Transcripts For BBCNEWS Breakfast 20170614

And the fire broke out in the early hours of this morning between 12 and one oclock. The first call to the Metropolitan Police was at 1 15am. The blaze, you can see now there are no flames this stage, just smoke, and you can see the damage done to the building. Lets give you a sense from the images last night from the early hours of the morning. You can get a real sense of the scale of the blaze that was engulfing the building. Lets tell you about who is tackling the fire at the moment. Around 200 firefighters, a0 fire engines, and of course London Ambulance has sent a number of vehicles and medical staff to the scene. 0ur Correspondent is at the scene this morning. Tell us what you can see. Well, you can see the block is still alight. You can see some flames there. You can see the Fire Brigade Hosing down the lower reaches of the building. But the fire service said that this was a blaze reaching from the second floor right up to the 27th floor. Its been a blaze for five hours now. We hearfrom the police that there have been a number and a range of injuries but we have no precise details. We have some very disturbing Eyewitness Reports from people nearer the building at the time of the fire. They say they could hear People Screaming for help. Weve spoken to people ourselves who said they could see the flash of Mobile Phones a p pa re ntly the flash of Mobile Phones apparently signalling through the windows of the building. There are even some reports of people jumping from the building. What i did see with my own eyes in the early hours of the morning was the bottom left of the morning was the bottom left of the morning was the bottom left of the building, which, small part of the building, which, small part of it that hasnt been engulfed in fla mes of it that hasnt been engulfed in flames you can see that hydraulic platform with the hose. It was just behind that, maybe three oclock or four oclock in the morning, we could see a person briefly at the window, a figure, we dont know if it was a resident probably a resident, didnt know if it was a Firefighter Briefly came back to the window, and we didnt see that person again, so hopefully the fire brigade, who were in the building with Breathing Apparatus, hopefully that person was rescued from the block, but the fate of quite a few people is unknown at the moment. We will be coming back to use a co nsta nt will be coming back to use a constant updates throughout the morning. We should warn viewers this morning, these pictures are very, very distressing, and weve heard some distressing Eyewitness Accounts as well throughout the night ends this fire has been reported, so we do warn you that of course there is a live situation, and these pictures may seem very distressing to viewers watching breakfast this morning. Lets speak now to eyewitness stuart budd. What do you know about what happened . What do you know about what happened 7 where were what do you know about what happened . Where were you when you realised the fire had started . happened . Where were you when you realised the fire had started . I was at home actually. I live around the block, about three miles away, but i didnt know the magnitude of it. I basically thought id go down there, ta ke basically thought id go down there, take a couple of coats and a couple of bottles of water. I couldnt believe what i had seen. The whole building was on fire from the bottom to the top. I used to be the postman in the 805, and by boys used to box in the 805, and by boys used to box in the gym under there, the boxing club, so in the gym under there, the boxing club, 5oi in the gym under there, the boxing club, so i know the building very well. Honestly, club, so i know the building very well. Hone5tly, you could hear people 5creaming. Bits of the building falling, loud explosions, things falling, coming out the building, about 20 to 30 metres out, and the smoke wa5 building, about 20 to 30 metres out, and the smoke was unbelievable. Like people have said, Flashing Lights and torture5 people have said, Flashing Lights and tortu res and people have said, Flashing Lights and torture5 and all sorts of stuff, and torture5 and all sorts of stuff, and you cant imagine anyone im glad people got out. But a friend, he believed his loved ones were trapped on the 21st, and lost contact at two oclock, and he was telling them he didnt think hed make it out, so i dont know if you did or didnt, but. You think kid5 are going to go to school today and their mates are not going to be there, and people will go to work and their workmates will not be there. Tell us a little more about there. Tell us a little more about the scene when you arrived. This is around 2am, you said, and by that point, we were seeing the building pretty much entirely engulfed in flames, possibly with the exception of the first few flaw5. Just described the scene you saw. |j of the first few flaw5. Just described the scene you saw. I was looking out from the east, i 5uppo5e, looking out from the east, i suppose, and from the top corner of the building, the bit you are showing on the news now, on the top left, from that triangle shakedown, it just seemed to left, from that triangle shakedown, itju5t seemed to be sort of smouldering, but then a shape like the letter a, just flames were flying out the building. Like in a big a, all the way from the top to the bottom of the building. Unbelievable, redhot flames. Hone5tly, ive never seen anything like it. We can hear the shock in your voice. Im cautious this morning because weve heard some very harrowing Eyewitness Accounts of people calling out from the building itself during the course of tho5e building itself during the course of those early hours. What can you tell us those early hours. What can you tell us about people who might be caught up us about people who might be caught up in this . Well, i could hear screams, but it was hard to know if they were from people at the bottom of the building or in the building. There was so much noise going on around the place. You can imagine all the sirens, the helicopters above. It was pure panic and mayhem, ive got to tell you. Well, theres not a lot you can say. Its just awful. You mentioned before that you we re awful. You mentioned before that you were a postman, you used to deliver in that building. Can you give us some sense of the construction of the building, the lift 5hafts the building itself . You walk in. You know what, i wouldnt like to comment now because its changed, theyve refurbished it. I havent beenin theyve refurbished it. I havent been in the building for 25 or 30 years. In the old days, there was a lift, a normal lift shaft. You went straight in. To all the flats, ten, 12 on each floor. Just the normal. Normal tower block that youd find all over britain. Thank you for your time this morning. 0ne all over britain. Thank you for your time this morning. One of the early eyewitne55e5 who watched as the Fla Me5 Eyewitne55e5 who watched as the flames engulfed the building. If you are just tuning flames engulfed the building. If you arejust tuning in, we are keeping you up to date on the london Tower Block Fire that began in the early hours of this morning. This is g Re Nfell Tower early hours of this morning. This is Grenfell Tower in west london, very close to notting hill. Firefighters are battling now to bring the fire under control, and of course rescue people who are still trapped in5ide this 2a 5torey Tower Block in west london. Emergency services are at the scene, 200 firefighters, we understand, a0 engines, at least 20 ambulance crews, and the emergency 5ervice5 ambulance crews, and the Emergency Services have been deep in people up to date keeping people up to date keeping people up to date on social media. London fire brigade confirmed a0 fire engine5 fire brigade confirmed a0 fire engines and more than 200 firefighters and officers have been called to that Tower Block Fire. London ambulance were called at 1 29am to reports of the fire, the first report5 1 29am to reports of the fire, the first reports to Emergency Services at lancaster west e5tate. They continued we have sent a number of resources to the scene, a Hazardous Area response, and 20 ambulances. Lets bring you up to date on what i5 lets bring you up to date on what is happening in the area, very close to the aao. Metropolitan police confirming the aao i5 to the aao. Metropolitan police confirming the aao is closed in both directions are a very busy route into west london and the centre of town, 5aying, North Kensington police 5aying, do avoid the area. The london mayor, sadiq khan, has declared this incident at Grenfell Tower, saying there are a0 fire engine5 tower, saying there are a0 fire engines and 200 firefighters at the scene. Engines and 200 firefighters at the 5cene. An engines and 200 firefighters at the scene. An anonymous engines and 200 firefighters at the 5cene. An Anonymous Eyewitness has told us that he has heard that people have been jumping told us that he has heard that people have beenjumping onto airbags put on the ground by the Fire Crew5 Airbags put on the ground by the fire crews and have survived the jump. We can talk to another eyewitness now who has seen the situation unfold overnight. Thank you Forjoining U5 situation unfold overnight. Thank you forjoining us on breakfast. Can you forjoining us on breakfast. Can you tell us when you first realised the building was on fire . Yes, it wa5 the building was on fire . Yes, it was around 1 15am when we heard screams through the windows, and one of my relatives woke up and looked out the window and saw one side of the building totally aflame, woke u5 up, and we immediately 5tarted 5houting for help and got down to the street and came out towards the building to see if we could help anyone. And you live near to the building . Yes, we live about a kilometre away, a short walk. And obviously people are tuning into this news, waking up to this news this news, waking up to this news this morning. Youve seen some very distressing images, sell as much as you can to temper that, but to tell us you can to temper that, but to tell u5 exactly what you were seeing, how people were being re5cued. U5 exactly what you were seeing, how people were being rescued. Well, i met people coming out of the building, people known to us, family and friends, coming out of their own accord, three different families that we met who are 5afely evacuated, evacuated them5elve5, that we met who are 5afely evacuated, evacuated themselves, and that was in the early hours of the event. I understand that the stairs became unu5able after a certain amount of time, but we did learn that two people got out around a 30 a. M. , 5o that two people got out around a 30 a. M. , so that was good news, and ive been in the crowds where some of the survivors have been standing and speaking with people. We were actively watching one building window on the 11th or 12th floor, where a man has been seen walking in and out of the room, opening the window and closing it. Thats happening now . Thats right. Weve been monitoring that person since probably around 3 a5 a. M. , laura clark, four oclock, and it was one of the people that we saw visibly in the building while it was on fire. We understand several people are still trapped in the building. Have you had any indication of how many may still be in there, where firefighters are trying to focus their efforts . They are focusing their efforts on the lower floors, and understandably, because thats where the water can reach, and there is a portion of the building which you may be able to scene, which is relatively unburned, and thats where the person ive been watching was, and his window is now closed, if indeed it is a man i cannot tell and i cannot confirm any other reports really because i can only comment on what ive seen with my own eyes, but other people have said they know of people who did not come out who live there, but thats just information ive heard second hand, so i cant confirm it. Indeed, and this is a very close knit community, but quite densely populated community as well in the area, and we understand people are being told to move Community Centres to gather while accommodation is being sought for them. Can you tell us where people are being directed to go to . As far asi are being directed to go to . As far as i can tell, there are several different centres around the centre, the Latimer Christian Centre, but i havent had the specifics of which other areas devoted to gather Survivors Anthony people who may have survived the fire. 0k, thank you very much for your time and your Eyewitness Accounts are asked on bbc news. The live images we are showing you now are a major fire in west london. Lets give you a sense of the geography. We are in the latimer road area in white city. The block is called Grenfell Tower. You can see the wide shot over london, gives you a real sense of the scale of this lays. This is a 27 Storey Building. This is the area of Notting Hill Gate, not farfrom Shepherds Bush. You can see from the wide images, smoke still billowing from the building, spreading wide across london, so in terms of the timeline, we understand first indications are of the fire between 12 and one oclock, in the early hours of this morning. We will show you now some of the images that were taken. This is around two or three in the morning. From the people weve spoken to, it would appear the main part of the fire was in the middle of the building and then spread to the upper floors. The big question is, of course, about casualties. There are no official figures at the moment. We know a number of people have been taken away by ambulance, and weve heard from eyewitnesses who have spoken to those who have escaped, obviously wearing night dear. This happened in the middle of the night. A lot of families lived in the middle of this Apartment Block. So we are waiting for confirmation from the Emergency Services. A major internet has been declared and the streets surrounding have been shut down, and the aao has been shut down because of the fire and the surrounding areas. We can give you an idea of the scale of this fire. We can show you the wider shot from london. This has been taken from the top of millbank tower, just five miles away, so you can see the extent of this flame, these flames, and this Smoke Billowing from this building. We have been told by eyewitnesses throughout the night that the streets are full of fire engines and unmarked response cars. 0ne eyewitness, declined to be named, said he had heard explosions coming from the building. This is the view from the building. This is the view from five miles away. Another gentleman has said, from the east end, he can see the smoke from the fire and were drifting from Shepherds Bush towards alexandra palace, and as charlie said we havent had any specific numbers yet on injuries or people being trapped inside the building or any deaths so far, but of course we will keep you updated. Led speak to somebody who lives close to the tower. These are the images you can see live on the screen. Good morning. When did you first become aware of the problems . At about 1am this morning i heard what sounded like shooting sounds, bangs, and lots of Police Sirens. Then the length of the sirens extended and increased but i realised it might be something serious. I looked out my window expecting to find people with guns, but that was now what we know where these explosions, that bangs, which got louder. I at quarter past i looked up rather than down and i saw that the building was in three parts andi that the building was in three parts and i saw that one column on the right hand side was ablaze. So by 1 30ami Right Hand Side was ablaze. So by 1 30am i was downed by the building. 