:00:16. > :00:24.You are watching BBC Londoners. Welcome to viewers across the UK
:00:25. > :00:29.joining us on the BBC News Channel. A day after the fire that wrecked
:00:30. > :00:33.the tower block behind me there are hundreds of people desperately
:00:34. > :00:37.trying to search for loved ones. They have posters, leaflets,
:00:38. > :00:44.photographs, and they are desperate to find out what has happened to the
:00:45. > :00:47.people who are missing. You can see the scale of the devastation and
:00:48. > :00:52.understand why so many people are feeling so desperate from those who
:00:53. > :00:57.have not got in touch. We are seeing the very best of London. A united
:00:58. > :01:01.London, one London, where volunteers have come from all corners of the
:01:02. > :01:07.city to give their time and effort they unite to the people who need it
:01:08. > :01:13.most. We are seeing a mountain of the nations gather for those people
:01:14. > :01:17.who have lost everything. Also today we have had politicians arriving,
:01:18. > :01:21.the Prime Minister was held this morning and announced that will be
:01:22. > :01:27.unlike independent inquiry into the fire itself. The mayor of London
:01:28. > :01:32.came and also the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Local people have not
:01:33. > :01:36.been frightened of telling the politicians about their anger as to
:01:37. > :01:40.what happened here yesterday. They have been telling the politicians
:01:41. > :01:51.that the living conditions for the poor in London are not good enough.
:01:52. > :01:55.He lives in a block just yards from Grenfell Tower,
:01:56. > :02:00.and has done for a year and a half with his young family.
:02:01. > :02:12.I see that one. Baby at an happened. Who knows? Nobody knows. I am
:02:13. > :02:18.worried. My kids did not sleep you. They have said they want to move.
:02:19. > :02:25.The family have friends who are missing.
:02:26. > :02:31.They did not find. They did not find these three but they found these
:02:32. > :02:33.two. Like others, they have
:02:34. > :02:34.followed appeals online. Like other families,
:02:35. > :02:45.these children have friends One of my friends is in hospital.
:02:46. > :02:54.She burned her hand. She is the same age, the same year, she goes to my
:02:55. > :03:02.school. They are looking for her family. Her family are missing? Yes,
:03:03. > :03:07.her dad, her mum and her little brother. They found her Brit
:03:08. > :03:10.brother, he is in hospital. I have known her my whole life.
:03:11. > :03:13.The family, like many in the blocks around this area, also
:03:14. > :03:16.feel let down by the authorities over the state of their housing.
:03:17. > :03:19.The fire has seen that anger brought to the surface.
:03:20. > :03:22.As the mayor visited the scene today, he was not
:03:23. > :03:43.Tell me what he's going to say. I want a year this rubbish. I want to
:03:44. > :03:45.thank you... You have been brave to come here.
:03:46. > :03:47.When he did speak, it was to praise the reaction
:03:48. > :03:56.The response from the local community has been amazing. They
:03:57. > :03:59.have come together and show their support for the victims, the
:04:00. > :04:10.families and friends of all those affected by this horrific fire. We
:04:11. > :04:13.have seen nobody. Understandably the residents are very angry and
:04:14. > :04:19.concerned and have genuine questions that demand answers. Politicians, we
:04:20. > :04:24.do not need them, no handshakes. The Labour leader, who visited
:04:25. > :04:26.the scene earlier in the day, also got a taste
:04:27. > :04:38.of that local anger. Absolute hell. They knew that that
:04:39. > :04:41.blog was unsafe. They knew that. A lot of public anger. People have
:04:42. > :04:45.said they weren't warned, people are said not enough was done and they
:04:46. > :04:50.have said it is because the people were poor and if it was a blog for
:04:51. > :04:55.millionaires perhaps this tragedy would not have happened. Everybody
:04:56. > :04:59.deserves total protection from public regulations. Everybody
:05:00. > :05:04.deserves to live in safety and have the same attention from public
:05:05. > :05:09.services. Rich, poor, everything in between. The public has promised
:05:10. > :05:12.local homes for all those affected. Like give you this assurance, we
:05:13. > :05:20.will support every family that is affected. We will be doing that. The
:05:21. > :05:24.Leader of the Opposition talks about the concerns that tenants have
:05:25. > :05:29.expressed. We are hearing the same thing as well. They may be hearing
:05:30. > :05:41.it. They will be judged on what they do about it. We can speak to the
:05:42. > :05:46.deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council. Many residents here
:05:47. > :05:50.feel the true attention to the fears and concerns of the devastating fire
:05:51. > :05:59.taking place here. The words have come true. That the council ignore
:06:00. > :06:03.them? Can I start before answering that question by saying how deeply
:06:04. > :06:12.saddened everyone is by this tragic event? I the road from there and I
:06:13. > :06:15.was on site from the early hours of yesterday morning. It was one of the
:06:16. > :06:20.most shocking and horrendous things I and anyone who was there could
:06:21. > :06:26.witness. We share the heartbreak of all those affected. We understand
:06:27. > :06:36.your concerns. Please answer the question. I understand the question.
