CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER – A CASE FOR FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS
On June 14, 2017, one of the most devastating fires hit the Grenfell Towers high rise buildings in London. There at least 80 people confirmed dead, over 70 additional injured and hospitalized. The fire burned for over 60 hours and over 250 firemen were involved in putting out this blaze. The apartment building was a 24 story high rise and the fire started in a fridge-freezer on the 4th floor.
Anger is rising amongst the British people in the aftermath of this fire and many people are calling for justice! Reports from London state that safety concerns in the building had been ignored for quite some time. There was no sprinkler system in the building and in fact some of the materials used to renovate the building were considered highly flammable and probably helped the fire to spread. Joe Ruane, the former deputy chief fire officer for US Air Force bases in Britain, stated that he has never seen a blaze like this before and it appears that more than one fire protection safeguard failed. Labour MP David Lammy denounced the fire as “corporate manslaughter”. He said arrests should be made based on the negligence of the building owners.
This type of tragic fire raises the need for awareness in following the laws and codes set forth by Fire Protection Agencies. A fire sprinkler system could have prevented this catastrophe fire on the 4th floor before it could spread throughout the entire building. Neglecting to protect people, or not to inspect and maintain existing fire & life safety systems at the expanse of corporate savings, can result in tragedy such as the Grenfell Towers fire.
For more details on this tragic story, Click Here: http://www.newser.com/story/244311/london-blaze-called-corporate-manslaughter.html