0ther Neighbours and People Living nearby had gathered and we watched the fire spread to the left. Then It Com Pletely The Fire spread to the left. Then it completely engulfed the building. Especially the top half of the building, it burnt through and then some of the flats you can still see are ablaze at the moment. Were people emerging from the building in those early hours . Yes, at the beginning there were people who had actually escaped from the 16th floor, but it was right at the very beginning. Then there were people we met later who escaped a little bit later using the stairwell, but i heard since then that the stairwell has all been on fire as well, i cant imagine how people would be able to use them any more to escape, u nfortu nately. Able to use them any more to escape, unfortunately. In the last few minutes we spoke to eyewitnesses locally who said that even as recently as a 30am or 5am they could still see people in the building. What can you tell us about that . Absolutely. People waving Mobile Phones, men who were screaming extended calls of help, i heard little girls screaming for help. It was just awful. Thats actually one of the things thats very peculiar, but it was the still of the night, com pletely but it was the still of the night, completely dark and silent and then i heard this Banging Sounds, the sirens, and then i heard People Screaming for help. As i was walking towards the building i heard the sounds intensify, but even from my window, i live across the road in another flat, i could window, i live across the road in anotherflat, i could hear People Screaming help in the dead of night. It was horrific, really traumatic. Should warn people who are joining traumatic. Should warn people who arejoining us this morning that traumatic. Should warn people who are joining us this morning that the fires you can see, that have taken hold in this building in the latimer road area, we are speaking to an eyewitness and inevitably there are some very grim stories and details emerging. Were you able to see firefighters who we know where there in force, were they able to get into the building . We have seen ladders with water being sprayed into the building, in daylight this morning. Were they able to get into the building . I can only give you second hand accounts from people who we re second hand accounts from people who were inside the building and met firemen in the stairwell. So they we re firemen in the stairwell. So they were inside the building. They successfully retrieved some people from the building. 0bviously successfully retrieved some people from the building. Obviously the area next to the building is cordoned off and secure. But i have heard that from people who have been rescued that they were rescued by the fire brigade, so they are in there and doing the best they can. But the building itself, thats the difficulty. Apparently the cladding is the reason it spread so fast. I dont know for sure but the academy was built and then they decided to upgrade the tower block, which is immediately in front of the academy. It seems that is what was set ablaze so quickly. In previous years there we re so quickly. In previous years there were fires but they were contained to one flat and never spread so quickly before. If we can just go to the images that we saw earlier, the night time images, when the fire was at its height. This would have been when you first saw the blaze. I dont know if you can give us a sense of the scale of that fire. I mean, you must have been extraordinary heat. It must have been a terrifying thing to be near . Ive never seen anything like it. Ive never seen anything like it. Ive never seen anything like it. Ive never witnessed anything like it. As many people have been saying, they hope they never will again. To see a building fully ablaze like this, for it to get to this point without being put out, for it to have reached so many family homes, u nfortu nately, have reached so many family homes, unfortunately, for so many people to have not come out. The top part of the building is completely burned through. No one can understand how anybody would have escaped from that, unless they got out at the very beginning stages. Yes, shocking, really. It would appear that within a short space of time the scale of the problem escalated very quickly from those early indications. As we understand it, between 12 and 1am, when the first fire began, at it clearly escalated very quickly. Very rapidly. Again, this is what i heard second hand, but apparently someone on the fourth floor, their refrigerator exploded. I met their neighbour who said a cane and knocked on their door and said, my fridge has exploded, get out. So they left the building and thenit out. So they left the building and then it just rapidly out. So they left the building and then itjust rapidly went through then itjust rapidly went through the building. But like i said at the beginning it was kind of in three parts. It went through one side of the building, then it started moving towards the left. Yes, very rapidly it went through. Everyone kept thinking that hopefully the white columns were concrete and would prevent the spread, but they wont as far as we can tell. They were burnt away. They were just part of this new cladding on the outside of the building. Just as we look at the images this morning in daylight, you we re images this morning in daylight, you were saying about people you know or people who you have spoken to who know people who have lived in the Apartment Block. Can you give us a sense of who was living there. We have heard reports of many children and families living there. Many children. Something i will never forget is hearing the children screaming for help. So for sure lots of children. This area is full of families, diverse backgrounds, every ethnicity. Every religion, everybody gets along really well. Youve got primary schools, secondary schools here, churches, mosques, Leisure Centres. This is a very densely populated area, so we has affected a lot of people. Nearly everybody in the surrounding area knows someone personally or has a Family Member who was in that building. We really appreciate your time this morning. That was one of the witnesses who saw as the fire engulfed the block of flats this morning. For anybody switching on this morning, you are seeing a london Tower Block Fire, Grenfell Tower, in latimer road, in white city. This tower block caught fire in the early hours of this morning. A 2a Story Building. These are the pictures when the flame was in full tilt last night. We have been hearing Eyewitness Accounts throughout the night from people in the area and in the community. We should warn you, we will be hearing some distressing accou nts we will be hearing some distressing accounts this morning. Wejust heard that children were screaming for help. This is a tower block filled with families, a very densely populated area in west london and people are still being rescued. There are 200 firefighters at the scene and a0 fire engines. The British Ambulance Service has just said it has already taken 30 people to fight hospitals following this fire. So 30 patients already have been taken to fight hospitals in the london area following this Tower Block Fire. We will keep you up to date throughout the morning. It can show you the scene. Plumes of smoke coming from the building in west london. The aao, the main road one west london. The aao, the main road one running into west london, been closed. This programme is a little bit different this morning due to these events. We will take a break for a short time to get the news, travel and Weather Forecast where you are this morning. Good morning from bbc london news, im sonja jessup. More now on the major fire thats engulfed a 27 storey tower block in west london. The mayor sadiq khan has declared a Major Incident, after the blaze spread rapidly through the Grenfell Tower, in kensington. Police have confirmed a number of people have been injured and an evacuation is continuing. Lets hear from one eyewitness. Ive got my friend said. Already she is out, but her brother and wife and children are still there and we dont know if they are safe or not. We re dont know if they are safe or not. Were there many Emergency Services very quickly . All of them were here, but they just put water on the first and second floors. They cant reach up. The people were screaming and they want to help, but no chance to help them. Residents whove been evacuated from the tower block are being directed to the Latymer Christian centre. 0n Social Media many others living in the area have offered shelter to those affected and its understood local mosques have also opened their doors to help. Well as you might imagine the fire has closed a number of roads in the North Kensington area. Heres how it looks. At the aao at the northern roundabout, you can see traffic there being diverted. The aao is closed between West Cross Route and the marylebone flyover, also partly shut are grenfell road, Silchester Road and bramley road. Its also affecting the tube. The circle line and the hammersmith city line are suspended between hammersmith and edgware road, with severe delays on the rest of the line. Also the District Line has severe delays between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway after an empty train derailed. Lets get the weather now. Heres kate kinsella. Good morning. It is a very bright and sunny start the day. Not much in the way of cloud to speak this morning. Sunny and very warm. The cabbage will steadily rise. Temperatures. The uv levels are higher, so sunscreen needed. The pollen count is still very high as well. Not much cloud around, so the temperatures could reach between 25 and 27 celsius. Maybe even up to 28. A very warm afternoon. Pleasant in the sunshine and overnight a warm and humid night. For Central London at least staying around 18 celsius, the quite uncomfortable for sleeping. More of the same first thing tomorrow. A bit more cloud pushes across. Thats a cold front. A little bit more cloud and it introduces some fresh air, so not as hot tomorrow. 22 23 the maximum. High pressure stays in charge. It will still be fine and dry. Friday, more cloud around and temperatures in the low 205. Towards the weekend of the cloud is squeezed out of the way and it is looking very promising. Lots of sunshine around for saturday and for sunday we could have temperatures up as high as 27 or 28 celsius. Thats it for now. Ill be back in around half an hour. Good morning. You are watching a slightly different editions this morning. Theres been a Majorfire Ina2a morning. Theres been a majorfire in a 2a Story Tower Block in west london. Lets go live to the images. This is a wide shot of west london. It is in the latimer road area of west london. The block itself is called the Grenfell Tower. We know the tower has around 120 apartments. The blaze itself broke out in the early hours of this morning between 12 and one oclock and very quickly took hold. Lets show you some of the images that were taken during the images that were taken during the early hours of this morning. It will give you a sense of the scale of the blaze itself. This is a major fire. The london mayor has declared this a Major Incident. Streets all around have been sealed off and residents have been evacuated. In terms of injuries, London Ambulance service says it is treating 30 people for injuries, not clear what those injuries are, but clearly there are many concerns about those residents in this Apartment Block. The fire breaking out in the early hours of this morning. Weve spoken toa number of hours of this morning. Weve spoken to a number of eyewitnesses and some of these reports we cant corroborate, but some people suggesting the fire may have broken out on the fourth floor of the Apartment Block, and in a very short space of time, the fire spread to the entire lets give you an idea of the scale of the Emergency Services reaction as well. More than 200 firefighters at the scene, a0 engines, many dozens at the scene, a0 engines, many d oze ns of at the scene, a0 engines, many dozens of ambulances as well, a number of resources being sent to the scene. We can talk to tim downie who lives very close to the area. We should say, its very near to the aao, the main road that runs to west london, which has been closed in both directions, Metropolitan Police have told us. Tim, youve been observing whats been happening pretty much from two oclock this morning, shortly after it was first reported. Yes, from about two. We we re reported. Yes, from about two. We were woken up by the sheer sound of fire engines and helicopters, shouting and screaming from people in the street What On Earth is going on . And to look out, pretty much where the tower is, the end of our road, and to see one whole side just up in flames from what i could see, from the ground to the very, very top just a horrific sight, and something you do not expect to see. Yeah, just the smell, the smoke, and when the wind changed, the sounds of people just screaming and shouting, just trying to get out. We are very mindful that people are tuning in this morning into bbc news and hearing this for the first time this morning. There are obviously some very devastating and distressing scenes that youve witnessed, and bearing that in mind, as you were saying, but what could you see in terms of how people were being rescued or how they were able to be evacuated from the building . There didnt seem to be any ladders on the outside. I dont know if that had just to do with how hot it was, and it was incredibly hot. Even from where we were, you could feel the heat. How the firefighters could go into the building to bring them out in people, if they got out early and quick, then from the very top floors, that was the best thing to do, but if it was any later than that, then i dread to think how on earth they would have got out. I know people did get out, but how they even got in. It was raging, they even got in. It was raging, the fire was just raging around, so how on earth they got anybody out is a miracle. Of course there is much speculation at the moment, but we should indicate that there are some speculations the Emergency Services we re speculations the Emergency Services were alerted to the fire very quickly because theres a strong muslim community, and its of course ramadan, and fasting and breaking eating very late, so could notify the Emergency Services. Tim, you lived not far from this tower block at latimer road. Tell me what the community is like, the kind of People Living in this tower block. We understand many families live there. Many families. Many families. We saw People Holding children out of windows to try and catch them below. The community itself its a very densely populated area, and the community itself has really pulled together. We were all out getting water for people that are coming out. The local shop opened up and we just took all the water out of that and we took that down to the court, people bringing coats and clothes, people bringing coats and clothes, people wearing just what they were standing up in. But its what people do. Something as horrendous as this, you help, and everyone has helped, eve ryo ne you help, and everyone has helped, everyone has pulled together. Where have people been directed to . Weve heard from many people in fact, this sense of community in the area, but where have people been directed to asa where have people been directed to as a holding area while this is sorted out . As far as im led to believe, there is a local church, the latimer church, which is on the other side from where i am, the other side from where i am, the other side from where i am, the other side of the road, which a lot of people have been taken to. Friends that work at st mary and the local hospital, some people have gonein local hospital, some people have gone in with burns, but, because the roads are so narrow around here, getting in and out has been incredibly difficult, and incredibly difficult thing to do, so how theyve got out i dont know, trying to get them over to the main roads would be the only thing i could think of. We are seeing pictures of the building now, and obviously a lot of smoke coming out of the building. We are not seeing flames at the moment. You are not farfrom there. Can you describe what you can see and the Current Situation you think we are at at the moment . At the moment, itsjust billowing. The smoke isjust. Just the moment, itsjust billowing. The smoke is just. Just dreaming the moment, itsjust billowing. The smoke isjust. Just dreaming out. Its all over the place. Very acrid just its all over the place. Very acrid just pluming its all over the place. Very acrid just pluming out. From the laymans points of view, it seems just a matter of time before its compromised and it collapses. We we re compromised and it collapses. We were thinking that that three or four oclock, when the smoke was coming out of it, and now it must just be a matter of time. I dont see how a building can withstand this much fire and devastation and remain standing. Its obviously a very distressing thing to witness, tim downie. We really appreciate you talking to us this morning and giving us your Eyewitness Account, and just to keep people updated, this is Grenfell Tower in west london, 2a Story Building which caught alight in the early hours of this morning, and firefighters have been tackling a major blaze. Its been tackling a major blaze. Its been described as a Major Incident by the london mayor, sadiq khan. Lets bring you the official information at this stage. Not much from the London Services but right now London Ambulance service says five people have been taken to hospital following the fire. This is in North Kensington, a very built up area of west london. We understand the first call to the Emergency Services was at 1 15am this morning, and very quickly in a short space of time