:06:37. > :06:41.You will understand that so fire our efforts have been focused almost
:06:42. > :06:44.entirely on trying to help the emergency services and then to
:06:45. > :06:49.provide accommodation for older people who have been made homeless
:06:50. > :06:54.in this event. -- all of the people. I have been unable to ask officers
:06:55. > :06:59.to go through looking at every single email that has happened in
:07:00. > :07:03.the past but I have been told and I believe that the specific issues
:07:04. > :07:07.that have been raised by the Grenfell Tower action group have
:07:08. > :07:11.been looked at by the tenant management organisation and answers
:07:12. > :07:16.have been given. You do not know how they were looked at and what steps
:07:17. > :07:25.were taken? You do not know what happened? At the moment I cannot say
:07:26. > :07:29.more. The entire effort of this council has been dedicated towards
:07:30. > :07:34.trying to help the people who have found themselves in this horrific
:07:35. > :07:37.situation. We have not been trailing back looking backwards. We are
:07:38. > :07:43.trying to deal with what is happening now. These are important
:07:44. > :07:49.questions. We understand the anger. Let me put it to you, I am going to
:07:50. > :07:53.ask you to look back, these are important questions local people
:07:54. > :07:56.want answers to. There was a multi-million pound refurbishment of
:07:57. > :08:01.the tower block behind me which was completed last year, a sprinkler
:08:02. > :08:04.system was not part of a multi-million pound refurbishment,
:08:05. > :08:13.which many people think was an oversight. Was it? No. We're going
:08:14. > :08:18.to have a public inquiry to look into this. This council has been
:08:19. > :08:22.asked by the investigating abilities not to speculate and talk about the
:08:23. > :08:26.specifics around fire safety issues because it is part of a live very
:08:27. > :08:32.thorough investigation that is going to happen. That will have to be
:08:33. > :08:38.reviewed by that investigation. My understanding is that very few
:08:39. > :08:43.councils and housing associations working on renovating 1960s and
:08:44. > :08:47.1970s tower blocks have put in retro fitted sprinkler systems but that is
:08:48. > :08:52.my current understanding. All of this has to be looked at in much
:08:53. > :08:57.greater detail. I am sorry I cannot say more than that. I am glad you
:08:58. > :09:00.understand that people will feel frustrated for not heeding the
:09:01. > :09:11.answers to their questions, but thank you for your time. There are
:09:12. > :09:12.thousands of people around the country who live in tower blocks
:09:13. > :09:25.similar to this one. What are the procedure is to get out
:09:26. > :09:31.off a building like this? It has been described
:09:32. > :09:41.as a disaster waiting to happen, a horrendous loss of life which some
:09:42. > :09:44.believe could have been prevented. Others fear could all too
:09:45. > :09:50.easily happen again. This estate in Camden,
:09:51. > :09:52.700 flats across four large tower blocks, it is up the road
:09:53. > :09:55.from Grenfell Tower and similarly these blocks have been refurbished
:09:56. > :09:57.with cladding Margaret has lived on the 20th
:09:58. > :10:00.floor here for 40 years. I try not to think about it to be
:10:01. > :10:04.quite honest because it can be There has been one fire on the 17th
:10:05. > :10:16.floor and a couple of minor ones. Another resident, Roger,
:10:17. > :10:18.has also been watching and worrying Do you have fire drills
:10:19. > :10:22.and things like that? The advice on the board is the same
