Merseyside campaigners fear Grenfell repeat with hundreds still living in dangerous properties

Today marks five years since 72 people died in a blaze in the London tower block

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Author: Paul DowardPublished 14th Jun 2022

With hundreds still living in potentially dangerous buildings across Merseyside, campaigners here fear a repeat of the Grenfell Tower fire, five years on from the tragedy.

72 people died in the blaze in 2017, prompting investigations on homes with similar cladding up and down the country.

Half a decade on and we're hearing around 340,000 properties in England are still at risk of a potentially fatal fire, with many more people unable to sell their homes due to defects.

Julie Fraser started the Liverpool Cladiators campaign group after her own apartment was found to have similar cladding to the London tower block :

"It's everybody nightmare, seventy two people killed in that building and I didn't initially think, oh my gosh, that could be me.

"It's the helplessness, there's nothing you can do. Why shouldn't you be safe in your own home?

"Why are people still living in dangerous buildings five years on? It could happen again. There have been fires, people have died and people have lost their homes.

"Still, so many are not aware of this which I find quite incredible to be honest.

"I have seen testing done on HPL cladding and I know that it had to be stopped after seven minutes because it completely took hold of the building. It's really scary, it's almost like pouring petrol on a building and setting light to it".

Since the disaster the government's announced a plan aimed at making buildings safe without the homeowner having to pay for it themselves.

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