maybe we can see some of the nighttime images, eyewitnesses describing for us this morning a very quick sequence in which the fire absolutely engulfed the building, and early indications are, in terms of those people who lived in the building, there are 125 flats in the building, there are 125 flats in the building, there are 125 flats in the building itself eyewitnesses say some people did manage to escape, particularly in the early hours of the blaze, and indeed one eyewitness telling us this morning as recently as a 30am or5am this morning as recently as a 30am or 5am there were people still seem in the building, but in terms of the official injuries, we know that 30 people have been taken to local hospitals by the London Ambulance service. Lets go to our reporter, tim moffat, at the Latymer Community Church, one of the places we understand people have been taken to. What can you tell us from there . People, as you can imagine, are gathering in a state of utter shock and despair, trying to take on board what has happened. Judith is with me. You live very close to the flats. Please describe what you saw. Sorry, im one of the local councillors. Ive come here because i know almost everybody that lives in that block. That block has just had a massive refurbishment costing millions of pounds. After the refurbishment was finished, the gas board came along and said there is a bit of a problem with the gas and we wa nt to bit of a problem with the gas and we want to replace some of the pipes. The residents asked for a Fire Inspection from the local fire brigade. This was carried out and they were told that everything was fine. Describe the atmosphere this morning while people try and take on board what happened. The atmosphere is that this is a very those knit community, multi ethnic, multicultural, a lovely community. Everyone ive spoken to is com pletely everyone ive spoken to is completely traumatised and in shock. Most of the people including myself have friends who live in that building, relatives in that building, relatives in that building, people who go to their churches and mosques in that building, and they dont know whats happened to them, and they are in despair. Judith, thank you. We can see some of the other people who are gathering. As weve been talking, people have been bringing bags of clothes which theyve grabbed as theyve come out of the flats. The smoke as you can see is still billowing from just above me. I might be able to talk to this lady. Can you describe what youve seen . Of course. Im sister ruth, a catholic nun. Im 76. Ive been in nearly every country in the world working for charity. Now i live in the old people 5 home right opposite the building on fire. I was shocked and appalled when i turned on the news to see the terrible blaze. I couldnt believe it. Though icame blaze. I couldnt believe it. Though i came out immediately to pray with people and comfort them because some of the people here know people inside the building. I dont personally but ive met people who do, so ive been praying and comforting them. Ive worked with all the churches, the methodist and church, the salvation army, and ive come to the Latimer Christian Centre to give out tea and coffee to the people who have been evacuated and to comfort people who know people who are in the building who are missing, and could be dead or injured, so its shocking, but the Rescue Services are working very hard. We have to pray very hard. Its shocking. Thank you for talking to us. We hope as the morning comes along, we can send some good news whats happened. A desperate situation at the moment. I will turn around here and have a chat once more tojulius, the local councillor we spoke to. Judith. Can you describe what youve heard about any numbers of people that have come out . We havent had any update at all. It still seems to be quite vague. I sit on the Fire Authority as well as being the mp here. I havent been a councillor for very long but i sit on the Fire Authority. Thats all i can say. We have a lot of concerns about moving older people out of tower blocks when something happens. Ive no idea what has happened but this has been a concern for a long time. Ive had three fires in tower blocks in my ward. Including trellick tower. Theres over 140 flats and it takes an average of three or four people per flat. Thats one hell of a lot of people. Lovely people. I cant do multiplication. What can you possibly do . People are very distressed. Ive had calls from people in other Community Centres who dont know whats going on. I will go down and see if i can get any information but im waiting for my call from the Fire Authority. We have the comfort people. This is a lovely community, the whole community, not just the lovely community, the whole community, notjust the one tower block, and everybody is traumatised about it. I have friends. I saw them fortunately this morning, theyd escaped. They went round to their mothers. Good to see them, but there are so many children. Its going to be a major tragedy, i fear. Just looking around, you can see people who are clearly absolutely devastated. Is there an advice for people together in a certain place or Something Like that . The council set up four Respite Centres and a church and local community centre, and thats where people who are not in hospital have been gathering. The details are being checked did you live in the tower, do you know about your neighbours . That sort of thing. Thank you. People clearly very distressed. If we have any more updates, we will bring them to you. G Re Nfell Tower Grenfell Tower in on latimer road. This is near the aao, the main road into that side of west london. That has been closed in both directions, we understand from the Metropolitan Police. The scale of the Emergency Services response, more than a0 fire engines, 200 Fire Officers were called to the estate in North Kensington this morning. The London Fire Brigade has issued a statement and says it received multiple calls. The fire was from the second floor to the top of the building. Firefighters wearing Breathing Apparatus have been working very hard. They say in very difficult conditions to tackle the fire. They say they have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances. Times are coming through and being clarified. The fire began just after midnight. The brigade was called about six minutes before 1am and are still at the scene. Fire crews from North Kensington, hammersmith, paddington and surrounding Fire Stations are in attendance. We should be clear that the cause of the fire is not known at this stage. We will be staying with this story throughout the morning and we will be right up there in a few minutes to bring you there in a few minutes to bring you the latest information. Now the Weather Forecast. We have got a hot day to come. Lots of sunshine around and it will feel humid. Weve had a bit of mist on us around this morning. This is the view in derbyshire, but thats clearing away. High pressure is the driving force. It is sitting out in the near continent. Low pressure is approaching from the atlantic, introducing More Cloud Across Scotla nd introducing More Cloud Across Scotland and northern ireland. Some outbreaks of rain on the far north west. For much of the uk it is hot, sunny and dry, with light winds. In the afternoon there could bea winds. In the afternoon there could be a couple of showers breaking out across parts of northern england. And over the pennines. If you catch a shower it could be heavy and thundery, but they are pretty hit and miss. In leeds, about 2a. That hot sunshine continues further south. In london, 26 28. Cooler if you are around the coast. Around 18 degrees in plymouth. High uv levels today. Also high pollen levels. Sunny and dry weather continues across wales and across the irish sea. More cloud, but are largely dry day. Possibly the odd spot of Rain Creeping into the far north west. Some rain for the Northern Isles and Western Isles of scotland. Further south and east across much of Scotla Nd South and east across much of scotland we bill have dry weather, with Sunshine Breaking through. A largely dry and hot day through the evening hours. Feeling warm and mighty overnight, especially in central and eastern parts of the country. From the west we will have fresher conditions working on. We have this cold front during thursday which will move its way in from the west. It will introduce a fresher feel to the weather across northern ireland, scotland. Late on thursday in the Western Parts of england and wales. More cloud creeping into the south east and east anglia on thursday afternoon. A fresher feel by the time we get to the middle of tomorrow. Temperatures still up to about 60 2a celsius, so another warm day 16. On the friday and again it will be a little bit cloudier in scotland and northern ireland, with a chance of a couple of showers. More breezy. Further south, another day of warm sunshine. Into the weekend, temperatures creeping up. We could have 28 degrees by sunday. You are watching a different edition of bbc breakfast this morning. There has been a major higher in west london at a tower block, a 2a storey tower block, on latimer road. The fire service got the first phone call at about six minutes before 1am this morning and have since been dealing with this serious blaze in west london. Still a lot of confusion in terms of the casualties. This is the information we know. There were 1a0 flats in all in the building. We think up to 500 People Living in those flights. The blaze broke out in the early hours of the morning. We know from the London Ambulance service that 30 people have been taken to five hospitals following the fire. Is the Grenfell Tower, thats the name of the tower, in North Kensington. More than 200 firefighters sent to the scene. Weve been hearing from eyewitnesses this morning, who described how quickly the blaze engulfed the building. Ithink quickly the blaze engulfed the building. I think we can show you some of the images from the early hours of the morning, to give you a sense of the blaze when it was at its height. The indications we are getting from some eyewitnesses is that the fire initially started between the second or the fourth floor. There have been reports of an explosion early on and then you can see the scale of the blaze that overtook the entire building. We are hearing from the London Ambulance service, that a number of people have been taken to local hospitals, also people gathering in a number of Community Centres nearby and being helped by the Emergency Services and by neighbours. The area immediately surrounding the building has been evacuated amidst fears now that the building itself may collapse. We are going to keep you up to date with the state of the building, what Emergency Services are doing. At the moment they are still tackling the blaze on the lower floors, with water cannon, going into the building in an attempt to dampen down the flames and protect as much of the building as they can. We are seeing images of a charred and devastated building. Eyewitnesses saying that there is a big concern now about the actual safety of the building and how long it will remain in wrecked. People in surrounding areas have been evacuated from their homes. Remain erect. Their safety is of course extremely paramount. We can speak to our correspondent andy moore. Tell us where you are and what you are seeing. We are hearing many reports of people being evacuated to several areas around the area . I am about 500 yards away from the building, standing by the camera, i think you can see the pictures at the moment, where There Isa Pictures at the moment, where there is a fire hose on the right hand side of the building, up towards the building. The fire is still burning in places. It is a lot less fierce than when we first arrived for five hours ago. The latest update we have from the Emergency Services is from the Ambulance Service, saying they have taken 30 people to hospital. Five different hospitals. A range of injuries. We dont know precisely what sorts of injuries. Weve had no update other than that from the Emergency Services. What we are beginning to hear are disturbing Eyewitness Reports of people at Windows Screaming for help, people signalling with their Mobile Phones, people actually jumping from signalling with their Mobile Phones, People Actuallyjumping from the building. The bbc has heard from one eyewitness who was inside. He said he didnt heara eyewitness who was inside. He said he didnt hear a fire alarm sounding as he came down the building and he saw the fire service with their Breathing Apparatus actually coming in as he went out. We did see in the early hours of the morning one person at a window inside the tower block. You can see perhaps down on the left hand side there is one section of the tower block that hasnt been burnt out. We saw somebody briefly at a window there and they went back into the flat and then came back again. Didnt see them after that, so we are hoping that the fire service were able to get up the stairwell inside the building and rescue that particular person. We can understand the extent of this fire. We are still seeing flames, from the building as firefighters are tackling it and from floors pretty high up as well. Have you been able to speak to anyone who was around in the early hours of the morning when it first began betts you did mention that some people said they didnt hear a fire alarm . I havent spoken to that person myself. The bbc has done an interview with that particular person. They were looking on the seventh floor of the building and they say they work up because of the smell of smoke. There in mind this was just before one a. M. That person didnt hear a fire alarm. Whether it was going off in another pa rt whether it was going off in another part of the building we dont know. Soi part of the building we dont know. So i havent spoken to people directly in the building. People who live around have spoken to people nearer the building and as i say i havent heard these accounts myself. These are second hand and people are worried about people who were a p pa re ntly worried about people who were apparently trapped inside the building. According to some eyewitnesses people were actually jumping from the building. So we know about 30 people have been taken to hospital, but there are grave fears that there could be more casualties. To be clear, the reports we are getting at the moment, all we can confirm is that 30 patients have been taken to five hospitals and, as you implied, of course the concern is now how many may have perished in the fire and the idea that there are still people perhaps trapped in the building. We also understand that people have been moved to areas around certain centres. Can you give us around certain centres. Can you give usa around certain centres. Can you give us a scale of how many people who we re us a scale of how many people who were in the area are outside this cordon and of course how this cordon is probably increasing in size as there are concerns about the stability of the building . Thats right. There have been concerns about the stability of the building since the early hours of the morning when we arrived. Police pushed back the cordon with some urgency, shouting to people. They were afraid that the building might collapse. Apart from that there was debris falling from the building, which was a danger to people around. So the cordon has been pushed back, we are Something Like 500 yards away from the building. So i havent seen with my own eyes people being taken to this Respite Centres, so i cant speak to that. What i can speak to is the pictures you can see at the moment of the fire still being fought. There is actually a platform on the right hand side of the picture with a hose on the building. There is no firefighter that i can see in that platform. Its actually just moving at the moment. It is one of these automatic platforms that is controlled from the ground. Thank you very much, andy moore. 0ur Correspondent on the ground. We will keep you up to date with whats happening. This is Grenfell Tower, latimer road, in west london near notting hill, where a blaze broke out early this morning. A0 fire engines and 200 firefighters have been deployed to the scene. We understand 30 people so far have been taken to hospital. We understand that from the London Ambulance service. We will keep you updated. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im sonja jessup. More now on the major fire thats engulfed a 27 storey tower block in west london. The mayor sadiq khan has declared a Major Incident, after the blaze spread rapidly through the Grenfell Tower, in kensington. 