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A local London council has decided to evacuate some 800 households in apartment buildings it owns because of safety concerns following the devastating fire that killed 79 people in a west London high-rise.
Key points:
- About 800 families have been moved from council-owned apartment buildings over safety fears
- Council leader Georgia Gould said the move came after firefighters said "they could not guarantee our residents' safety"
- Some residents said they were inconvenienced when the orders were issued about 8:30pm
The move comes amid escalating concerns among residents of thousands of tower blocks around Britain.
The Camden Council is the first to take such a dramatic step in light of the June 14 fire at Grenfell Tower.
Council leader Georgia Gould said the borough took the unusual step after the London Fire Brigade and council experts had conducted a joint inspection of the properties.
"Camden Council is absolutely determined to ensure that our residents are safe and we have promised them that we will work with them, continue to act swiftly and be open and transparent," Ms Gould said in a statement.
The council is encouraging residents to stay with friends and family, but promised to provide temporary accommodations, if that was not possible. Repairs on the building are expected to be completed in three to four weeks.
"The Grenfell fire changes everything," Ms Gould said.
"We need to do everything we can to keep residents safe."
Ms Gould said the move came after firefighters said they "could not guarantee our residents safety".
But some residents were frustrated by the late notice of the evacuation orders.
"I think it's absolutely disgusting," evacuated resident Shirley Phillips told Sky News.
"Why have they left it till half-past eight at night to get the residents out? Where do they think we are all going?"
Camden is one of the councils in England which has learned that combustible cladding has been placed on buildings during renovation projects, rather than non-flammable cladding.
The aluminium composite panels, which are put on buildings to make them more energy efficient, are suspected of contributing to the rapid spread and intensity of the enormous Grenfell blaze.
Londoners on edge
Speaking to the ABC earlier this week, residents of the Chalcots Estate said they feared for their safety since discovering some of their apartment blocks had the same cladding as the Grenfell Tower.
"We know they've been doing safety checks, we've had letters from the council. I'm not reassured," Pei Ng said.
"[The cladding] is aesthetically pleasing but I'd rather live in an unappealing place than a fire hazard," said Jennifer Stewart-Cocco.
"Safety is more important than looks."
Earlier on Friday, police said they were considering filing manslaughter charges in the Grenfell incident.
In its most detailed briefing yet on the criminal investigation, the Metropolitan Police on Friday confirmed residents' suspicions that the inferno at Grenfell was touched off by a refrigerator fire.
The department also said exterior cladding attached to the 24-storey public housing project during a recent renovation failed safety tests conducted by investigators, and that police have seized documents from a number of organisations.
The Government has called on all building owners, public and private, to submit samples of cladding material used on their buildings for testing.
Samples from 14 buildings in London, Manchester and Plymouth have already been found to be combustible.
Fears about cladding are not limited to apartment buildings — at least one hotel chain is calling in experts to make certain it meets safety regulations.
Premier Inn said on Friday it had "concerns" about the material used on some of its buildings, though it is different from the type used at Grenfell Tower.
ABC/wires
Topics: industrial-fires, disasters-and-accidents, local-government, housing, united-kingdom
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