Grenfell Tower Research Articles

A critical discursive psychology approach to understanding how disaster victims are delegitimized by hostile Twitter posts: Racism, victim‐blaming, and forms of attack following the Grenfell Tower fire

AbstractIn this study, we aim to investigate how expressions of racism, victim‐blaming, and attacks in different forms might function to delegitimize the support that victims might receive from the public. In order to understand how different forms of attacks in language happened to delegitimize the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, we collected 416 hostile tweets from Twitter and used a critical discursive psychology approach to understand what was said, how it was said, and how it functioned. We found that attacking the victims was accomplished in two ways: (a) Twitter posts drew upon a conspiracy theory in which survivors and victims benefitted from the support of a supposed ‘liberal establishment’, and (b) Twitter posts delegitimized victims via ascribing them illegitimate identities. We also discuss the importance of counter‐discourses that might be used to challenge these attacks and facilitate the representation of community empowerment when there is a disaster.

Place as social identity: an analysis of the spatial enactments of community loss and activism within the built environment surrounding Grenfell Tower

ABSTRACT This article is based on analysis of narrative interviews with individuals active in local community work in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. It explores how the public spaces and buildings around the tower were claimed and shared by the community, first for emergency support and then for collective mourning, remembrance, worship, and activism. Applying the social psychology of community participation, the article elaborates place identity as a form of social identity and shows how participation functions to organise shared representations of local conditions and facilitate empowerment for social change. Further, the article posits that, in contexts of urban super-diversity, the shared use of local spaces, including faith spaces, generates new forms of belonging-in-multiculture that can become the basis for community development and collective struggle against racialised marginalisation.

The politics of the production of knowledge on trauma: the Grenfell Tower Inquiry

AbstractThrough an analysis of data obtained from research carried out with the bereaved families of Grenfell Tower and residents of North Kensington, this article demonstrates that the Grenfell community's knowledge on the causes that led to the fire is being systematically excluded by the Inquiry. The article discusses the four main ways in which this is happening. Through its exclusionary practices, the Inquiry is representing a diversion from the principles set by the Hillsborough Independent Panel and the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and is creating conditions that will impede its ability to fulfil the purpose for which it was established. By linking Foucault's power/knowledge theory and critical trauma studies, it is demonstrated that the Inquiry is reflecting a central dynamic that exists in processes of knowledge production on trauma. The lens of knowledge known to people who have undergone trauma is recognized as a critical research tool in revealing legal mechanisms of knowledge exclusion.

Tower block refurbishment, flats, and understandings of ownership

AbstractThis article uses the research findings from a study of the refurbishment of council tower blocks to reflect on what it means to be a leaseholder of a flat, and how this relates to ideas associated with property and ownership. The experiences of leaseholders (little input into decision making and the fear of crippling bills), together with the challenges for the building owner of upgrading blocks within a prevailing property narrative of exclusion, are also echoed in the unfolding building safety crisis in flats that has emerged following the Grenfell Tower fire. Both reveal the vulnerability of flat owners. Overall, it is shown that the property law regime does not currently meet the ownership expectations of those buying flats and is poorly designed to provide for the longevity of safe and well‐maintained buildings.

Trent Brick Panel: innovative envelope system designed according latest UK national fire and energy performance regulations

In November 2018, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) introduced an amendment to the Building Regulations 2010, which outlined stricter rules banning the use of combustible materials defined by the new Building Regulation 7(2). This change had a significant impact since early 2019, on the materials and systems that can be used in the construction sector. In 2020, the global pandemic caused by the diffusion of the COVID-19 virus represented a new challenge for the industry, with implications on programme certainty, material procurement, workforce management, moving towards offsite manufacture. The development of the Trent Brick Panel is set against this historical and social context. The envelope prototype is the opportunity for innovation that follows the turn of events. The offsite manufacturing of glass-reinforced concrete panel, mimicking several finishes, is the result of a design investigation carried out with the market-leading actors: developers, main contractors, subcontractors, engineering consultancies, architects, local authorities and warranty providers. The research aims to give an overview of the design principles, sequence and buildability study, assessed weathering performance according to CWCT Sequence B test and fire performance.