30 people have been taken to five hospitals. Residents have been telling the bbc how they escaped. I was at my girlfriends house and we we re i was at my girlfriends house and we were asleep. We heard a bang at the door and we went outside to see what was going on. One of the neighbours yelled there was a fire. I looked through the keyhole and saw a couple of people running downstairs where the fire exit is. We literally. We got outside, opened the front door, thick smoke on the landing. I shut the door, thought maybe it would be safer to stay inside. But then we phoned our neighbour who said to get out. The smoke alarm started going off. So we thought now was the time to get out. Residents whove been evacuated from the tower block are being directed to the Latymer Christian centre. 0n Social Media many others living in the area have offered shelter to those affected and its understood local mosques have also opened their doors to help. Well, as you might imagine, the fire has closed a number of roads in the North Kensington area. Heres how it looks from the aao westway at paddington. The aao is closed between West Cross Route and the marylebone flyover, also partly shut are grenfell road, Silchester Road and bramley road. That fire is also affecting the tube. The circle line and the hammersmith city line are suspended between hammersmith and edgware road, with severe delays on the rest of the line. Also the District Line has severe delays. Lets get the weather now. Heres kate kinsella. Good morning. Its a very bright and sunny start to the day. Not much in the way of cloud to speak of this morning. Its sunny and very warm. The temperatures steadily rise today. The uv levels are high, so sunscreen needed. Also the pollen count is still very high as well. Not much cloud around, so the temperatures could reach between 25 27 celsius. Maybe even sneaking up to 28. So a very warm afternoon. Pleasant evening in the sunshine, and overnight a warm and humid night. For Central London at least staying around 18 celsius, so quite uncomfortable for sleeping. More of the same first thing tomorrow. A bit more cloud pushes across. Thats a cold front. Well see a little bit more cloud and it introduces some fresh air, so not as hot tomorrow. 22 23 the maximum. High pressure stays in charge. It will still be fine and dry. Friday, more cloud around and temperatures in the low 205. Towards the weekend the cloud is squeezed out of the way and it is looking very promising. Lots of sunshine around for saturday and for sunday we could have temperatures up at 27 or 28 celsius. Ill be back in around half an hour. We will of course keep you updated on the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower block in west london throughout the morning, here on bbc london news. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast from bbc news, with Charlie Stayt and naga munchetty. A Major Incident is declared as a huge fire engulfs a tower block in west london. Firefighters are tackling the blaze at Grenfell Tower near notting hill, local reports say that residents are trapped in the building. It broke out around midnight. More than 200 firefighters are at the scene, along with a0 fire engines. Good morning. Lets go straight to that major fire in a 27 storey tower block in west london. These are the shocking live pictures this morning from the North Kensington area of london. The london mayor sadiq khan has declared it a major emergency. This is the Grenfell Tower, a 27 floor block of flats, which if you know that part of london is close to the Portobello Road market. Thats in the notting hill area. The blaze broke out around midnight. More than 200 firefighters and some a0 five engines are at the scene. Emergency services were called at 12 55am. Dozens of ambulances have been called through the night, and the London Ambulance service say they have taken 30 patients to five hospitals. That is the latest figure on casualties so far. We dont have full details on casualties but hundreds of people are thought to live in the tower. 1a0 flats in all. There may be up to 500 People Living in the building. We can speak now to tim muffett, who is at the Latymer Community Church. Thats where people have been sent to who have been evacuated from their homes. Good morning, tim. People gathering here in a state of utter shock, trying to come to terms with what has happened. Some horrendous tales of events overnight. You were on the seventh floor, what happened . It was around 1 30 a. M. , im in bed with my girlfriend, she is bus to sleep, along with her little girl, im drifting in and out of Consciousness Andl Drifting in and out of consciousness and i smell plastic, im jumping up because im worried about devices, everything is ok but i still smell the smell. I went into the kitchen, open the window and lit a cigarette, Asi Open The Window and lit a cigarette, as i was doing that i heard shouting, i heard someone say it was getting bigger so theres something seriously wrong i thought. I look through the front door and eyes see the smoke and the neighbours are running out and saying to get downstairs running out and saying to get downstairs icy. Running out and saying to get downstairs icy. I have gone inside. I put my Dressing Gown on, grabbed the little girl, got my girlfriend ayn rand down the stairs. 0ur girlfriend ayn rand down the stairs. Our advice was if theres a fire stayed in your flat. If we had stayed in your flat. If we had stayed in your flat. If we had stayed in we would have perished. It spread like wildfire, the block of flats is covered in cladding. The smoke alarm was useless, people heard nothing. I could only hear it in the hallway, not in the flat. Horrendous, People Screaming out of their windows and it went up like in seconds, going up and up, ive never seen anything like it, something out ofa seen anything like it, something out of a hollywood Disaster Movie do you know other people who got out . saw my neighbour who got out luckily enough, isaw saw my neighbour who got out luckily enough, i saw my neighbour on the 22nd floor, she got out. There were kids screaming up at windows and smashing windows, explosions going off, im shaken still, i cant believe it, im in shock, just grateful i got us out of there. If we had stayed we would have perished. Do you know how many people live in the block of flats . Theres 25 floors and six flats on each floor. Some are i bedroom, some are two, three, four. Theres a wide ranging of rooms in the flats. We hear there was some gas works taking place . A few weeks ago there was a local resident under tenancies saying they would come round and change everything to gas, i said it was all right, id use electricity anyway, but i did see them working on the stairwell but not on our flat but eyes saw it going on over the weeks. There were explosions going off. There was blue flames, which dropped me. Gas which struck me. Could you help anyone else . Dropped me. Gas which struck me. Could you help anyone else . |j dropped me. Gas which struck me. Could you help anyone else . I was concentrating on the little girl and my girlfriend. I was in my boxer shorts, no shoes, nothing, there was a lady with a bin bag, trousers and shoes in there because everyone is running out in their bedclothes. It wasjust horrendous. Running out in their bedclothes. It was just horrendous. Im running out in their bedclothes. It wasjust horrendous. Im hoping to god not too many people have perished. We have seen people gathering this morning, clearly utterly traumatised, as you are of course as well. What have other people said about their stories . Everyone is in shock, theres tears, theres people searching for people, pictures out, a lot of kids from the school nearby are missing. A lot of young kids and old People Living in the block. It went right up, there werent no stopping it. The speed has really. Yeah, it was like pyrotechnic speed. I think it was all down to the cladding they have put on the block with plastic that has gone all the way up in seconds. And theres fire engines. There was about eight or nine fire engines but only two were operating and people were saying get up there to get to those people, screaming, someone jumped out from the fifth floor and landed but she was ok. Absolute nightmare. Appreciate you talking to us, thank you very much indeed, so glad you got out. One harrowing tale of what happened to one person but sadly i fear there will be many more stories like that as the day goes on. Thats obviously what we are all fearing this morning. Tim, thanks very much. For those of you just tune in into bbc news, we are bringing you reports of a Tower Block Fire in west london which began in the early hours of this morning. We were hearing an Eyewitness Account from nicky, who was in the flat and managed to escape with his partner and his daughter. Describing a harrowing tale of flames, the building engulfed by flames, we are still seeing flames in the building, firefighters have been tackling this blaze, more than 200 of them, a5 fire engines deployed, they are still tackling the blaze with water cannon as you can see and helping the evacuation procedure, getting as many people out of the flat as possible. In terms of injuries, these are london from the London Ambulance service, 30 people had been taken to hospitals in london who have been affected by the fire. As you look at the images, the image on the right, both of these are live images now actually, this is west london, a very built up area of west london, a very built up area of west london, latimer road. The building is called the Grenfell Tower, a 27 storey tower in North Kensington, an area familiarto 27 storey tower in North Kensington, an area familiar to many, the Aao Running Close by. Shepherds bush not far away, Notting Hill Gate and Portobello Road, this is the area. A very built up area. The streets surrounding the building have been evacuated because there is a real risk the building itself could collapse. You can see the image on the right, the smoke coming from the building and if you look closely you can still see until recently flames within the building itself. We understand from those who know the building well there are around 1a0 flats in all in the Apartment Block. They think maybe four or five people per flat, many families, we were just hearing from nicky a few moments ago, many young families and many older People Living in the building. Here in fact was on the seventh floor and he was just recounting to us that he got early indications of the smell of smoke and then managed to make his escape, and then managed to make his escape, and taking with him and his young daughter. Managed to get to save the. He said some people did but he has real concerns. We cant give you any information at this stage about the number of people who have been safely evacuated get to safety. They are being helped in a number of centres in the nearby area and the only information the london aplon service has at the moment is 30 people have been taken to local hospitals London Ambulance service. At this stage we have no information about the cause of the fire. London fire brigade has made that very clear too. To recap, the aao, asjohn that very clear too. To recap, the aao, as john mentioned, that very clear too. To recap, the aao, asjohn mentioned, the main roads has been closed in both directions so say police. The cordon has been widening around the g Re Nfell Tower has been widening around the Grenfell Tower this morning as there are concerns about the stability of the building. Flames still being tackled inside the building as you can see. We can talk to andy moore, our correspondent at the scene. You are about 500 metres away from the tower block, and the . Thats right. You can see the bottom of the building and a Helicopter Landing in the vicinity at the moment andy. You can see some fla mes moment andy. You can see some flames coming out of the building but most of the fire has burned itself out over the course of the last six hours. When we arrived in the early hours, probably around 2am, you could see the fire from some distance. The tower block was alight from top to bottom. According to the fire service, it is a 27 Storey Building, according to other reports it is 2a storeys but as you can see it is a Tall Building with a lot of flats and we presume hundreds of people were in there when the fire started, which was about 12 55am. The bbc heard from some people saying they didnt hear any fire alarms, they woke up to the sound of smoke. Weve heard disturbing reports about people banging on windows and screaming. Some reports of people jumping banging on windows and screaming. Some reports of Peoplejumping Out of windows. None of that has been confirmed yet by the Emergency Services. But certainly very worrying stories. What we know officially from the Ambulance Service is 30 patients have been taken to hospitals, five different hospitals, with a range of different injuries but weve got no details on that at the moment. Andy, thanks very much, and we will keep you up to the with our correspondents on the ground but as andy said, and we should warn viewers tuning in this morning, there are some distressing accou nts morning, there are some distressing accounts coming in from eyewitnesses and our correspondents regarding this fire at the Grenfell Tower block. 0ur Normal Programme has been changed because of this Major Incident in west london. This is a 27 Storey Building in west london in latimer road, the block itself is called the Grenfell Tower and it was engulfed in flames in the early hours of this morning. The live images you can see this morning, you can see the smoke still billowing from the building. Were getting updates from our correspondent is nearby, we can speak to tim muffet at one of the centres people are being taken to. What stories are you hearing correspondents. Some horrendous stories. Tamara and samira, you were close by, what did you see . Around 12 30 a. M. , nearly 1am, my mom called me and said there was a fire outside and we went outside but by the time i got there the whole right side of the building was on fire, engulfed in flames, people were screaming help me, help me, so Me And My Brother and others who live in the area ran over to the estate, we could still get underneath it and people were throwing their kids out to save their children. The ambulance and their children. The ambulance and the fire brigade and the police couldnt do anything, they couldnt get in, they were saying to stay where they were, we will come and get you. Things quickly escalated beyond measure and they couldnt go backin beyond measure and they couldnt go back in and get them, it was too much to hold. Within another 15 minutes the whole thing was up in flames. And people were at their windows saying help me, help me, you could see the fire going into the house and the last room they were in. Engulfing their whole apartment. Samira, what did you see . It escalated very quickly. Around midnight, it was only around the third floor and before you knew it the whole 23 floors of the building we re the whole 23 floors of the building were all on fire. There was People Screaming for help and obviously throwing kids out. I think everyone felt really helpless because obviously no one could get to them and everyone was really scared and they didnt know what to do. It was really sad to see. These are all people who we grew up with and people who we grew up with and people who we see every day that are our neighbours and there were little kids there, elderly people, disabled people, there were a lot of people there, Family Members, thankfully Family Members did make it out but theres still a lot of people that we re theres still a lot of people that were there. Especially my brother and loads of his school friends, they are still wondering if their friends made it out, they havent heard from them. One of the girls, she lives on the top floor, which was according to the police and the fire brigade, if you live on the top floor that means you have more time but they havent made it. Talking about the speed at which the flames took hold, did that strike you . Thats the most shocking thing to everyone, how quick it literally went from zero to 100. It was literally just the fourth floor and it was bad but it was very minor. That buildings really big, it literally escalated so quickly and that is what shocked people the most, how quickly it happened, the whole building was literally gone before. It didnt hit 1am even and the whole building was literally in flames. Did you see people getting out . I saw people flying out of their balconies and their windows, literally i saw a man who flew out of his window, i saw kids screaming for help, people jumping of his window, i saw kids screaming for help, Peoplejumping Out, so we saw a lot of people jumping out that basically didnt make it obviously. It was from the eighth floor and up so obviously that kind of fall you wouldnt really make it. |j so obviously that kind of fall you wouldnt really make it. I had a Family Friend who was stuck until 5am in the house but luckily she made it out and others from her floor and the floors below made it out. Theres people who were higher up out. Theres people who were higher up that they couldnt get to. The flamesjust got up that they couldnt get to. The flames just got Out Of Control so quickly. It was split decision, A Split Second and then it was like the whole building was on fire. We started on one floor and then we took one side and the whole building and theres nothing you can do. You couldnt do anything but watch what was unfolding. Will you aware of any concerns before about safety issues . Ididnt concerns before about safety issues . I didnt know anything. The building, they built a new school, they knocked down the Leisure Centre and build a new one. So at the time ididnt and build a new one. So at the time i didnt personally know about anything that happened. Literally it was around just before 12 oclock i was around just before 12 oclock i was actually a wake and i went to bed and not even a5. 