The Latest: UK update: 27 high-rises have dangerous cladding
LONDON (AP) – The Latest on response to deadly (all times local):
11:10 a.m.
Britain’s government now says that 27 high-rise apartment blocks in 15 areas have failed fire cladding safety tests.
Residents leave a tower block on the Chalcots Estate in Camden, London, Friday evening, June 23, 2017, as the building is evacuated in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire to allow “urgent fire safety works” to take place. More than 800 homes in tower blocks on the council estate in Camden, north London, are be evacuated. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
Officials had said earlier that samples of cladding panels from 14 buildings in London, Manchester and Plymouth had been found to be combustible.
The testing is being done as officials around Britain scramble to assess the safety of apartment buildings following the June 14 inferno that engulfed Grenfell Tower in west London, killing an estimated 79 people. Combustible cladding used to insulate that tower and improve its appearance has been blamed for the rapid spread of the blaze.
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10:10 a.m.
A local council in London says it evacuated some 650 homes overnight after inspectors found fire safety issues in four public housing towers, following the inferno in awest London apartment block that killed 79.
The revised number was lower than the 800 estimated Friday night.
Camden Borough Council says in a statement Saturday that it housed many of the residents at two temporary shelters while many others were provided hotel rooms.
The council is working with police, firefighters and the British Red Cross to help the evacuees.
Sky News quoted council leader Georgia Gould as saying the council secured 270 hotel rooms, 100 places in local public housing projects and asked neighboring boroughs for support.
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8:15 a.m.
The residents of roughly 800 apartments in London have been evacuated due to fire-safety concerns.
Many are being housed Saturday in temporary shelters. The unusual evacuation follows the fire that claimed at least 79 lives in a London high-rise last week.
That fire was found to have been spread by a type of exterior cladding also found on the buildings that were evacuated.
Camden Council in north London started the evacuation Friday night so urgent safety upgrades could begin.
Officials say they acted because fire officials said they could not guarantee the safety of residents. Similar inspections are ongoing elsewhere in Britain on hundreds of buildings.
Camden council representatives talk as they help residents as they are evacuated from the Burnham residential tower block on the Chalcots Estate, in the borough of Camden, north London, Friday, June 23, 2017. A local London council has decided to evacuate some 800 households in apartment buildings it owns because of safety concerns following the devastating fire that killed 79 people in a west London high-rise. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
London fire brigade officers speak to each other as residents are evacuated from the Taplow residential tower block on the Chalcots Estate, in the borough of Camden, north London, Friday, June 23, 2017. A local London council has decided to evacuate some 800 households in apartment buildings it owns because of safety concerns following the devastating fire that killed 79 people in a west London high-rise. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Residents leave a tower block on the Chalcots Estate in Camden, London, Friday evening, June 23, 2017, as the building is evacuated in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire to allow “urgent fire safety works” to take place. More than 800 homes in tower blocks on the council estate in Camden, north London, are be evacuated. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
Residents are evacuated from the Taplow residential tower block on the Chalcots Estate, in the borough of Camden, north London, Friday, June 23, 2017. A local London council has decided to evacuate some 800 households in apartment buildings it owns because of safety concerns following the devastating fire that killed 79 people in a west London high-rise. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
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