The reemergence of Engels’ concept of social murder in response to growing social and health inequalities

In 1845, Friedrich Engels identified how the living and working conditions experienced by English workers sent them prematurely to the grave, arguing that those responsible for these conditions -- ruling authorities and the bourgeoisie -- were committing social murder. The concept remained, for the most part, dormant in academic journals through the 1900s. Since 2000, there has been a revival of the social murder concept with its growth especially evident in the UK over the last decade as a result of the Grenfell Tower Fire and the effects of austerity imposed by successive Conservative governments. The purpose of this paper is to document the reemergence of the concept of social murder in academic journal articles. To do so we conducted a scoping review of content applying the social murder concept since 1900 in relation to health and well-being. We identified two primary concepts of social murder: social murder as resulting from capitalist exploitation and social murder as resulting from bad public policy across the domains of working conditions, living conditions, poverty, housing, race, health inequalities, crime and violence, neoliberalism, gender, food, social assistance, deregulation and austerity. We consider reasons for the reemergence of Engels’ social murder concept and the role it can play in resisting the forces responsible for the living and working conditions that kill.

Buildings as complex systems: the impact of organisational culture on building safety

High-risk buildings can be considered as complex systems involving various social actors and technology, which draws attention to the organisational and social underpinnings of their safety. This research draws on complex systems theory and high reliability organisations (HRO) literature to develop insights into the cultural aspects of safety management and regulation of high-risk buildings. Ten semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the opinions and experiences of built environment professionals in England about the ongoing regulatory changes regarding high-risk buildings following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower. The findings expose some aspects of the organisational culture that underpin the safety-related behaviour in high-risk building life cycle in England, which are incompatible with those that underpin HRO. The findings also show how the studied regulatory changes are subsumed by this organisational culture and fail to deliver their intention. Hence, the paper establishes organisational culture of the building life cycle as a key consideration for safety management and regulation of high-risk buildings. The conclusion calls for future regulatory, practical and research efforts to develop a better appreciation of the organisational culture, and to aim for measures to cultivate a culture that enables collective mindfulness.

‘Full cause of weeping’: Affective Failure in The Queen (2006) and The Crown (2019)

This article reads The Crown, Series Three, Episode Three, ‘Aberfan’, as an adaptation of The Queen, both of which were written by Peter Morgan. Each focuses on a crisis in public relations emerging from Elizabeth II’s delayed reaction to a tragedy: the mining disaster in The Crown and the death of Princess Diana in The Queen. Both are double portraits, in which the monarch’s affective failure is contrasted with the more humane response of the prime minister, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair respectively. And both texts explore the tension between private grief and public performance. By reading these texts in dialogue, their relevance to their contemporary contexts is magnified. The Queen uses Elizabeth II’s nadir in public relations to comment on Blair’s fall from grace as a result of the Iraq War, while ‘Aberfan’, by emphasising the avoidable nature of the disaster, comments on the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017. While neither text shrinks from criticising the monarch for her breakdown in empathy, the resonances between Aberfan and Grenfell allow the Queen’s immediate and humane response in 2017 to redeem her delayed reactions in the past. This demonstrates the capacity of fictional texts to intervene in the popular perception of their subjects.

London Fire Brigade's screen and treat approach to the Grenfell Tower incident

PurposeThe purpose is to report on the mental health response to the Grenfell incident within the London Fire Brigade (LFB).Design/methodology/approachThe LFB implemented screening for the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 28 days, 3 months and 6 months for all personnel directly involved in the incident.FindingsThe prevalence of PTSD within frontline personnel was 13.4% at 28 days, falling to 7.6% at 6 months. The LFB's internal Counselling and Wellbeing Service offered treatment to those scoring above the cut-off for PTSD along with accepting self-referral and referrals from line managers and occupational health. There were 139 referrals within the 12-month period following the incident.Research limitations/implicationsThe outcomes for those who engaged in treatment are broadly in line with other studies evaluating post-disaster interventions. Issues for consideration within national guidelines are discussed.Practical implicationsThe screen and treat approach adopted by LFB was shown to be a feasible approach to use within such a scenario.Originality/valueThe current study reports on a screen and treat approach to one of the largest single incidents in the UK in recent years.

Civil engineers need to act now on the wider lessons from the Grenfell tower fire tragedy

The ongoing inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell tower fire in London has exposed major shortcomings in the UK construction industry. John Carpenter, former secretary of the Standing Committee on Structural Safety, says civil engineers need to start putting these lessons into practice now.