30 minutes later i woke up to flames, so it happened very quickly. Thank you so much for talking to us. We are very glad you made it safely to where you are now. They give a talking to us. Two very harrowing accounts from the latimer church, where people are gathering. Thank you very much. We will keep you up to date with whats going on. The pictures you are seeing off the g Re Nfell Tower the pictures you are seeing off the Grenfell Tower block in west london, ian notting hill. Firefighters are tackling a blaze at the block, which began in the early hours of the morning. The first reports were shortly before 1am. This 27 Storey Building housing up to we think around 500 people. Family, elderly, who have been escaping throughout the evening. We understand from London Ambulance service that 30 people have been taken to hospitals in london so far. More than 200 firefighters and a0 fire engines have been deployed to the scene to tackle the blaze. It is worth saying as we build you bring you this special programme that we are hearing very harrowing accou nts that we are hearing very harrowing accounts from eyewitnesses about the sequence of in the early hours of the morning. There are no official details as to how the fire started at the moment, but from the eyewitnesses we are speaking to the picture seems to be emerging that the fire seems to have begun on the lower floors, maybe the fourth floor. This has been mentioned several times, that there may have been some kind of explosion. But the early signs of the fire, it would appear, started on the lower floors. But as youve been hearing from the eyewitnesses and from a number of people weve spoken to this morning, it very quickly engulfed. These are the pictures from the early hours of the pictures from the early hours of the morning. Very quickly engulfing the morning. Very quickly engulfing the whole building. We have heard of people managing to escape. We heard from an eyewitness a short time ago from an eyewitness a short time ago from one of those in the Apartment Block on the seventh floor. He was able to escape, having smelt some of the smoke and fumes. He asked what was going on and was able to escape. There are a number of stories of people emerging from the building, but many concerns over the number of casualties. Earlier we spoke to a man who lived on the seventh floor and also managed to escape from the building. I managed to get out of the building. Not by a fire alarm or something, it was by people down below screaming to people, dont jump below screaming to people, dont jump from the building. Honestly, i dont know for certain if people jumped off the building to get away from the fire. But the main thing for me is the fact that the fire alarms didnt go off in the building. From the seventh floor where i was, i didnt hear any fire alarms whatsoever. I was obviously asleep, because i work early mornings, so i am fast asleep and if it wasnt for them People Screaming i wouldnt have. I dont think i would have woken up and obviously. God knows what would have happened ifi god knows what would have happened if i didnt get out of the building. That was paul, giving us his Eyewitness Account. He lived on the seventh floor and managed to leave the tower once he heard People Screaming for help. Live images you are looking at of the green felt tower. Grenfell tower. We have been speaking to many witnesses. The fire started sometime between 12am and one a. M. At about 1am this morning i heard what sounded like shooting sounds. Bangs. I heard lots of Police Sirens. And then the number of Police Sirens and then the number of Police Sirens and the length of the sirens extended and increased, but the length of the sirens extended and increased, but i realised this might be something serious. I looked out my window expecting to find people with guns but actually that was now what we know as the explosions which got louder. By a quarter past i have voted to look up rather than down. The building was in three parts. 0ne column on the right hand side. By 1 30am i was down in front of the building. There we re down in front of the building. There were neighbours and other people nearby who had gathered down there and we watched the fire spread through the further columns and then com pletely through the further columns and then completely engulfed the building. Especially the top part of the building. It burnt through. There we re building. It burnt through. There were fumes and some of the flats are still ablaze. People were waving Mobile Phones, we noticed. Men were screaming extended calls for help. Little girls were screaming for help. It was just awful. And thats actually one of the things. Its very peculiar, but it was dead, the still of night, completely dark and silent and then i heard the Banging Sounds and then i heard People Screaming for help as i was walking towards the building. I heard the sound intensify. But even from a window, and i lived across the road, i could hear People Screaming for help in the dead of night. It was horrific, really dramatic. That was an Eyewitness Accounts from sophia, who lives nearby to the tower block. We should warn you that there are many distressing Eyewitness Accounts, you will understand, from people who have escaped or were nearby the tower which went up in fla mes nearby the tower which went up in flames in the early hours of the morning. 27 Storey Building which is still being tackled by firefighters at the moment as they tried to bring the blaze under control. We can now speak to a bbc london reporter, simon, who has been following the story. We understand there are details coming through but we understand the first call was made at about 12 55am this morning . Thats right, 12 5aam and we are trying to ascertain from various eyewitnesses we have been covering, since this first began, that it was about 12 50am. It has been confirmed. The problem and the concerns that many people locally have, not least the firefighters who are trying to deal with this, is that we now have a blaze that been ongoing for almost six or seven hours and the question is, how long can the integrity of our buildings survive . Huge concern also about the numbers of people still trapped inside. What do we know about how many people are trapped inside . Inside. What do we know about how many people are trapped inside7m that still confident . It is unclear. What we know is that 30 patients we re what we know is that 30 patients were taken to five hospitals. Thats all i have. Even within that figure i dont know whether thats people outside who were hit by masonry or people who managed to get out of that building and then were taken to hospital. We know people who managed to leave the building, because we spoke to a number of eyewitnesses this morning we said exactly that. They buy to let themselves or theyve got relatives who managed to get themselves. The remarkable story of one who was living very high up. We heard from her nephew. It was his aunt he was worried about, she had a heart condition. She was living towards the top of the tower, got out relatively early and is obviously in severe shock but has managed to get out alive. There are 120 flat, so there will be far more people than 120 in that block and many still unaccounted for. We understand the fire began about the fourth floor, but thats not yet been confirmed. But this is a 2a 27 Storey Building . The reason theres a slight discrepancy is if you go onto the architects website, very recently, as i am sure you have heard this morning, the building itself was regenerated, refurbished, sometime ago. The architects Website Talks about the 2a Storey Building but there are some additional parts to the building, which is why it has been referred to as 27 floors. 120 flats, numerous people in there. As part of the refurbishment the windows were changed, upgrades to the heating system, cladding placed on the outside. We cant link that refurbishment in any way to what has happened, but a question that many eyewitnesses have been asking is in april there was a fire that took place not very far away. It was caused by the disposal of a cigarette and it caused significant damage to the flat in the florette was on it didnt take all the same way that this fire has and as you say 12 5aam was the first call to the fire services. Information we we re the fire services. Information we were getting, before 1 30 a. M. , 1 a5am, that building was already massively alight. Simon, thank you very much. You are watching our extended coverage this morning of whats been declared a Major Incident by the london mayor. This is Grenfell Tower in latimer road, in white city, west london. A 27 Storey Building. As you can see, live images, a majorfire overnight. In terms of the timeline, the blaze started between 12am and 1am this morning. Some 500 people live in the flat. 30 people so far have been taken for treatment. We will keep you up to date. Time to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im sonja jessup. More now on the major fire thats engulfed a 27 storey tower block in west london. The mayor sadiq khan has declared a Major Incident, after the blaze spread rapidly through the Grenfell Tower, in kensington. 30 people have been taken to five hospitals. Bbc londons reporter is at the scene. Residents who live in blocks surrounding Grenfell Tower have told me they were woken up at about 1am this morning. They looked at the tower and they say a fire had started on the fourth floor and it was spreading rapidly to the floors above. They say they were looking up and seeing people out of their windows, turning their lights on and off and using their Mobile Phones. A number of people have told me this morning that they did the people jump morning that they did the people jump from the tower here. Residents whove been evacuated from the tower block are being directed to the Latymer Christian centre. 0n Social Media many others living in the area have offered shelter to those affected and its understood local mosques have also opened their doors to help. If you are worried about family and friends, the met police have set up a numberto friends, the met police have set up a number to call. The number is below. Well, as you might imagine, the fire has closed a number of roads in the North Kensington area. Heres how it looks from the aao westway. You can see the queues. Delays on the m25 and the aao. The aao is closed between West Cross Route and the marylebone flyover, also partly shut are grenfell road, Silchester Road and bramley road. The fire is also affecting the tube. The circle line and the hammersmith city line are suspended between hammersmith and edgware road, with severe delays on the rest of the line. Lets get the weather now. Good morning. Its a very bright and sunny start to the day. Not much in the way of cloud to speak of this morning. Its sunny and very warm. The temperatures steadily rise today. The uv levels are high, so sunscreen needed. Also the pollen count is still very high as well. Not much cloud around, so the temperatures could reach between 25 27 celsius. Maybe even sneaking up to 28. So a very warm afternoon. Pleasant evening in the sunshine, and overnight a warm and humid night. For Central London at least staying around 18 celsius, so quite uncomfortable for sleeping. More of the same first thing tomorrow morning. A bit more cloud pushes across. Thats a cold front. Well see a little bit more cloud and it introduces some fresh air, so not as hot tomorrow. 22 23 the maximum. High pressure stays in charge. It will still be fine and dry. Friday, more cloud around and temperatures in the low 205. Towards the weekend the cloud is squeezed out of the way and it is looking very promising. Lots of sunshine around for saturday and for sunday we could have temperatures up at 27 or 28 celsius. Ill be back in around half an hour. We will of course keep you updated on the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower block in west london throughout the morning, here on bbc london news. Hello, this is breakfast with Charlie Stayt and naga munchetty. A huge fire has raged through the night at a west london tower block, with eyewitnesses claiming people were trapped inside. More than 200 firefighters are still tackling the blaze at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, where hundreds of people are thought to live. London ambulance said 30 people are Receiving Hospital treatment. Richard lister has more. We can speak now to tim muffett who is at the Latymer Community Church. Im at Latimer Community church, close to the side of the blaze where people are gathering and talking to each other, they are shocked and overstated. People, you live opposite, what did you see . Thats right, i woke up at about 1 30am to look across the road and to see the big Grenfell Tower in a taringa inferno, blaze, fire coming out of every window, Windows Smashing and exploding Towering Exploding towering inferno. People jumping out on fire. Jumping out of ropes they made out of bed sheets to climb out. Complete nightmare. Absolute nightmare. Paul, the people you have been speaking to, what else have they said . Everyone has been in such tears and upset, people who havent got out and they are upset about how it has happened and how this catastrophe could happen in london after it has just been refurbished. Were their concerns raised about the Safety Aspect . Not that i know of were there. Youd think after millions of pounds spent on the tower block, you would think it would be safe and you would think it would be safe and you would think it would be safe and you would think this event, even if they fire did happen through electric or gas, you would think that wouldnt happen after spending millions of pounds on the refurbishments. As it is it did happen and the blaze has been going on since 1am, which i think is a complete. Well, terrible, pathetic and not up to what it should be. Paul, thanks very much indeed, appreciate you telling us what you saw last night. People are gathering, people bringing bags of clothes, they have had to get up quickly, in a State Of Shock and com plete quickly, in a State Of Shock and complete devastation. We should make very clear at this stage that the cause of the fire is not known, so say the London Fire Brigade. 