Warnings fell on deaf ears

"The company responsible for the safety and maintenance of the block of flats which turned into a raging inferno and killed at least 12 people was paid £11million last year from taxpayer's money."

"Grenfell Tower is owned by the borough council in Kensington and Chelsea, but the management of the building is the responsibility of an independent company - Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO)..."

"Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation have been called into question by residents on the West Lancaster estate for their handling of their buildings."

"The company's stock consists of 6,900 rentable homes and 2,500 leasehold properties having been handed a contract by the council in 1996."

"There have been reports that neither the sprinkler system nor the fire alarm went off in the early hours, and KCTMO was paid £420,000 to deliver what it described as Community Alarm Services throughout the area."

"It made a profit of £4.2million last year and £3.5million in 2015..."

"Grenfell Action Group said: 'Watching breaking news about the Grenfell Tower fire catastrophe. Too soon to even guess at numbers of casualties and fatalities."

"'We have posted numerous warnings in recent years about the very poor fire safety standards at Grenfell Tower and elsewhere in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea` (RBKC)."

"'All our warnings fell on deaf ears. This was inevitable and just a matter of time`."

"The group had been posting about their concerns of tower block's safety regularly calling for it to be torn down before it went up in flames in the early hours of this morning in White City."

"Their concerns included:
Fire alarms and sprinklers not working
Huge electricity power surges dating back as far as 2013
Signs, which were only put up in March, telling residents to 'stay put' in the event of a fire
Poor parking enforcement outside the tower blocks meaning fire exits were often blocked
A single staircase with no natural light being the only emergency exit route from Grenfell Tower""The concerns were put to Siobhan Rumble, formerly of KCTMO, but residents say their fears were ignored."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4603626/Taxpayers-11MILLION-company-managing-Grenfell-Tower.html#ixzz4k7vtoMjy