London – The UK government announced an extra 3.5 billion pounds ($ 4.8 billion) of relief funding on Wednesday to help millions of homeowners whose properties became unsaleable by the discovery that Common materials used in weatherproof buildings across Britain are extremely flammable.
Apartment buildings across the country are covered in flooring materials considered unsafe after the devastating 2017 fire at the Grenfell Tower in central London. The fire claimed 72 lives and showed how quickly the coating could allow flames to spread through a building.
Unable to sell their homes because no bank will give them mortgages, homeowners with dangerous flooring also faced rising costs associated with measures imposed to deal with the risk of fire, including paying watchmen to patrol buildings.
The government announced an initial amount of £ 1.5 billion for the removal of the unsafe coating last year. But for some homeowners, the measures came too late.
Hayley Tillotson, 28, fulfilled her dream of owning a home by saving the £ 10,000 deposit for her Leeds apartment. She was recently forced to declare bankruptcy after an unsafe coating and other fire safety issues were found in her building.
“It didn’t occur to me for a second that they could sell me something that is a deadly and completely inappropriate trap,” said Tillotson. “Now looking ahead, the rest of my future is ruined. It is gone. And there are thousands and thousands of people like me.”
The US connection
The announcement of additional funding came amid an ongoing investigation by the British government into the cause of the fire at the Grenfell Tower, which revealed how some of the companies that manufactured the materials used in the Grenfell coating continued to market their products as safe, although some employees knew they were flammable.
Among these companies is the American company Arconic, which manufactured the cladding of the Grenfell Tower through a French subsidiary.
The emails shared with the survey show that some Arconic employees were aware of the fire hazard posed by the type of flooring used in the Grenfell Tower, but that the company continued to sell it nonetheless.
In a statement, the Pittsburgh-based company said it “continued to offer its full support to the authorities as the investigation worked through the complex issues raised. It is inappropriate to comment further while the investigation is ongoing and before all the evidence has been presented. in Phase Two. “
“These corporations are still operating as if nothing has happened,” Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle was killed in the fire at the Grenfell Tower, told CBS News. “People should be safe in their homes. People shouldn’t feel like they’re going to sleep and not know if they’re going to wake up or not.”
BBC News’ Vinnie O’Dowd contributed to this report.