200 firefighters, more than a0 engines are at the scene dealing with the blaze in west london and the London Ambulance service has informed us that so far 30 people have been taken to hospital as a result of injuries from this fire. Weve had no other details on any other casualties or injuries. In the last few minutes and Emergency Number has been set up for anyone concerned for loved ones. The number we anyone concerned for loved ones. The numberwe can anyone concerned for loved ones. The number we can bring you is you can see the number on your screen. Thats the numberfor anyone concerned about anyone caught up in the fires. We know that some 500 people live in the Apartment Block, Richard Lister can remind us of the details of whats happened. The fire raged through the night. This 27 storey block, home to hundreds of people, was engulfed in flames. In the chaos it was unclear how many were able to get out. Some we re how many were able to get out. Some were trapped inside for some time at least standing at windows in the desperate hope of rescue. Uni during 999, theres a dedicated line for this incident, 0k . On the 999, theres a dedicated line for this incident, ok . On the Ground Police cleared a wide cordon and close to the nearby aao in and out of london. Some 200 fire engines we re of london. Some 200 fire engines were brought in to tackle the blaze. As the hours passed the concern was the building might collapse and who might be trapped inside. Many people we re might be trapped inside. Many people were led to safety but some 30 were taken to hospital, others were counting their blessings. David benjamin was in the block when the fire began. There was smoke everywhere, literally everywhere. There was people downstairs, there was bits of the cladding falling off the block, People Screaming, after a couple of minutes because obviously people were still sleeping on the high floors, they didnt have a clue what was going on. Im not even sure if half of them got out to be honest with you. The block is now a smoking ruin, its been declared a major emergency. How it began and the full extent of the casualties are still unclear. Richard lister, bbc news. These are the live images, the helicopter capturing some of the images. This is a built up area of west london, the Grenfell Tower, you can see in the image, the 8a0 west way, the main route going into london isjust behind way, the main route going into london is just behind the way, the main route going into london isjust behind the building. Disney in Notting Hill Gate, Shepherds Bush not far away and you can see how built up the area is around and theres concern this morning of course over casualties, and we are waiting for more information on that, the real concern is over the stability of the structure. Huge damage, only a small portion not affected by the fire. You can see flames inside the Building Up Untilan you can see flames inside the building up until an hour ago. The fire began around the fourth floor and rapidly escalated and you can see firefighters tackling this building. We have heard some harrowing Eyewitness Accounts this morning and you may find some of these accounts distressing as we hear from people who these accounts distressing as we hearfrom people who managed these accounts distressing as we hear from people who managed to escape from the building or who were watching people who are either screaming for help from inside the building or who managed to escape. Earlier we spoke to mikey, he got out of the building with his partner and daughter. It was about 1am, 1 30 a. M. , im in bed with my girlfriend, she is fast asleep, her little girl is next to her fast asleep, drifting asleep, her little girl is next to herfast asleep, drifting in asleep, her little girl is next to her fast asleep, drifting in and asleep, her little girl is next to herfast asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness and i smell something plastic because we have devices like apple ipads and kindles i thought i would jump up to see what it was. Ijumped up to smoke a cigarette and as im smoking the Fa Ct I Cigarette and as im smoking the fact i could hear shouting and i wondered whats going on and i heard a lady saying theres something going wrong here, i look neighbours running out, gets downstairs, the downstairs. Ive gone inside, put my Dressing Gown on. Got my girlfriend and ran down the stairs. 0ur Dressing Gown on. Got my girlfriend and ran down the stairs. Our advice was if theres a fire them stay in the flat. If we had stayed in the flat we would have perished. It spread like wildfire. The block of flats was covered in cladding. The smoke alarm was useless. We heard nothing. I could only hear it in the hallway, not in the flat. Horrendous. People were screaming in the windows and the thing went up in what felt like seconds, itjust the windows and the thing went up in what felt like seconds, it just went up what felt like seconds, it just went up and up and up, never seen anything like it, it was like something out of a hollywood Disaster Movie. Have you seen anyone you know get out . Ijust saw Disaster Movie. Have you seen anyone you know get out . I just saw my neighbour get out. A woman on the 27th 22nd floor just neighbour get out. A woman on the 27th 22nd floorjust got out 22nd floor. There were people smashing windows and explosions going off. Im shaking, im grateful we got out, if we had listened and state we would have perished. Do you know how many people live in the block of flats . Many people live in the block of flats . There are 25 floors and six or seven flats on each floor. Two, three, four bedroom places. A wide range of rooms in the flats. We hear that there was some kind of gas works taking place . About six weeks ago there was a local resident who owned a tenancy and he said he was going to come aaron and change anything to gas, he refused to do it, he was going to ask to change it, he was going to ask to change it, its i said i use electricity. I did see over the weeks the work going on with the gas and during the fire there were explosions going off, windows flying out with blue flames, which struck me, gas. Were you able to help other people get out . No, i was you able to help other people get out . No, iwas concentrating you able to help other people get out . No, i was concentrating on my girlfriend and the little girl. I was in my boxer shorts and there was a lady outside with trousers, shoes for people to put on because eve ryo ne for people to put on because everyone is in their nighties and whatnot. It was just horrendous. Everyone is in their nighties and whatnot. It wasjust horrendous. Im hoping to god not too many people perished. Youve seen people gathering here this morning utterly traumatised, as you are, what are other people saying . Everyone is shocked, tears, people are searching with pictures now, a lot of people from the school that adjoining the building are missing, a lot of young kids and old people are missing. There was no stopping it. The speed struck you . It was like pyrotechnic speed. I think it was all down to the cladding they put on the block. It was like plastic, all went up in seconds and there were fire engines, there were eight or nine fire engines but there were only two mac operating. We were saying, get there. Someone jumped out from operating. We were saying, get there. Someonejumped out from the fifth floor something, landed, she was ok, absolute nightmare. That was the first hand account of mikey, who as you heard was on the seventh floor and managed to escape with his partner and his daughter. He was making reference. These are the live images youre seeing, the smoke still billowing from the building, you can get a scale of the damage to the building. Mikey was talking about the damage from the flames. You can get a real sense of just how desperate the situation was. Many of the eyewitnesses we have spoken to this morning have suggested, and we cant confirm this at this stage, that the fire may have started on the fourth floor, certainly on the lower floors of the building, but quickly, within a matter of minutes, completely engulfed the entire Apartment Block. We understand there are around 1a0 flats in all and these are a mixture of families and older people as well, there may be as many as 500 people in all, and at this stage the London Ambulance this is saying they are treating 30 people who are being helped who were injured in the scene itself, many other people, as you heard from mickey, who did escape, had been taken to local centres looking after those caught up in the problems. Lets look at what is happening now on the Grenfell Tower. Firefighters still tackling the blaze, there are parts of the building still alight, you may be able to see you flames inside some parts of the building as firefighters tackle it from all sides. More than 200 firefighters, a5 engines at the scene. The fire brigade is giving us updates as soon as it can but obviously its main focus is tackling the blaze in this building. We understand 30 flats in the surrounding area have been evacuated. This is a very densely populated area of west london near notting hill, near portobello market. We understand that there is of course understandably concerns about the stability of this building in the wake of this blaze. 0ur Correspondent andy moore was around 500 metres away and you had a view of the Emergency Services at the scene and obviously people who have been forced to leave the area . Thats right. You can see yourself that there are still flames in some parts of the building, the hoses are playing on the lower part of the building. Just below me i can see four ambulances have arrived with their blue lights flashing, a very large response by the Emergency Services, we know this was declared a Major Incident. There were a0 fire engines here, 200 firefighters. We know 20 ambulances were sent and 30 patients were taken to five different hospitals. But at the moment you can see the firefighters trying to control the blaze on the left. There is an automated platform. We dont believe theres anybody on the top of that platform. Its controlled by an operator on the ground. But that part of the building you can see on the left, the undamaged section, thats where in the middle of the night we saw someone briefly at a window before hopefully they were rescued inside by the firefighters who went into the building with Breathing Apparatus to try to. Ok, our correspondent andy moore not far from the scene, he will keep us updated. We are waiting for an updated. We are waiting for an update from the Emergency Services. The fire brigade expected to give an update on how exactly they are tackling the blaze. Tim muffett is that one of the rescue centres. Youve been hearing many stories from those caught up in the problems . Yes, harrowing stories at Latymer Community Church come up with people are gathering, trying to talk to friends and people who might have got out. You live nearby. What did you see . I saw fire engulfing one side of the building. I saw families with towels or blankets outside the windows and people with smartphone devices, with their torch, trying to catch peoples attention. I saw a lot of police are not much fire brigade and i saw helicopters circling. I saw one person from the fourth or fifth floor with a young child. A lot of screaming. Have you been speaking to other people here, obviously gathering in a State Of Shock, what else have you heard . The main thing i have been hearing is that there was a long delay between the time when people smelt something and saw something, called Emergency Services and the Emergency Services arriving. There was a very large gap. The speed at which the flames took hold, a lot of people have commented on that. Is that something youve heard . That. Is that something youve heard . When we that. Is that something youve heard . When we first came, as you said, the flames were on one side of the building and ten minutes later more of it was up and within no time most of the building was set ablaze. Thejuicy many most of the building was set ablaze. The juicy many people get out 0k . |j saw some people getting out 0k, the juicy many people get out 0k . |j saw some people getting out ok, i saw some people getting out ok, i saw some people getting out ok, i saw some people getting carried out, some people getting supported out. It was a mixture. What about you . Similar . Was it the speed at which the flames took hold which surprised you . For me, ithink the flames took hold which surprised you . For me, i think the one image which sticks in my mind was seeing a family waving what appeared to be a towel for around one hour or an hour and a half and there was a helicopter and im not sure if it was a media helicopter, ithink helicopter and im not sure if it was a media helicopter, i think it was, coming about 400 metres from their window and then turning around. For me, the thing i took from this was how agonising must that have been for that family, when we watched them stopped moving from the street . You know . What can you say . Indeed. It was utterly horrific. Thank you very much for sharing those accounts with us this morning. People gathering here in greater number. People walking along with bags of clothes theyve clearly grabbed at the last moment and people within this area trying to come to terms with what has happened. I feel we are sadly going to hear many more harrowing tales like the ones we have just heard. Thanks very much. We should warn viewers who are tuning into our special programme here on bbc news, we are bringing reports of a fire. You can see the building. That is g Re Nfell Tower you can see the building. That is Grenfell Tower in west london. 27 Storey Building with about 1a0 flats. Up to 500 people lived in that building. The fire broke out in the early hours of this morning between midnight and 1am this morning and since then, since the first report of the fire, firefighters have been tackling what has been an horrendously amazing blaze that engulfed the building. There are still flames in parts of the building some seven hours later. Firefighters continue to tackle it to bring it under control. The court and around it has been widened in this rather densely populated area of west london, near notting hill, as there are fears that the stability of the building are under threat. These are the images coming from the helicopter, which is taking pictures of the building. This is an area of west london, the old bbc building is nearby. The Westfield Shopping Centre is nearby. As the camera moves around you may be able to see the aao which is close by. This is a densely built up area. The area immediately surrounding has been evacuated. As you can see, tim muffett has been at one of the centres where many people have been bought two. We are hearing some very harrowing stories this morning. Worth a word of caution around some of the stories are merging. We have heard from people who did escape this morning. Some of those escaping from the seventh floor, you heard from the seventh floor, you heard from one man who escaped with his partner and young daughter. The London Ambulance service at this stage are saying they have treated 30 people, who have been taken to five hospitals nearby. We are awaiting a police and press Services Conference shortly. Tim muffett spoke to another eyewitness who escaped from the building with her friend. About 12 or 12 30am, building with her friend. About 12 or12 30am,1am, my mother building with her friend. About 12 or 12 30am, 1am, my mother called me and said there was a fire at night. 0ver and said there was a fire at night. Over time i got there the whole left side. Right side of the building was on fire. You could hear People Screaming, help me Me And My Brother and some other people who lived in the area ran over to the estate. We could still get underneath it and people were throwing their kids out, save my children the fire brigade, the ambulance and police couldnt do anything, they couldnt get in. They just stayed where they were. We will come and get you. Things quickly escalated yonder measures and they couldnt go back in and get them, it was too much. Within another 15 minutes the whole thing was up in fla mes minutes the whole thing was up in flames and people were at the windows, help me you could see the fire going into the house and into the last room that they were in and just engulfing their whole apartment. What did you see . It escalated very quickly. Around midnight it was only on the third floor and before you know it the whole 23 floors of the building were all on fire and there were People Screaming for help, people obviously throwing kids out. Everyone felt really helpless because no one could get to them and everyone was really scared and they didnt know what to do. It was really sad to see. These are all people who i grew up with. People you see every day, our neighbours. There were little kids there, elderly people, disabled people, a lot of people there. Family members who didnt make it out. There were still a lot of people who were there. My brother, loads of his school friends, they are still wondering if their friends have made it out. Havent heard anything. 