Reducing fire risk in buildings: the role of fire safety expertise and governance in building and planning approval

Following the Grenfell tower incident, fire safety is being re-examined around the world. One key area is planning and building approval. It has been suggested that expert fire authority advice is being ignored in building and planning control. In this paper, freedom of information requests were submitted to fifty local government authorities (covering approx. one quarter of the England and Wales population), and three fire authorities, to examine their consultation process. No prior study has examined this relationship in detail. This work attempts to identify who is assessing fire safety, what expertise exists in the system, and what guidance is available from central government. The impact of austerity on the ability to effectively manage fire safety is also discussed. Results show local government authorities have a large degree of discretion with no guidance from central government on fire safety expertise needed to assess non-prescriptive building standards, and only limited guidance on how fire authority advice should be used by local government. The result is a dramatically different level of engagement of fire authorities, and implementation of fire safety advice. There does not appear to be any guarantee that fire expertise is being employed for the purpose of fire safety in building/planning processes. This means the building regulatory regime may be one of the many issues contributing to fire safety issues. Stronger legislation is required to prevent a post-code lottery of fire safety implementation.

Social impact measurement in social housing: a theory-based investigation into the context, mechanisms and outcomes of implementation

PurposeEnglish social housing providers are increasingly turning to social impact measurement to assess their social value. This paper aims to understand the contextual factors causing this rise in the practice, specifically within this sector; the mechanisms that enable it to be effectively implemented within an individual organisation and the outcomes of successful implementation for individual organisations and more widely across the sector and beyond.Design/methodology/approachA realist theory-based approach is applied to the study of a small number of social housing organisations and leaders within the sector to explore the use of social impact measurement. The paper addresses three questions: Why is social impact measurement being adopted in this sector? How is it successfully implemented? And what happens (outcomes) when it is successfully implemented? Addressing these questions necessitates deeper insight into the contextual pressures that have brought to the fore social impact measurement within the sector and the beneficial outcomes the practice provides (or is anticipated to provide) to social housing providers. The methodological approach of Realist Evaluation (Pawson and Tilley, 1997, 2004) is used to structure and analyse the empirical data and findings into a programme theory for social impact measurement. Realist Evaluation provides a programme theory perspective, seeking to answer the question “what works, for whom and in what circumstances?”. In this research, the “whom” refers to English social housing providers and the circumstances are the contextual conditions experienced by the sector over the past decade. The programme theory aims to set out the links between the contextual drivers for social impact measurement, the mechanisms that bring about its implementation and the outcomes that occur as a result. Within this, greater detail on the implementation perspective is provided by developing an implementation theory using a Theory of Change approach (Connellet al., 1995; Fulbright-Andersonet al., 1998). The implementation theory is then embedded within the wider programme theory so as to bring the two elements together, thereby creating a refinement of the overall theory for social impact measurement. In turn, this paper demonstrates its importance (the outcomes that it can achieve for organisations and the sector) and how it can effectively be implemented to bring about those outcomes.FindingsSocial housing providers use social impact measurement both internally, to determine their organisational priorities and externally, to demonstrate their value to local and national governments and cross-sector partners then to shape and influence resource allocation. The practice itself is shown to be an open and active programme, rather than a fixed calculative practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe intensive nature of the research means that only a limited number of cases were explored. Further research could test theories developed here against evidence collected from a wider range of cases, e.g. other types of providers or non-adopters.Practical implicationsThe research makes a strong contribution to practice in the form of a re-conceptualisation of how social impact measurement can be shown to be effective, based on a deeper understanding of causal mechanisms, how they interact and the outcomes that result. This is of value to the sector as such information could help other organisations both to understand the value of social impact measurement and to provide practical guidance on how to implement it effectively.Social implicationsAs the practice of impact measurement continues to develop, practitioners will need to be aware of any changes to these contextual factors and consider questions such as: is the context still supportive of impact measurement? Does the practice need to be adjusted to meet the needs of the current context? For instance, the recent tragedy at Grenfell Tower has led to a reconsideration of the role of social housing; a new Green Paper is currently being drafted (Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2018). This may have a number of implications for social impact measurement, such as a rebalancing of emphasis on outcomes relating to environmental improvements, towards outcomes relating to the well-being of tenants.Originality/valueExisting literature is largely limited to technical guides. This paper links theory-based evaluation to practice contributing to social housing practice.