:10:23. > :10:30.as the others had, it is stay put. Inside one of the blocks
:10:31. > :10:37.the signs say if there Right at the top of this tower block
:10:38. > :10:42.we have had a walk around and there are what appear
:10:43. > :10:44.to be smoke detectors If there was a big fire
:10:45. > :10:48.here the lifts would stop working so this is the only way
:10:49. > :10:51.for residents to get out, There are 160 flats in this tower
:10:52. > :10:55.block and this is the only We have been talking
:10:56. > :11:01.to councils across London. All of them say they take fire
:11:02. > :11:05.safety very seriously. They all regularly inspect
:11:06. > :11:07.their council properties including tower blocks,
:11:08. > :11:09.but some of them have ordered an urgent inspection
:11:10. > :11:11.in light of what happened. From Nathaniel's flat on the top
:11:12. > :11:14.floor you can see the charred This is extra, so from here
:11:15. > :11:28.to here is what was added. A lot of these have had this extra
:11:29. > :11:32.wall put on the outside, and if that is a fire hazard then
:11:33. > :11:34.that is extremely worrying. We haven't really been
:11:35. > :11:36.given any advice. There's a couple of signs,
:11:37. > :11:38.but just common sense, not to use the lifts,
:11:39. > :11:41.to take the stairs and get You can't go to
:11:42. > :11:49.the roof or anything. One area of investigation may be
:11:50. > :11:58.the cladding but fire safety experts You have to think of all the things,
:11:59. > :12:14.and this will come out I am sure. In a statement this afternoon Ryden,
:12:15. > :12:16.the company which carried out the work at Grenfell Tower,
:12:17. > :12:19.said it met building and fire regulations and it was signed off
:12:20. > :12:21.by building control. The company has worked with councils
:12:22. > :12:24.across London for 40 years carrying out maintenance to blocks
:12:25. > :12:26.in Westminster, Barnett, Thousands of residents need
:12:27. > :12:32.answers about how this fire was caused and reassurance
:12:33. > :12:43.that their homes are safe. A wall of condolence has been
:12:44. > :12:45.put up near the scene, with hundreds of tributes
:12:46. > :12:48.and messages left for loved ones. And that's where we can
:12:49. > :13:00.join Victoria Hollins. This wall on the side of this church
:13:01. > :13:04.and community centre tells the story of the community. Hundreds of
:13:05. > :13:09.messages from all over the world, all sorts of different languages,
:13:10. > :13:13.Spanish and Arabic amongst others. People coming to pay tribute to
:13:14. > :13:18.bebop, writing on the wall, laying flowers. It has become a focal point
:13:19. > :13:25.for belief as well as a focal point for those who are still missing.
:13:26. > :13:29.There are posters of people who have not been found after the tragedy.
:13:30. > :13:33.One family has been followed by our reporter who spend all day with them
:13:34. > :13:36.trying to find a 12-year-old girl who has been missing since the fire.
:13:37. > :13:39.Social media, also to family members, to get the word out,
:13:40. > :13:46.12-year-old Jessica, almost 48 hours since a fire
:13:47. > :13:49.engulfed her home on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower, family
:13:50. > :13:52.and friends still do not know what has happened to her.
:13:53. > :13:54.We are making people take pictures and put them on social media
:13:55. > :14:08.Among those searching is Jessica's cousin,
:14:09. > :14:11.who has been worried ever since he saw the fire from his home
:14:12. > :14:15.He was able to tell me that the building had been evacuated
:14:16. > :14:24.However, they had lost contact with Jessica.