0ne have made it out. Havent heard anything. One of the girls actually lives on the top floor, and if you we re lives on the top floor, and if you were living on that floor people say they havent made it. People talk about the speed, is that what struck you . It literally went from zero to 100 quickly. It was literallyjust the fourth floor. It was bad but very minor. That building is really big. It literally escalated. That was an eyewitness speaking to tim muffett. Lets bring you up to date with the latest information coming from the Emergency Services. A press conference at the last few minutes. The london fire commissioner says there have been some fatalities in there have been some fatalities in the london fire. This isjust emerging in the last few minutes. A press co nfe re nce emerging in the last few minutes. A press conference from the Emergency Services saying there have been some fatalities in the london fire. Also saying that the cause of the fire is not yet known. These are comments from the london fire commissioner who has declared. Says this has been declared. Says this has been declared a Major Incident. He said the first fire engines were there in under six minutes of it being reported. And at the time he was speaking at the conference, he said it was sad to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities, although the number cant be confirmed due to the complexity of the building and of course they are working very closely with police to bring the situation under control. It is being described as an unprecedented incident. He said in his 21 years as a firefighter he has never seen anything on this scale. Tim muffett is nearby. Yes, i am joined by the leader of kensington and chelsea council. Tell us what you saw, what you heard from the people youve been speaking to . |j first received a calljust after 3am this morning. I came here as soon as i could. I tried to ensure that the Emergency Planning team were able to provide support to people who had been immediately affected and evacuated from the tower. Im pleased to say they have been able to do that and we are at all of the centres now and there are other Emergency Centres nearby. The fire brigade are clearly in attendance on a massive scale and have been for several hours and it looks like, sadly, they will be here a lot longer. When we have more information clearly we will share it andl information clearly we will share it and i am sure the fire brigade will as well. What do you know about this block of flats . You know how many people live your . There are about 130 flights. What we dont yet know is who was in those flats. Clearly a fire in the middle of the night suggests more people are at home than other parts of the day and it may take them longer to evacuate, but we dont know precisely how many people were in their or how many people were in their or how many people may have been absent. That will need to be established. The Emergency Services, who are doing a wonderful job, Emergency Services, who are doing a wonderfuljob, will be helping people who might have been trapped. Were you aware of any concerns raised about these flats before . There are always concerns about high rise buildings and what the fire procedures are and what the fire procedures are and what the fire regulations require. There are fire regulations require. There are fire regulations. Blocks are regularly inspected. The organisation which runs the Council Housing stock will Commission Regular inspections and clearly there will need to be a thorough investigation into what has been investigated here and what the cause of the fire was and why it appeared to have spread so rapidly. You mentioned the speed at which the fire spread. It has taken so many people by surprise. 70 people are astonished by the speed. Is that what youve heard . So many people. Yes, and when you come into the area you can see how extensive the area you can see how extensive the blaze is and how it appears to have spread across the block. There will need to be a thorough investigation as to why a fire that started rigidly in one flats spread so quickly. Thanks very much indeed. 0ne update for you there. More people gathering and we will get further updates to you as soon as we have it. We can bring you up to date with whats been happening. These are pictures of Grenfell Tower in west london, which went up in flames early in the morning between 12 oclock and midnight. A statement from the London Fire Brigade has come out. The commissioner said that in her29 come out. The commissioner said that in her 29 years as a firefighter she has never seen anything on this scale. It is an unprecedented incident. 200 offer are attending this incident and she has also confirmed that there have been a number of fatalities, although they cant confirm the number at this time due to the complexity of the building. An Emergency Number has been set up for anybody concerned about loved ones. The number of will be brought to you throughout the programme. Time to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im sonja jessup. More now on the major fire thats engulfed a 27 storey tower block in west london. In the last few minutes the London Fire Brigade have confirmed there have been fatalities, although it is not clear how many. 30 people have been taken to five london hospitals. 0ne been taken to five london hospitals. One mans cousin phoned him from inside the burning building. She was saying, are you guys coming . Are you coming . I was like, yeah, we are coming. The police said they were going up there to get them down. I dont know if they did or not because i was stopped from going in the building. I said to her, they are coming. They are coming for you, coming to get you. I dont know if they did. Residents whove been evacuated from the tower are being directed to the Latymer Christian centre. 0n Social Media many others living in the area have offered shelter to those affected and its understood local mosques have also opened their doors. If you are worried about family and friends, the met police have set up a number to call. The number is below. Well the fire has closed a number of roads in North Kensington. Heres how it looks on the aao. You can see the queues there you can expect delays too on the m25 and the mao. The aao itself is closed between West Cross Route and the marylebone flyover, also partly shut are grenfell road, Silchester Road and bramley road. Its also affecting the tube. The circle line and the hammersmith city line are suspended between hammersmith and edgware road, with severe delays on the rest of the line. Lets get the weather now. Heres kate kinsella. Good morning. Its a very bright and sunny start to the day. Not much in the way of cloud to speak of this morning. Its sunny and very warm. The temperatures steadily rise today. The uv levels are high, so sunscreen needed. Also the pollen count is still very high as well. Not much cloud around, so the temperatures could reach between 25 27 celsius. Maybe even sneaking up to 28. So a very warm afternoon. Pleasant evening in the sunshine, and overnight a warm and humid night. For Central London at least staying around 18 celsius, so quite uncomfortable for sleeping. More of the same first thing tomorrow morning. A bit more cloud pushes across. Thats a cold front. Well see a little bit more cloud and it introduces some fresh air, so not as hot tomorrow. 22 23 the maximum. High pressure stays in charge. It will still be fine and dry. Friday, more cloud around and temperatures in the low 205. Towards the weekend the cloud is squeezed out of the way and it is looking very promising. Lots of sunshine around for saturday and for sunday we could have temperatures up at 27 or 28 celsius. We will of course keep you updated on the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower block. Hello, this is breakfast from bbc news with Charlie Stayt and naga munchetty. A Major Incident is declared as a huge fire engulfs a tower block in west london. It broke outjust before 1am in the morning. More than 200 firefighters are at the scene, along with a0 fire engines. Good morning. Lets bring you up to date with the latest on that devastating fire which has engulfed a 27 storey tower block in west london. This is the Grenfell Tower. You can see firefighters are still tackling this blaze and have been doing so since being first informed of it at just a few minutes to 1am this morning. And we understand from the London Fire Brigade that they responded to the incident within minutes. Yes, in the last half an hour, londons fire commissioner declared a Major Incident and confirmed there have been a number of casualties, but could not confirm how many. There have been a number of fatalities according to danny cotton, the fire commissioner. There have been a number of fatalities, but she went on to say the cause of the fire is not yet known at this stage. She called the blaze unprecedented. She said she had never seen anything on that scale. Richard lister can remind us of the details of whats happened. The fire raged through the night. This 27 storey block, home to hundreds of people, was engulfed in flame. In the chaos, it was unclear how many were able to get out. Some were trapped inside for sometime at least, standing at windows in the desperate hope of rescue. You need to ring 999 and there is a dedicated line for this incident. 0n the ground, police cleared a wide cordon and closed the nearby aao in and out of london. Some 200 fire engines were brought in to tackle the blaze. As the hours passed, the concern was whether the building might collapse and who might still be trapped inside. Many people were led to safety, but some 30 were taken to hospital. Others were counting their blessings. David benjamin was in the block when the fire began. There was smoke everywhere. Literally everywhere. There was people downstairs. There was bits of cladding falling off the block. People screaming. After a couple of minutes, because people were still sleeping on the higher floors so they didnt have a clue what was going on. The block is now a smoking ruin. It has been declared a major emergency. How it began and the full extent of the casualties are still unclear. An Emergency Number has been set up for anyone concerned for loved ones in North Kensington fire. The Casualty Bureau is 0800 0961233. If anyone is concerned about family, friends, relatives near the Grenfell Tower in west london, the number is 0800 0961233. G Re Nfell Tower, 0800 0961233. Grenfell tower, we know there are around about 1a0 flats in the building. People estimating there maybe between four and five hundred People Living in the flats. Many families. Some older people as well. In terms of the geography this is a very built up area of west london. People will know the westway running behind. The west field Shopping Centre is close by. Surrounding streets have been closed off because this morning there are real concerns about the structure itself. Lets get the very latest now from tim muffett, whos at one of the rescue centres close to the fire. Tim some very harrowing stories emerging this morning . Very, harrowing indeed. People are gathering this morning. Some people just carrying bags of clothes which they have clearly grabbed in a hurry. The helicopters are above me. Brenda, you live nearby and you saw the fire take hold. Tell us what you saw . Well, i was woken in the early hours of the morning with someone shout that grenfell was on fire. I couldnt believe it at first, but ive got a roof terrace and i went out on to the roof terrace and i could see it was alight and ijust couldnt believe what i was seeing. It wasjust horrific couldnt believe what i was seeing. It was just horrific and hearing people shouting for help and screaming and just seeing people at their windows waving and desperately wanting someone to come and rescue them out of their flat. It was just awful. Did you know people who lived there . I didnt realise, that i did, but now people are starting to come to the Christian Centre that managed to the Christian Centre that managed to get out, there are people that we did know and some of their families that lived there. Theyre looking for them as well. We knew a couple of people. So many people this morning talked about the speed at which the flames took a hold. Is that what surprised you as well . Yes. It wasjust, one side of it was just, you know, just sort of crumbling away. It was terrible and then the other side was alight. It just took hold so quickly and the firefighters were working really hard, but they couldnt get it under control. It wasjust hard, but they couldnt get it under control. It was just too bad. Hard, but they couldnt get it under control. It wasjust too bad. The other people you have been speaking to here this morning, other residents who have come out of the block of flats, what have they been saying to you . Theyre shocked that it happened. The whole community is just so shocked that something that bad could actually happen. We know that there are other tower blocks in the areas that had fires before, but not to this extent. This is a complete block really and its just unbelievable. I just cant complete block really and its just unbelievable. Ijust cant take it in. I really appreciate you talking to this us this morning. Thank you very much indeed. Just one more harrowing eyewitness of what happened. So many people this morning are talking about the speed at which the flames told a hold. So, so quickly giving, it would seem, many people very, very little chance to get out. Some people have got out of the building and we have been speaking to them as well, again with very harrowing accounts you might have heard earlier, but you can see the activity behind me, more people gathering just outside this community centre, sharing stories, many, community centre, sharing stories, any community centre, sharing stories, many, many tears, absolutely distraught people. People here are trying to come to terms with this awful event. Its very, very difficult to come to terms with indeed, tim, thank you very much. We will be hearing more from tim as he speaks to people at scene in latimer road and at the community centre. Many people from the tower have been evacuated to. Youre looking at the live images of Grenfell Tower. This is in latimer road in west london. The tower containing 1a0 apartments. Around half an hour we got the latest update from the Emergency Services. Let me take you through some of the key points that emerged that. This is from dani cotton saying that the London Fire Brigade took multiple calls. The first call coming in at 6 minutes to one, in the early hours of this morning. Fire engines on the scene in under six minutes. London Ambulance Service confirming 30 people have been taken to five hospitals. And she went on to say at this time im very sad to confirm there have been a number of fatalities, but i cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and the come paralympicsity of the building and it would be wrong to speculate further. So, just to repeat, this is from dani cotton, london fire commissioner confirm that there have been a number of fatalities. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage, but the crews wearing Breathing Apparatus have been working, she says in extremely challenging and very difficult conditions, trying to rescue people and bring this majorfire under control. She added in her 29 years asa control. She added in her 29 years as a firefighter she had never seen anything on this scale. Thats reflected in the Eyewitness Accounts weve been hearing all morning. We can talk to andy moore who is our correspondent some 500 meters from the scene. Andy, it is very difficult to see close up with this building, butjust in the last half an hourorso, we building, butjust in the last half an hour or so, we were definitely seeing flames inside the building . Yes, i mean you can see most of it isjust a yes, i mean you can see most of it is just a blackened, yes, i mean you can see most of it isjust a blackened, charred wreck, but there are still flames in some of the flats and every now and again they flair up. The fire service are doing the best they can to control it. You can see their hoses playing on the building every now and again. You can hear a small explosion from within inside the building as something goes up in flames. There is only one part of the building really on the left hand side that is undamaged as far as as i can see and in the shots we have seen from the helicopter, all the other sides of the building have been completely destroyed. Only that one section down there on the left is unburnt and thats where in the early hours of the morning perhaps 3am or aam we saw somebody at the window there briefly coming to the window, going back into the flat and then out again. We dont know what happened to that person, but we hope they we re to that person, but we hope they were rescued by firefighters who we nt were rescued by firefighters who went into the building wearing Breathing Apparatus. When we saw that person at the window, the firefighters seemed to be concentrating their efforts on that particular corner of the building. You can see that hydraulic platform there. That was going up when we saw that person at the window and it seemed to be trying to control the blaze around that particular flat where there were signs of life. Blaze around that particular flat where there were signs of lifelj understand that the cordon around the building has been expanded as well because the stability of the building is in some doubt . Thats right. I mean thats been the case since the early hours of the morning. We arrived here probably at 2am, maybe slightly before that and the crowds were on the streets, watching what was happening. A Police Cordon had been set up, but while we were there, the police were urgently pushing back telling them that there was a risk that the building would collapse and we could see on the other side of the building