Understanding ethnicity and residential fires from the perspective of cultural values and practices: A case study of Leicester, United Kingdom

The Grenfell Tower and Lakanal House fires in London in 2017 and 2009 highlighted how these devasting events mainly affected people from ethnic minorities. While many studies have explored the role of socio-demographic variables in residential fires, ethnicity or race have received only marginal research attention. To redress this imbalance, this paper specifically addresses rate and severity of residential fires in relation to ethnicity. To that end, the study conceptualises ethnicity in a novel way—not as an individual variable but from a community perspective, focusing on cultural norms and practices and how these relate to residential fire incidents. As well as data from the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and the National Census, the study draws on data collected in a representative survey of community structure and risk behaviour in Leicestershire. The findings reveal that trust and personal relationships are fundamental to information sharing within this community. This highly personal form of knowledge acquisition is not matched by the fire and rescue service's more anonymous information-driven approach. The findings highlight the need for a more person-centred approach to fire safety to ensure that interventions in more vulnerable neighbourhoods and communities can contribute more effectively to fire safety and reductions in the rate and severity of fires.

Exploring the mental health impact on private flat owners in residential buildings with external combustible cladding

AimsTo explore the mental health of private flat owners in residential buildings with external combustible cladding, which require remediation following the 2017 Grenfell tower fire.The speed at which the fire at Grenfell spread, killing 72 people, is largely attributed to external combustible cladding. It is increasingly suspected that there are ongoing profound effects on the mental health of people living in flats with external combustible cladding like Grenfell both in the UK and abroad. The issue has left flat owners facing severe financial hardship, the threat of bankruptcy and concerns about safety in their own homes.MethodAn exploratory ‘Google Forms’ online mental health survey comprising multiple choice and free text questions over 47 sections was distributed to flat owners in affected buildings. The survey remained open for 6 weeks to allow response. 550 individual responses were studied.Result550 individuals completed the survey, from 143 buildings across 45 UK councils.As a direct result of external combustible cladding: 89.5% said their mental health had deteriorated,22.5% reported having suicidal feelings or a desire to self-harm,71.1% reported having difficulty sleeping,93.8% said they were suffering from worry and anxiety,59.6% used coping strategies to deal with their situation,35.1% said that existing physical and mental health conditions had been exacerbated,84.1% said they cannot move on with their lives and57.9% of people had concerns about seeking help or treatment for mental/physical health problems caused by their situation during the pandemic.In addition, free text responses reflected feelings of anxiety and low mood attributed to the constant fear of fire, and an inability to plan families and future homes. One person said, “I have been left utterly broken by this. My mental and physical health has worsened, I have severe anxiety, depression and PTSD. I struggle each day to keep myself alive.”ConclusionSafe housing is a basic human right. The results show the current situation is having a detrimental impact on flat owners’ mental health and makes a strong case for the provision of specific services offering support - particularly given it is 3.5 years since Grenfell and a viable solution for all is yet to be found.

Building Information Modelling for performance-based Fire Safety Engineering analysis – A strategy for data sharing

The Hackitt Report into the tragic loss of 72 lives in the Grenfell Tower fire, identified failures and poor practices associated with the UK construction industry. To address these failures the report makes several recommendations, including the development of a “golden thread of information” to be embedded throughout the entire building lifecycle enabling the recording and preservation of information. This is to be achieved through Building Information Modelling (BIM). However, to create a “golden thread of information” in BIM from the Fire Safety Engineering (FSE) perspective particularly for the performance-based approach, many significant challenges and limitations must be resolved. These challenges include the fact that no FSE specific information exchange is available in BIM and that the results produced by fire and evacuation modelling tools are not explicitly captured in the BIM Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) Model. Of the FSE tools that support BIM, this is mainly limited to geometry extraction from an IFC file. In this paper, a practical conceptual strategy to pave the way to resolve these problems is proposed. A number of developments by the authors are discussed, forming part of an international collaboration project proposal administered by buildingSMART to enhance the IFC Model from the FSE perspective. Additionally, to evaluate and demonstrate the benefits of two-way data flow between BIM and FSE tools, a prototype system together with a preliminary FSE based analysis database have been developed. The work presented in this paper, provides a practical road map for creating a ‘golden thread of information’ in BIM for performance-based FSE analysis.