:14:25. > :14:28.She had been separated in the evacuation.
:14:29. > :14:31.They got a phone call from her and another phone
:14:32. > :14:35.call ten minutes later where she was in a lot of panic.
:14:36. > :14:38.Since then we have not had any contact with her.
:14:39. > :14:43.Jessica's 20-year-old sister Melanie was too upset to speak to us.
:14:44. > :14:48.Melanie's boyfriend is desperate for news.
:14:49. > :14:50.Everyone is just sending the people that need
:14:51. > :14:53.information to other people, like the police sending
:14:54. > :14:57.you to the bureau, the bureau sending you to hospitals,
:14:58. > :15:00.check hospitals, there's just so much miscommunication that
:15:01. > :15:03.everyone does not know what they are doing.
:15:04. > :15:12.It is causing frustration everywhere.
:15:13. > :15:16.We are looking at the best and worst case scenarios
:15:17. > :15:18.of her being in a hospital somewhere, possibly unconscious,
:15:19. > :15:23.She's not going to be carrying any sort of ID,
:15:24. > :15:28.Until they know what has happened to Jessica,
:15:29. > :15:51.One of those caught up in the fire was just 16 and went on to take her
:15:52. > :15:56.GCSEs the next day. What was it like being caught up in the fire? At
:15:57. > :16:03.first we thought it was not really anything major. We only realised how
:16:04. > :16:08.deep it was once our flat had caught fire. Your family was on the 13th
:16:09. > :16:13.floor. How easy was it to escape? We were one of the first to leave so it
:16:14. > :16:21.was easy. It was just in one flat so everything was controlled. Then...
:16:22. > :16:27.Yeah. What happened after that? What did you see? It was just one fire
:16:28. > :16:33.and within six minutes it had risen six floors above and it went up
:16:34. > :16:39.uncontrollably. Could you believe how quickly it spread? No. I thought
:16:40. > :16:42.it was controlled. I never thought I would not go back home. It must be
:16:43. > :16:48.extremely difficult for you standing looking up towards your home that
:16:49. > :16:53.has disappeared. Yes, everything has gone. What was it that drove you to
:16:54. > :17:00.take your GCSE the next day and how was it? I am going to take chemistry
:17:01. > :17:09.for A-level and I had a chemistry GCSE so I thought it was worth doing
:17:10. > :17:13.for my future. Thank you. If there are people who are still worried
:17:14. > :17:17.about missing relatives and of course there are dozens of them,
:17:18. > :17:33.there is a police casualty bureau number that you can call.
:17:34. > :17:35.It was a long night last night for many Londoners,
:17:36. > :17:37.some of whom slept in shelters or temporary accommodation.
:17:38. > :17:40.And it wasn't just those who had to flee the tower block,
:17:41. > :17:45.many residents were forced to evacuate neighbouring properties.
:17:46. > :17:52.Thomas Magill has been hearing their stories.
:17:53. > :17:58.A friend of mine witnessed our friend on the 26th floor
:17:59. > :18:04.Bedding down for the night, these are just some of the hundreds
:18:05. > :18:07.of residents evacuated with nothing as yesterday's fire tore
:18:08. > :18:10.through Grenfell Tower metres from their homes.
:18:11. > :18:12.They said I was not allowed to take anything with me,
:18:13. > :18:15.which was fair enough, but they told me to leave
:18:16. > :18:18.the cat and I said I can't, because it is my daughter's cat,
:18:19. > :18:23.I have been here for a couple of hours, a few hours.
:18:24. > :18:29.A bit upsetting, but to be honest I am not too sure,
:18:30. > :18:36.This is a community displaced and devastated.
:18:37. > :18:43.We also met this woman and her three children who were woken
:18:44. > :18:45.by the police in the early hours of the morning.
:18:46. > :18:51.Their school is the one that was right next to the building.
:18:52. > :19:00.Obviously I am just in a state of shock at the moment.
