London fire: An estimated 600 high-rise buildings in U.K. likely fitted with flammable panels, government says

As many as 600 high-rise residential buildings across England use cladding that is similar to the material used on Grenfell Tower, where at least 79 people lost their lives in a fire last week.

The British government said Thursday that authorities were working to carry out safety checks on all apartment blocks to see whether any other residences could be at risk.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she had just been informed that samples taken from three buildings had been found to be combustible” and that more results would be made public within days.

Public and private landlords were being urged to send materials for testing, and the local authorities responsible for the at-risk buildings had been notified so occupants could be relocated or alterations made immediately.

“I urge any landlord who owns a building of this kind to send samples for testing as soon as possible,” May said. “Landlords have a legal obligation to provide safe buildings, and where they cannot do that we expect alternative accommodation to be provided. We cannot and will not ask people to live in unsafe homes.”

The fire, which broke out in the early hours of June 14, consumed the west London building within about an hour. Some residents living in the roughly 150 apartments managed to escape, but many did not and horrifying scenes unfolded.

Parents threw their young children from windows in a desperate bid to save them, and occupants made heartbreaking final phone calls to loved ones and stood in the upper floor windows shining flashlights to let emergency crews know they were trapped.

The police now believe that at least 79 people died, but have said that the number could rise and that some bodies will never be recovered because of the ferocity of the fire, which destroyed everything in its wake.

The building had recently undergone a $12.6-million refurbishment that included new cladding, made of an aluminum composite material that is banned in the U.S. and Germany.

The speed with which the building caught fire has led experts to believe that the cladding was to blame; flames were seen leaping up the exterior, making rescue attempts virtually impossible on some floors.

Many residents had expressed concern about fire safety within the property, but believed their warnings were ignored. This has raised emotional debates in Britain about whether they were not taken seriously because the inhabitants were largely low-income tenants living in public housing.

“At least 79 people are dead; it is both a tragedy and an outrage because every single one of those deaths could and should have been avoided,” opposition Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

He said the government consistently fails to listen to the needs and concerns of the poor.

“The pattern is consistent: Working-class people’s voices are ignored, their concerns dismissed by those in power.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government said that the 600 buildings that had been identified did not necessarily use the exact same material as that used in Grenfell Tower, but that urgent safety checks were taking place.

The prime minister also again acknowledged and apologized for the failures her government had made in the days after the blaze. She was roundly criticized for initially visiting the site but meeting only emergency workers and not residents, victims and their families. She was greeted by angry heckles and shouts of “coward” during a subsequent visit and has since announced the creation of a $6.3-million fund to support those affected by the fire.

May said that the Kensington and Chelsea council, which owns the building, was unable to deal with the scale of the disaster and that its chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, had resigned. The emergency response, which was initially set up in an ad hoc manner by volunteers and community members, has been under the control of the government since Sunday.

A public inquiry has also been launched, and “no stone will be left unturned,” May promised Thursday.

“For any guilty parties, there will be nowhere to hide,” she said.

Boyle is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

9:15 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting.

This article was originally published at 6:35 p.m.