from the tenth floor to save it from the flames are hard to compute.  Mercifully somebody caught the baby. There is no news about what has happened to the mother.

The implications of this disaster will be significant and serious, but that’s for another day. Today our thoughts are with those who have been affected, and those searching for friends and relatives. We think that if you are not directly involved the best way to help is to donate to the fund that is being coordinated by the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation https://thekandcfoundation.com/.