:19:01. > :19:03.This family is amongst dozens who are either not allowed to return
:19:04. > :19:06.home or who have had their home destroyed in this horrific fire
:19:07. > :19:08.but amongst the stories of devastation have been ones
:19:09. > :19:09.of bravery, compassion and generosity.
:19:10. > :19:12.Three things this community is going to need a lot
:19:13. > :19:18.It did not take long for that goodwill to kick in with people
:19:19. > :19:22.arriving from all over the country to muck in and help
:19:23. > :19:27.It is calm and it is warm and generous and people
:19:28. > :19:33.are working hard and being very supportive of each other and
:19:34. > :19:37.generally there's a feeling of just real strength at this stage.
:19:38. > :19:41.This woman and her family are grateful for their help
:19:42. > :19:47.and thankful that unlike so many others they are all together.
:19:48. > :19:50.I have been very fortunate to be able to pick up my kids
:19:51. > :19:54.These people, we do not know their situation at the moment.
:19:55. > :19:56.We are hearing so many things going on.
:19:57. > :19:59.That is likely to continue as the agonising search for missing
:20:00. > :20:25.Nothing prepares you for the devastation until you stand here and
:20:26. > :20:27.look at it. When you look at that building it really is quite
:20:28. > :20:32.extraordinary and takes your breath away, so imagine what it must be
:20:33. > :20:36.like for people in the area who witnessed the fire, people who were
:20:37. > :20:39.inside the building at the time, people who were part of the
:20:40. > :20:40.emergency services who have had to deal with trying to get people to
:20:41. > :20:53.safety. Extraordinary. The work of the fire Brigade is very
:20:54. > :20:55.much supported by the people of London.
:20:56. > :20:57.London's fire commissioner spoke earlier about her concerns
:20:58. > :21:03.I am concerned longer term about the mental
:21:04. > :21:06.impact on a lot of people who were here because it was
:21:07. > :21:08.an unprecedented event and people saw and heard things on a scale
:21:09. > :21:12.Going forward one of my main concerns for my firefighters
:21:13. > :21:17.is for their well-being and doing trauma and counselling for them.
:21:18. > :21:19.Earlier I spoke to the Fire Brigades Union about the support those
:21:20. > :21:25.The London Fire Brigade, in conjunction with the Fire
:21:26. > :21:29.Brigades Union in London, agreed for the firefighters to be
:21:30. > :21:32.taken to Paddington fire station where the counselling and well-being
:21:33. > :21:42.service, a service run by the London Fire Brigade
:21:43. > :21:44.for specifically traumatic events, was set up.
:21:45. > :21:46.So every firefighter who was in attendance at this
:21:47. > :21:48.incident was seen by the counselling and well-being service.
:21:49. > :21:51.The impact of the trauma, that can be quite profound, can't it?
:21:52. > :21:59.The sights that the members of the Fire Brigades Union in London
:22:00. > :22:05.have seen at a traumatic event of this nature.
:22:06. > :22:10.We have had previous events ranging from the Croydon tram incident
:22:11. > :22:16.to the Westminster Bridge attack and Borough market as well
:22:17. > :22:19.and firefighters were exposed to scenes that they did not expect
:22:20. > :22:24.Will the support of the firefighters be ongoing?
:22:25. > :22:27.You do not get over something like this in one night.
:22:28. > :22:28.How long will the support be there for?
:22:29. > :22:31.There is no telling how long it is going to last
:22:32. > :22:35.The support needs to be there for entirety and for
:22:36. > :22:38.The unfortunate thing is that under the cuts previously
:22:39. > :22:40.when Boris Johnson was mayor we suffered extreme cuts
:22:41. > :22:42.to the Fire Service, the counselling service was reduced
:22:43. > :22:46.Londoners universally have a huge amount of respect and time
:22:47. > :22:48.for the fantastic work that firefighters do.
:22:49. > :22:50.Does that make a difference to firefighters, knowing
:22:51. > :22:54.Yes, of course it does, and we really value that support.
