72 people died in the devastating fire. That’s five years ago. “Forever in our hearts,” it said at the memorial service.

The victims of a devastating fire five years ago were commemorated in London with a memorial service in Westminster Abbey. On June 14, 2017, 72 people lost their lives when the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey social building, burned out in the west of the British capital.

At the service, which was attended by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and former Prime Minister Theresa May, among others, clergymen from various religions read out the names of the women, men and children who died in the accident – each followed by a joint “Forever in our Hearts” (German: «« Forever in our hearts”).

These words are also written on the now shrouded, burnt-out Grenfell Tower in Kensington. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted his condolences to the victims’ families.

Prince William (39) and Duchess Kate (40) also took part in another service directly at Grenfell Tower in the afternoon.

Dangerous facades

The processing of the tragedy is still ongoing: an investigative commission is dealing with the causes of the fire and the work of the fire brigade and derives recommendations for action from this. The first recommendations have already been published, but implementation is slow. There are still a number of high rise buildings clad in similar dangerous facades that made the Grenfell high rise a death trap due to its high flammability.

Many owners of apartments that were built by construction companies with the unsafe façade and then sold with leasehold rights do not feel able to pay for the costs. However, they cannot sell their rights to the apartments as long as the facade, which is no longer permitted, has not been renewed. Again and again the British media reports of people who see themselves being driven into ruin.