Last night, Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches’ aired a programme entitled: ‘Grenfell: Did the Fire Brigade Fail?’
Prior to the airing, we shared a personal account of a firefighter who was actually there and who was amongst the first to respond to the tragic incident that ended up claiming so many lives.
The response to the article was overwhelming with 99.9% of the comments being left in support of the fire service.
It is hardly surprising when you think about the appalling conditions which the firefighters had to endure as they risked their own lives to try and save as many lives as they could.
The brave firefighters were told to write their details on the back of their helmets before they went into the inferno because the chances that they would never make it out again were so high.
This morning, a source sent us the following message that has been written and shared publically by a Grenfell Blogger, Keisha Morgan, using a Facebook page called: ‘Grenfell – The Truth Is Out There’.
The message reads:
‘Dear Firefighters,
‘Please know that the general public will not be watching Dispatches tonight. We are not stupid. We can see what Channel 4 are trying to do.
We stand with you. We thank you for everything you do to keep us all safe. Heroes every single one of you.
‘Shame on you Channel 4!!! How very dare you!!! No!!! Our firefighters did not fail us!!!!! We can give you a list of who failed!!!
‘1. The people who made the decision to wrap Grenfell in flammable cladding.
‘2. The people who made the cladding.
(The ignition of the polyethylene within the cladding panel produced a flaming reaction more quickly than dropping a match into a barrel of petrol)
‘3. The contractors who left gaps around the windows and decided to plug those gaps with a material derived from crude oil which produced the perfect medium for flame spread around the windows.
‘4. Exova, the fire safety consultants used in the refurbishment who had advised there would be no adverse impact on the spread of fire by the refurbishment.
‘5. The insulation manufacturer Celotex.
‘6. CEP, the sub-contractor which bought and fabricated the cladding panels.
‘7. Rydon, the main design and build contractor, who are now claiming they were not responsible for decisions relating to the cladding.
‘8. The council and the tower’s landlords, the Tenant Management Organisation who instigated and oversaw the botched refurbishment.
‘These parties all had collective responsibility. They all failed.
‘Our brave firefighters are not to blame for this. We stand with you ❤️
Lots of love
Keisha Morgan’
Editors Comment
Many within the emergency services family, including supporters of the emergency services, cannot understand why anyone would seek to present a question in relation to whether or not the firefighters on that night ‘failed’.
The one thing I am fairly confident of though, is that the majority of the people who made the programme would not have run into Grenfell Tower whilst it was on fire in order to try and save as many people as possible.
The truth is, that the firefighters who did run into that building will be remembered by generations to come as true heroes.
The outpouring of support for firefighters both before, during and after the programme was overwhelming.
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Firefighters run into the fire not away from it.theyre only human but on that day they were superhuman. No one had ever experienced anything like that before and probably mistakes were made but those firefighters deserve medals as not one refused to go in. If blocks of flats should not be built that high. Listen to the firefighters not the architects.
I think that any normal person would see that what those brave firemen and women did at Grenfell was absolutley amazing, reminded me of the bravery of the war, when people all came together. We should be recommending bravery awards to those who took their lives in their hands in order to save as many as they could. The fact that there were a lot of people there that shouldn’t have been made things worse. I for one take my hat off to you all, and although I didn’t watch the programme I think Channel four has just gone down in my estimation, to even contemplate putting you in that position. Well done your courage.
Total respect to our fightfighters, it must have felt like running into Hell that night, and with little thought for your own lives as you got others to safety. Don’t let the Media destroy you, the public admire and respect you and always will.