:22:55. > :22:56.The Fire Brigades Union values that support,
:22:57. > :22:59.but we need to ensure that the right and proper counselling and welfare
:23:00. > :23:01.is there for firefighters, after especially these events
:23:02. > :23:08.and all other events that firefighters are exposed
:23:09. > :23:19.The incredible work of firefighters which has been supported by the
:23:20. > :23:25.people of London. They have managed to get the fire out of that burning
:23:26. > :23:29.building. It was burning and this morning. It is not completely out
:23:30. > :23:37.but emergency services doing their best to keep things safe. Our
:23:38. > :23:43.reporter is that one of the donation centres.
:23:44. > :23:47.I am at Notting Hill Methodist Church which has become a focal
:23:48. > :23:51.point for the motion that the community feels and the set focal
:23:52. > :23:56.point or one of them for the generosity of Londoners because the
:23:57. > :24:00.question was what can we do to help? They have been inundated with people
:24:01. > :24:06.bringing blankets, clothes, toiletries. The message is thank you
:24:07. > :24:11.but we have enough. The big difficulty is distributing its to
:24:12. > :24:17.the people who need it. They have a local community failed here. The
:24:18. > :24:21.system is to have runners going from the church to the sports centre
:24:22. > :24:24.where Iraq some of the displaced families are staying, as steam them
:24:25. > :24:30.what they need and coming back to see if they have it. There's a short
:24:31. > :24:37.list of things people are looking and sanitisers, hear bands, prayer
:24:38. > :24:41.mats, underwear and pyjamas. At the moment they say thank you but they
:24:42. > :24:50.have enough. What can we do? There have been several funds set up.
:24:51. > :24:55.Collective just giving funds raised ?1.6 million and 24 hours and I
:24:56. > :24:59.expect that number is still growing. This has been a focal point for the
:25:00. > :25:05.emotion that has been running high in the community here and there is a
:25:06. > :25:15.vigil here this evening in about an hour to reflect on the events. I
:25:16. > :25:20.will be back during the Ten O'Clock News on BBC One. I am going to leave
:25:21. > :25:31.you with some moving images and some messages from the public.
:25:32. > :26:11.We had some sunshine today. A week weather front has moved through. It
:26:12. > :26:20.will produce fresher conditions for tomorrow. The heat is said to peak
:26:21. > :26:24.at 30 degrees on Sunday and possibly into Monday. High pressure will stay
:26:25. > :26:29.with us over the next few days with dry weather in the story. The good
:26:30. > :26:34.thing is tonight will be more comfortable for sleeping, not humid.
:26:35. > :26:40.It will be a quiet night, a light breeze and temperatures sitting
:26:41. > :26:44.10-14 tomorrow morning. Plenty of sunshine to start our day. The
:26:45. > :26:50.sunshine stays with us. Fairweather ploughed into the afternoon. The
:26:51. > :26:55.breeze swinging to north-westerly which will mean a slightly fresher
:26:56. > :26:58.feel if you are out and about. Temperatures will peak at around
:26:59. > :27:05.21-23 . That is low 70s. The dry 21-23 . That is low 70s. The dry
:27:06. > :27:10.story is set to continue. If you are out and about on Friday it will be
:27:11. > :27:14.pretty quiet. High pressure is still with us in the same place across
:27:15. > :27:18.England and Wells for Saturday. Will continue to be a good deal of dry
:27:19. > :27:23.weather, sunshine coming through. The heat will start to build. We
:27:24. > :27:29.could potentially see the high 20s likely as we go into Saturday
:27:30. > :27:35.afternoon, 82 Fahrenheit. It is going to be hot. UV levels are going
:27:36. > :27:40.to be high. Problem is also going to be high. Peter said to build into
:27:41. > :27:45.Sunday. I will leave you with a summary to the weekend. The heat is
:27:46. > :27:48.likely to stay with us into Monday as well. As the humidity built we
:27:49. > :27:49.could see than the downpours