there was debris that was floating down, charred debris, some of it was burning, and we know that about 30 flats around the area have been evacuated because of that risk of the fire spreading to other buildings and the risk of the whole structure possibly collapsing. But having talked about the risk of the structure collapsing, you cant see the firefighters, but you can see their hoses and we know that the firefighters are still in very close proximity to the tower block so either they have a fair degree of confidence that it wont collapse or they believe its more important for them to get up close to the building to do theirjob to try and rescue people who might still possibly be in the tower. Andy, for the moment, thank you very much. Youre watching our extended coverage of the major fire, a Major Incident, in west london this morning. You can see the live images there of the tower block in west london. We know that some 500 people live in the apartments there. Lets just take you through as we understand the sequence of events. If we look at images filmed in the early hours of this morning. This will give you a real sense of the scale of the blaze itself. The fire brigade confirming this morning that their first emergency calls came in at six minute to say one. Some eyewitnesses telling us they saw flames a little earlier than that, but what is clearly emerging this morning is that the fire engulfed the building very quickly, within a short space of time. What appears to have been a fire that according to some eyewitnesses started around the fourth floor of the Apartment Block, the flames very quickly escalated massively. You can see those images taken in the early hours of this morning, it gives you a real sense of the scale of the inferno that really engulfed the building. Were hearing that 30 people have been given assistance by the London Ambulance service and taken to five london hospitals. But this morning, the london fire commissioner confirming that there have been a number of fatalities. Unable at this stage to confirm how many, but that is the latest information from the Emergency Services that there have been a number of fatalities. We havent been given a cause of the fire. Fire investigators, the fire brigade, the royal borough of kensington and chelsea said that thereby investigated, but for now thereby investigated, but for now the focus is on supporting Emergency Services in their rescue and relief operation. We have been bringing you many accounts from people who have escaped from the building, who lived close to the building, who live in the area. There have been very distressing as you can understand and very traumatic as people have experienced this horrific ins didnt. Mikey spoke to tim muffett, our correspondent you heard from a few minutes ago and mikey managed to escape the building with his partner and daughter. He gave us this account. It was about one, half past one. Im in bed with my girlfriend. My little girl is next door fast asleep. Im drifting in and out of consciousness and i smell something plasticy, i jump up consciousness and i smell something plasticy, ijump up because im worrying about a device, i check everything and everything is ok, but ican everything and everything is ok, but i can still smell this smell. I lit up i can still smell this smell. I lit upa i can still smell this smell. I lit up a cigarette. I heard shouting and i heard a lady going, its getting bigger and bigger. I heard a lady going, its getting bigger and bigger. I i heard a lady going, its getting biggerand bigger. Ithought i heard a lady going, its getting bigger and bigger. I thought there was something seriously wrong. There is all neighbours. They are saying, get down the stairs. I put my Dressing Gown and put me little girl in the Dressing Gown and got my girlfriend. We were told if there is a flat, stay in your flat. If we stayed in that flat we would have been perished and it spread like wildfire because it was covered in cladding, the block of flats. The smoke alarm was useless and i could only hear it in the hallway and not in the flat. It was horrendous, People Screaming. It felt like seconds. It wasjust People Screaming. It felt like seconds. It was just going People Screaming. It felt like seconds. It wasjust going up and up and up. I never seen Something Like it. It was like something out of a hollywood Disaster Movie. Do you know about anybody getting out . I saw my neighbour. There we re out . I saw my neighbour. There were kids screaming about windows, windows broken, explosions going off, i windows broken, explosions going off, lam windows broken, explosions going off, i am shaking, windows broken, explosions going off, lam shaking, i windows broken, explosions going off, i am shaking, i am windows broken, explosions going off, lam shaking, lam in windows broken, explosions going off, i am shaking, i am in shock and grateful i got us out of there, if we had stayed in there we would have perished. Do you know how many people live there . There has to be a couple. A wide range of rooms in the i saw over the weeks, the work going on, during the fire there were explosions going off, windows flying out, it was all blue flames. Once we we re out, it was all blue flames. Once we were out, refuse bag, trousers and shoes, people running out in their dressing downs and whatnot. Its horrendous, i am dressing downs and whatnot. Its horrendous, lam hoping dressing downs and whatnot. Its horrendous, i am hoping to god not too many people have perished. We have seen people gathering here this morning clearly utterly traumatised as you are yourself, what have other been people been saying . Everyone is in shock, people are searching for people with pictures, apparently a lot of kids from the school are joining the building are missing, a lot of kids and all People Living in the block and it went right up, there was not any stopping it. The block and it went right up, there was not any stopping itm was the speed which really. . There was not any stopping itm was the speed which really. . Yeah, it was like pyrotechnics speed and i think it was all down to the cladding they have put on the block. It was like plastic and its gone all the way up in seconds. Fire engines there, eight or nine of them but only two of them operating, you could see silhouettes of People Screaming, apparently someone jumping from the fifth floor or something, landed but she was ok. An absolute nightmare. We go to our correspondent now, very interesting to hear from correspondent now, very interesting to hearfrom him, he was on the seventh floor and mercifully able to escape with his family, are you hearing many of the stories from some of those who did manage to make their way out . Many of the people who it would seem did get out are so traumatised they do not want to talk, perfectly understandable reasons. We have had many eyewitnesses who saw from across the road what was happening and many harrowing stories. Councillor robert atkinson, this is your ward, when did you first become aware something so terrible had happened . About a 30am, icame so terrible had happened . About a 30am, i came straight here. What do we know about the condition of these flats . It has been recently refurbished and clad, they replaced the kitchens and heating system, i would have thought it was the safest, we have had had fires in tower block before but nothing like this. This speed, so many people talking about the speed the flames to cold, a catastrophic fire of some sort. What is the latest you have heard . In terms of what . The state of the building and people getting out . A homeless families because the building is gutted, they have to be our priority today, we need to house today, there are 500 people here not knowing where their loved ones are, not knowing where they will sleep tonight. What assistance can you provide, give this speed this is all happening . The Council Efforts are being co ordinated, dealing with the police and the fire brigades. The council cannot do anything about the fire but we can house people and ta ke fire but we can house people and take care of their immediate needs and im here to make sure that happens. What have they been telling you this morning about their escape or what they witnessed . It seems to have been an absolute horror, people we re have been an absolute horror, people were not aware there was a fire in the building, people were trying to get out of the building. The building, people were trying to get out of the buildinglj get out of the building. appreciate you talking to us this morning, before you go, do you think, what is your next plan in terms of housing these people . The first thing we need to do is find out who the casualties are, reunite families because they are spread over a families because they are spread overa numberof families because they are spread over a number of Community Centres at the moment, so we have two coordinate and then we have to find, by tonight, where you how is 120 families which in london will not be easy. Thank you very much for talking to us. A logistical challenge not to mention the human tragedy, the scale of which is absolutely stunned people here. To bring the up to date, we know a number of fatalities have been confirmed, there was a press conference in the last half an hour, the london fire commissioner confirming there had been an number of fatalities. We can now hear from da ny been an number of fatalities. We can now hear from dany cotton. Of this 2a Story Building from the second floor boards. I have over 200 of my firefighters and officers attending this incident, a5 engines and a range of Specialist Vehicles including 1a fire rescue units in attendance. Based on the level of resource that was needed at this buyer we declared this a Major Incident very early this morning. London fire brigades control room took multiple calls to this incident with the first call coming in at six minutes to 1am. Ourfirst fire engine was on scene in under six minutes. Crews wearing Breathing Apparatus have been working in extremely challenging and very difficult conditions to rescue people and bring this majorfire under control. London Ambulance Service have confirmed that currently 30 people have been taken to five hospitals. At this time im very sad to confirm there have been a number of fatalities. I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building and it would clearly be wrong for me to speculate further. Equally the cause of this fire is not known at this stage. Well be here all day and we will provide further updates, we are working very closely with our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police and the London Ambulance service to bring this situation under control. Further information for the public will be made available shortly including advice for those concerned about those who are working here and people who live here. The Emergency Services will continue to work with all agencies including the local authority to support all affected by this incident, thank you very much. That is da ny this incident, thank you very much. That is dany cotton, the statement on the half of the fire service, just confirming, and i think it is helpful, if we look at the time line, they were saying they got the first call just before line, they were saying they got the first calljust before 1am, but if we can look now at the extent of the blaze in the early hours of the morning, the fire service confirming all but the first two floors, the second floor boards affected by the fire. You really get a sense of the scale of this blaze. These are the images taken around 2am or three. Many eyewitnesses, the image coming across is how fast the blaze to call from what appeared to be a relatively small fire to an enormous blaze within a matter of minutes. Heard from dany cotton who said in her 29 years as a firefighter she has never seen anything on this scale, that statement from the london fire department, the Metropolitan Police have also issued a statement saying police were called at 60 minutes past one this morning to reports of the fire. 60 minutes past one. All the Emergency Services and other agencies continue to Work Together at the scene and the evacuation process is continuing. He also confirmed a number of fatalities and said others are receiving medical ca re said others are receiving medical care and also confirmed soon next of kin will be contacted. Anyone who has any concerns about loved ones in relation to the fire should contact casualties bureau which has been opened following the fire, the Casualty Bureau, this is going to be very busy, the number at the bottom of the screen. There will be lots of people calling this number are very concerned about family, friends, relatives, commander stewart conde said if there are any problems getting through immediately try again. To give you an idea of what is happening in the area, the cordon around the building has been widened as the stability, concerns about the stability of the building increase. An number of nearby residents have been evacuated as a precaution. The main road in the area near notting hill, the a a0 closed in both directions and the police asking the public to stay away from the area if at all possible but has bagged the public for its patients and corporation. More than 50 patients taken to five hospitals following the fire, that the latest from the Ambulance Service. This is extended coverage of the Major Incident in west london, back with the latest in a moment. First the news travel and weather where you are. It is known the huge fire thats torn through a 27 storey tower block in west london has claimed a number of lives. The London Fire Brigade says they are unable to say how many have died at the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington. 50 people have been taken to hospital. Lets hear from one man whose cousin phoned him from one man whose cousin phoned him from inside the burning building. She was actually saying, are you guys coming . Are you guys coming . Are you guys coming . Yeah, yeah were coming. We went to get a shield from the police van to go up and get them down. I dont know whether they did or not because i was stopped from going in the building. Andi was stopped from going in the building. And i said to her, theyre coming. Theyre coming for you. Theyre coming to get you. I dont know if they did. If you are worried about family and friends the Metropolitan Police have set up a number to call. Its 0800 0961233. The fire has closed a number of roads in North Kensington. There have been southbound queues from kensal green station. The aao is closed. Also partly shut are g re nfell closed. Also partly shut are grenfell road. The fire is affecting the tube. Elsewhere minor delays on the central and waterloo city line and District Line. Here is the weather now. Good morning. Its a very bright and sunny start to the day. There is not much in the way of cloud to speak of. Its sunny and warm. The temperature will steadily rise. The uv levels are temperature will steadily rise. The uv levels a re pretty temperature will steadily rise. The uv levels are pretty high. Sunscreen is needed and the pollen count is very high as well. Not much cloud around today so the temperature could reach between 25 and 27 celsius. Maybe even sneaking up to 28 celsius. So a very warm afternoon. Pleasant evening in the sunshine and then overnight a warm and humid night. The minimum temperature for Central London at least staying at 18 celsius. So quite uncomfortable for sleeping. More of the same first thing tomorrow morning. Then more cloud pushes across. Thats a cold front. We will see more cloud. Thats about it, but it does introduce some fresher air. So its not going to be as hot tomorrow. 22 celsius, 23 celsius the maximum. High pressure stays in charge. It will be fine and dry. Friday, a bit more cloud around. Temperatures staying in the low 205 however and then as we head towards the weekend that cloud squeezed out of the way. Its looking promising indeed. Lots of sunshine around for saturday and for sunday we could be seeing temperatures up at 27 celsius or 28 celsius. Im back in of a hon. We will keep you up to dated on the huge fire at the Grenfell Tower block. Youre watching breakfast. Lets bring you on the latest on the devastating fire that devastate add 27 storey block in west london. Londons fire commissioner declared a Major Incident. She said there have been a number of fatalities, but cant confirm how many. She described the blaze as unprecedented and said she had never seen anything on that scale in her 29 year career career. Richard lister has the latest. The fire raged through the night. This 27 storey block, home to hundreds of people, was engulfed in flame. In the chaos, it was unclear how many were able to get out. Some were trapped inside for sometime at least,