The Fire Brigades Union is marking the fourth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster by laying a wreath at Grenfell Tower, and attending the annual silent walk which marks the disaster.
Firefighters will form a guard of honour for the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell at the walk. The union has also produced a video which marks the anniversary and urges the government to end the building safety crisis. It can be viewed here:
The Grenfell Tower disaster claimed 72 lives, and has left hundreds more bereaved, traumatised and having lost their home. Over 250 firefighters were at Grenfell, and 40 fire engines were in attendance.
Since the disaster, the Fire Brigades Union has remained intimately involved with Grenfell. This has included supporting the bereaved, residents and survivors in remembering victims of the fire, with the union attending the silent walks, as well as campaigning in relation to the issues which made Grenfell possible.
This campaigning has included activity to oppose the building safety crisis, which has left people living in dangerous homes across the country - with fire defects made clear in light of Grenfell. The video, which the union has made to mark the anniversary, continues this activity.
In it, FBU general secretary Matt Wrack underlines the danger that unsafe buildings continue to pose, saying “we still have thousands of buildings with exactly the same cladding” as Grenfell, something that “doesn’t just endanger the residents of the block, it also endangers the fire crews being sent to tackle that fire”. He also calls on the government to step up their response to the crisis, describing them as doing “the absolute minimum”.
