I’ve been speaking in a European Parliament debate about fire safety in buildings following the Grenfell tower tragedy. I shared some of the points made to me by firefighters I met last week. I also called for clear, unbiased answers to what happened, so that at best, we can make sure this never happens again and at worst, firefighters have every chance to save lives and put out the blaze before it spreads.
The importance of fire safety in buildings was all too tragically highlighted by the horrific events at Grenfell tower in my home city of London.
Following the grief, the anger, and sadly the shameful attempts by British opposition politicians to exploit the tragedy to score cheap political points
Our priority should continue to be to help the survivors to rebuild their lives.
My hope is that the full public enquiry that the British Prime Minister has rightly ordered will reveal
Why did it happen?
What can we learn?
How do we prevent a repeat of the terrible tragedy?
When MEPs met firefighters from across the EU last week, they told us that this tragedy could have occurred in any of their cities.
A British firefighter told me that in the UK, an apartment in a high rise building with the door shut, should be able to contain a fire for 40 minutes to allow time for evacuation and to put out the fire.
At Grenfell, the door to the flat was open and the fire escaped through the window and spread by the flammable cladding in a matter of minutes.
A Belgian firefighter explained that plastics containing petroleum release oils and toxic smoke making their job more dangerous and suffocating victims.
They shared concerns over single staircases in some high rise buildings which means those fleeing fires may block emergency services entering the building.
They told me that they are now assessing which buildings contain similar dangerous cladding in their cities.
So many issues were exposed by this tragedy that need to be addressed.
But whichever city or country you are from
We need to make sure that
At best, such a tragedy does not occur again
At worse, emergency services are able to put out the fires and evacuate residents safely
We owe this to our citizens and the emergency services that keep us all safe.
As a Londoner born and bred, I am so proud when I hear stories of individuals and communities from across London and the UK who came together, to support those that had suffered the greatest of losses.
Let me end by expressing my deepest sympathies for the victims and their loved ones. ones.
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