Erratum

British Journal of Industrial RelationsVolume 59, Issue 2 p. 613-613 ERRATUMFree Access Erratum This article corrects the following: Fighting Fire: One Hundred Years of The Fire Brigades Union by Sian Moore, Tessa Wright and Philip Taylor. Oxford: New Internationalist, 2018, 336 pages, ISBN: 9781780264929, £9.99, paperback Frank Burchill, Volume 58Issue 1British Journal of Industrial Relations pages: 224-226 First Published online: February 18, 2020 First published: 27 May 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12619AboutSectionsPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL In [1], the following errors were published on pages 224, and 225. Title Fighting Fire: One Hundred Years of The Fire Brigades Union The title was corrected and should have read. Fighting Fire: One Hundred Years of The Fire Brigades Union by Sian Moore, Tessa Wright and Philip Taylor. Oxford: New Internationalist, 2018, 336 pages, ISBN: 9781780264929, 𝒵9.99, paperback Page 224 The Grenfell Tower block fire of 1917. The text was corrected and should have read. The Grenfell Tower block fire of 2017. Page 225 Given his politics as a member of the Socialist Workers'Party. The text is now corrected and should read. Given his known left-wing politics. Reference 1Burchill, F. (2020), Fighting Fire: One Hundred Years of The Fire Brigades Union by Moore, Sian, Wright, Tessa and Taylor, Philip. Oxford: New Internationalist, 2018, 336 pages, ISBN: 9781780264929, £9.99, paperback. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 58: 224– 226. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12515 Volume59, Issue2June 2021Pages 613-613 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Performing Expertise in Building Regulation: \u2018Codespeak\u2019 and Fire Safety Experts

Fire safety expertise was in great demand following the Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017. The government established a review of building regulations and an expert panel to inform its responses to Grenfell, and many other relevant organisations also formed their own expert panels. However, expert knowledge in fire safety is a highly contested domain, with knowledge claims based on differing sources. Fire fighters can claim expertise based on their experience of fighting fires, scientists and science-based engineers can claim expertise from experimentation, and those who create and enact regulations can claim expertise in what can termed ’codespeak’—the language of regulation. Although distanced from fundamental empirical experience of fire, codespeak is powerful because of its relative clarity and certainty, and legal status. Building users also bring their own form of ‘local’ expertise—they have first-hand experience of the practicalities of the solutions wrought by the other experts. Policy-makers thus face many competing forms of expert advice on fire safety, and their ability to judge what is most relevant in any particular case rests on the existence of a sufficient range and depth of in-house government expertise.

Temporally sorting images from real-world events

• A data-driven method for chronologically sorting images of real-world events by analyzing the appearance of the scene. • The duration of the event is split into successive intervals and their relationships are modeled hierarchically. • An evaluation of several data augmentation techniques in scenarios with limited data availability. • A visualization of the concepts learned by the model to sort images offers additional insights about the problem. As smartphones become ubiquitous in modern life, every major event — from musical concerts to terrorist attempts — is massively captured by multiple devices and instantly uploaded to the Internet. Once shared through social media, the chronological order between available media pieces cannot be reliably recovered, hindering the understanding and reconstruction of that event. In this work, we propose data-driven methods for temporally sorting images originated from heterogeneous sources and captured from distinct angles, viewpoints, and moments. We model the chronological sorting task as an ensemble of binary classifiers whose answers are combined hierarchically to estimate an image’s temporal position within the duration of the event. We evaluate our method on images from the Notre-Dame Catedral fire and the Grenfell Tower fire events and discuss research challenges for analyzing data from real-world forensic events. Finally, we employ visualization techniques to understand what our models have learned, offering additional insights to the problem.

Silent Walk as a street mobilization: Campaigning following the Grenfell Tower fire

AbstractThis paper uses ethnography and interviews with 15 participants who were actively involved in the campaign following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire to address the question of how campaigners use street mobilization to seek justice in the aftermath of a disaster. Analysis of observations and themes suggests that campaigners used street mobilization to do two things. First, they used it to build solidarity with supporters through accessibility, the use of shared social spaces and collectively showing respect for losses. Second, they used it to protest in a way that challenged negative stereotypes and projected their power to the authorities, who could not ignore such a large and dignified mobilization. Whereas previous social psychology research on disaster communities focuses on the determinants of the immediate responses of people who experienced a disaster, we show the strategic aspects of such disaster communities. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Applying exposure and narrative approaches to a one-day workshop for children, young people and families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire

This article describes an innovative one-day workshop based upon trauma-informed exposure and narrative approaches. It discusses the aims, development and structure of the workshop, as well as future considerations for delivering a creative intervention to suit community needs.