Grenfell fire: Residents of tower blocks found clad in similar flammable material 'so angry they could cry'

'When that cladding catches on fire, nobody gets out,' says resident

Residents of five tower blocks thought to have been clad in similar flammable material as Grenfell Tower have spoken of their fear and anger at the discovery.

As workmen began removing panels at the Chalcots Estate in north London, one man whose 80-year-old mother lives on the 16th floor of one of the towers said she told him she would have to jump out the window if there were a serious fire, since she can no longer manage the stairs.

Camden Council has said it will urgently remove cladding from the blocks of flats on the Chalcots Estate near Chalk Farm, after laboratory tests revealed aluminium panels with a polyethelene core were added to buildings.

The council said the panels “were not to the standard” it wanted and said it would take “urgent legal advice". Though residents said they had been told the work to remove the cladding would start in around six weeks, men in hi-vis jackets and hard hats could be seen removing panels today. People living in the towers have not been told when the council expects to finish the work.

English councils have estimated that 600 high-rise buildings used cladding similar to Grenfell Tower in west London, where 78 people are feared to have died last week after the building was engulfed in flames.

Fire safety at all of Camden's high-rise blocks was reviewed after the deadly blaze, the council said. It is the first borough to confirm the cladding on its buildings will be removed. Following the laboratory tests, safety patrols would be made 24 hours a day on the estate to reassure residents.

Michelle Urquhart, who lives on the 24th floor of one of the blocks, said: “I'm absolutely disgusted. I'm so angry I could cry.

“It's all [about] cutting costs for people in council housing. All the complaints you make and nobody hears you.

“Why did Camden take the word of these people [the contractors for the building work] that this was safe?”

The main contractor on the renovation of five blocks in the estate was Rydon, the same company that worked on Grenfell Tower, according to the council. It carried out the refit between May 2006 and October 2009.

On its website, subcontractor Harley Facades said it completed a £16m contract for the external finishing of the buildings, including 4mm aluminium composite material rainscreen cladding.

Testing on council tower blocks across England have so far uncovered seven high-rise buildings fitted with flammable cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower. The buildings are spread across four councils in England, Downing Street has said.

Ms May told the House of Commons on Thursday that people living in the buildings affected by flammable cladding could be moved, saying: “We cannot and will not allow people to live in unsafe homes. They will be rehoused if they need to be."”

Yet Camden has not said whether any of the residents in the Chalcots Estate will be rehomed.

A man who lives on the 10th floor of one block and goes by the name Yogi said: “I had to move here, I was forced to, I don't like living here. I hate the place."

He added: “I'd rather live on the eighth floor where the fire engine can reach me with a ladder. I'm on the tenth floor. And when that cladding catches on fire, nobody gets out.”

Richard Davis, 48, whose mother lives on the 16th floor of one of the blocks, told The Independent he became concerned about the building’s safety after noticing that the panels on the outside looked similar to those on Grenfell Tower.

“My wife said she thought mum's block is made of the same material,” Mr Davis said.

“When I spoke to her [his mother] on the phone I asked what would happen if it went up in flames. She said she’d just jump.

"She's 80 years old living on the 16th floor, so she wouldn't be able to get down the stairs quick enough if it was to go up like Grenfell Tower."

Mr Davis added: “There should have been more research into [the fire safety at the Chalcots Estate]. I think it's pretty disgusting that it's had to take a tragedy like this for them to look into it.”

Bob O’Toole, chairman of the Chalcots Estate tenants' association, said a number of residents in the block were worried about their safety. “A lot of them can’t sleep at night – they've got kids.

“We’ve got a lot of vulnerable people here. Not a lot of people whose English is their first language."

Meazza Lisanework, a carer who lives on the 10th floor of one block said she was afraid for her ten-year-old son. “We had a meeting [with the council] and told them not to waste time because we have kids. I lost a family friend in that building [Grenfell tower], so it's terrifying. She had a three month old child.

“I live on the tenth floor [on the Chalcots Estate]. It's scary, I have a son.”

Ms Lisanework said she would not stay in her flat if there was a fire, as some fire safety advice had stipulated.

“I’m not going to stay, that's one thing I know," she said. "I'm not going to listen to anyone. I'll run, I will go as fast as I can.”

Council leader Claudia Gould said: “The arrangement of the cladding and insulation used on Camden Council’s buildings significantly differs from that on Grenfell Tower.

“It includes fire-resistant rock wool insulation designed to prevent the spread of fire and fire resistant sealant between floors, designed to stop a high-intensity flat fire from spreading to neighbouring flats.

“This arrangement previously contained a fire at a flat in Taplow block in 2012. These are significant and proven arrangements to stop the spread of fire.

“The new results from the laboratory show that the outer cladding panels themselves are made up of aluminium panels with a polyethylene core.

“Therefore the panels that were fitted were not to the standard that we had commissioned. In light of this, we will be informing the contractor that we will be taking urgent legal advice.”

The Independent has contacted both Rydon and Harley Facades for comment.