Records show that a contractor installed "over-cladding with ACM cassette rain screen" during the recent refurbishment at Grenfell Tower. The term ACM stands for aluminium composite material. With this kind of material, the choice of insulation core material determines how easily it can be burned. Several tower building fires have involved the same external materials, including the 2009 Lakanal House fire in Camberwell, London, the 2009 Beijing Television Cultural Center fire and the 2015 fire at The Marina Torch, Dubai. Sam Webb, the architect who investigated the Lakanal fire and who sits on the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group, said "This tragedy was entirely predictable, sadly."
The product used was Reynobond, which is available with different types of core material—polyethylene, as reportedly used in Grenfell Tower (Reynobond PE), or a more fire-resistant material (Reynobond FR). The Reynobond cladding reportedly cost £24 per square metre for the fireproof versions, and £22 for the flammable version. According to the BBC, the more fire-resistant version (Reynobond FR) is a very new product, and it is unclear whether it was available at the time the building was being clad.
According to the US-based manufacturer of Reynobond, the polyethylene version of the material is banned in the United States for use in buildings exceeding in height, because of the risk of spreading fire and smoke. The refurbishment also used an insulation foam product named Celotex RS5000, installed behind the cladding.
According to its datasheet, the polyisocyanurate product—charred pieces of which littered the area around Grenfell Tower after the fire—"will burn if exposed to a fire of sufficient heat and intensity".
The cladding at Grenfell seems to have been used to decorate other apartment blocks. People are concerned that the affected buildings may face the same problems.
Some residents had reported concern that the new cladding on the building was fixed onto it with wooden battens. There is widespread concern amongst residents and fire safety experts about the increasing use of timber, even in high-rise buildings, following a change to building regulations. It was reported that one reason for the new cladding was to improve the view for people living in the surrounding area.
Some residents said no fire alarms went off when the fire started. Residents said they were alerted to the fire only by people screaming for help or knocks on the door and not by a fire alarm. Others reported that they survived by ignoring the council's "stay put" policy, its directive instructing residents to remain in their flat in case of fire.
The London-wide Radical Housing Network, a citizens' action "group of groups... fighting for housing justice across London" of which the Grenfell Action Group is a member, said that the fire was "a horrific, preventable tragedy" that was the result of a "combination of government cuts, local authority mismanagement, and sheer contempt for council tenants and the homes they live in".
People in the immediate area and from across London rallied to assist victims of the fire. Donations of food, water, toys, and clothes were made. Saint Clement Church on Treadgold Street and St James' Church, Norlands, in the Deanery of Kensington, provided shelter for people evacuated from their homes, as did nearby mosques and temples.
Nearby Queens Park Rangers Football Club have offered their Loftus Road venue as a relief centre and are accepting donations of food, drink and clothing from the local community, and other nearby football clubs Brentford and Fulham have offered their stadiums as relief centres.
Washington County, Texas
Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, 33,718 people lived there. The county seat is Brenham.
Coryell County, Texas
Coryell County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, 75,388 people lived there. The county seat is Gatesville.
DeWitt County, Texas
DeWitt County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, 20,097 people lived there. The county seat is Cuero.
Goliad County, Texas
Goliad County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, 7,210 people lived there. The county seat is Goliad.
Jean Nicot
Jean Nicot, sieur de de Villemain (born 1530 in Nîmes, died 1600 ij Paris) was a French nobleman, and diplomat. He was the French ambassador in Lisbon, from 1559 to 1561. He also negotiated the marriage of princess Margaret of Valois, who was five years old at the time, with prince Sebastian of Portugal, who was six years old at the time.
When Nicot returned, he brought tobacco plants. He introduced snuff tobacco to the French royal court. In particular, he presented the queen mother, Catherine de' Medici, with tobacco leaves to cure her of her migraines. The plant was also an instant success with the Father Superior of Malta, who shared tobacco with all of his monks. More and more of the fashionable people of Paris began to use the plant, making Nicot a celebrity.At first, the plant was called Nicotina. But nicotine later came to refer specifically to the particular chemical in the plant. The tobacco plant, "Nicotiana", also a flowering garden plant, was named after him by Carl Linnaeus, as was nicotine. Nicot described its believed medicinal properties (1559) and sent it as a medicine to the French court.For his service to the French royal court, Nicot was given the name 'de Villemain' and land near Brie-Comte-Robert. There, he compiled one of the first French dictionaries, "Thresor de la langue françoyse tant ancienne que moderne" (published in 1606).
Subsidized housing
Subsidized housing is the idea to create housing opportunities (usually flats) for people who have trouble finding a flat on the free market. Usually, this means that there is a maximum . Very often, the government pays part (or all) of this rent. People who get the apartments or flats need to meet certain criteria.
Raynaud's syndrome
Raynaud's Syndrome -- poor flow of blood in a narrow line under the skin.? This is due to smaller arteries.
It is mostly found more in women than in men. It is a disease attributed to the Celts, a race of people originally found in northern U K ,and spread from Scotland to Ireland,the Isle of Man, and north Wales ,and now ,of course, can be found in any part of the United Kingdom ,even to the extent that some members only of a family may have the classical signs of a celt ( ginger hair, freckles, blue eyes , and very thin skin which does not take a tan) and are prone to complaints which show poor circulation. The circulation problem shows itself in having very cold fingers on the hands and also very cold toes ,and even legs during the very cold weather of mid-winter .It is possible to go through life without having
heard of Raynaud's Syndrome (or Disease) as it is sometimes called, when one is clearly of the tribe! Nothing to worry about ,though, usually, but it can become more of a problem as people age. Look right at the example of it and it is clear, so if you have had this experience then have a word with your doctor ,some time.
2017 Congressional baseball shooting
On June 14, 2017, in Alexandria, Virginia, James Thomas Hodgkinson opened fire on several Republican members of Congress and their staffers, who were practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game scheduled for the next day.
A ten-minute shootout ensued between Hodgkinson and officers from the Capitol Police and Alexandria Police. Hodgkinskon shot five people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R–LA) and two Capitol Police officers assigned to protect him; one of the officers shot Hodgkinson, who later died from his wounds. Police have not commented on his motivation.
Scalise was the first sitting member of Congress to have been shot since Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was attacked in the 2011 Tucson shooting.