Kua family funeral on Wednesday

The funeral of members of  the Kua family who died in Saturday's fire in Neasden will be held tomorrow. It will take place at 1pm at The Garden of Peace, Elmbridge Road, Hainult, Ilford, 1G6 3SW. Afterwards at the Pakistan Community Centre, Brent Central Mosque, Station Parade, Willesden Green at 3.30pm..

London Fire Brigade launch schools safety campaign after Neasden fire

The London Fire Brigade have issued the following statement:


Fire investigators from the London Fire Brigade have today released information about what they believe to be the most likely cause of the worst house fire in the capital in over a decade. 

Six people died and two people were seriously injured in a blaze that started in the early hours of Saturday morning in a two-story semi-detached house on Sonia Gardens in Neasden. Fire investigators believe that a chest freezer, which was in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, may have caused the fire. The make of the chest freezer is not known at this stage.  

Earlier this week, the London Fire Brigade confirmed that a BEKO fridge freezer was in the house. However, this is not the same type of appliance as the one which fire investigators believe may have caused the fire and it has not formed part of the fire investigation.

Following the incident, the London Fire Brigade will be launching a fire safety blitz across the capital. The Brigade’s schools team will begin a pilot programme to visit secondary schools in Brent, the borough in which the fire happened. It already visits primary schools across the capital.

The Brigade will also be writing to every headteacher in London with fire safety advice they can give to children in assemblies. It will offer every primary school in London the opportunity of a visit, with a focus on children aged 6-7 and 9-10. Interested teachers should check the schools section of the Brigade’s website. 
Tomorrow, fire chiefs will also be launching a fire safety campaign on Facebook, which it hopes will reach one million people. The ‘Share it to Save a Life’ campaign will encourage people to share one fire safety tip with their Facebook friends every day for a week. People should visit the London Fire Brigade’s Facebook page for more details.

Today, fire chiefs are urging people to take four simple steps to protect themselves from fire:
1)          Check your appliances – if you notice any strange noises or smells coming from electrical appliances call a repair person and never overload plug sockets.
2)          Get a smoke alarm – fit it and check it regularly. One in ten homes still doesn’t have a smoke alarm. (Department for Communities and Local Government)
3)          Plan your escape  – know how you would get out of your home in the event of a fire
4)          Get out, stay out – in the event of a fire, get out, stay out. Call the fire brigade and do not attempt to tackle the fire yourself.
Assistant Commissioner for the London Fire Brigade, Steve Turek, said:

“Fire investigators will continue to piece together the tragic events of Saturday morning but early indications are that the fire was caused by a chest freezer in the hallway of the house. Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of those who died. This tragic event should focus people’s minds on how they can make their home safer. Our fire safety blitz will help people to do that. We will continue to work tirelessly to make the homes of all Londoner’s safer.

“There are four simple pieces of advice we are giving people to help keep them safe. Check your electrical appliances and sockets - if you notice anything strange, call a repair person. Everyone should make sure they have a smoke alarm and check regularly that it works. People should think about how they would get out in the event of a fire starting in their home and if it does, they should get out and stay out. Call the fire brigade and do not attempt to tackle the fire your self.”

Parents urge support for strike rally

A message from Kingsbury parents campaigning against academy conversion:

Mr Waxman, headteacher of Kingsbury High School, has today informed parents that the school will be closed Thursday due to strike action re the academy proposal.

This means a large number of teachers are striking and a large number of teachers are opposed to the academy conversion. So are ALL the local councillors and a large number of parents and many others in the community.

Although the school will be closed to children, the rally in support of teachers will go ahead as planned to show them our support. Please turn up in Princes Ave any time from 7.45am and preferably by 8.15am to come and stand together to show our opposition.

The government plans to privatise every school in the country; primary, secondary and special schools. Mr Waxman himself understands, as stated in his letter, that we all need to demonstrate to show our opposition to the government's policy which is trying to force all schools to take this step.

Please be there. See you Thursday!

Support Kingsbury High School Strike on Thursday

Kingsbury High NUT and NASUWT members in Brent will be on strike on Thursday 29th September against their Governors proposal to convert the school into a Gove academy. 

 

Please send messages of support to Geoff Williams, NUT Rep who has been doing a sterling job as a new Rep in galvanising staff to defeat this proposal. The Parents Action Group are supporting the teachers, pupils have already had a strike during the school day last term and the local community including the councillors are strongly against the conversion.   Please email Geoff at  geoffrey.williams@kingsburyhigh.org.uk
There will be a rally and picket at the school from 7.45 am on Thursday. Bring banners/placards
Kingsbury High
Princes Avenue,
Kingsbury,
London,
NW9 9JR

Neasden Fire Aftermath: we have schools and children to be proud of

Firefighters pay tribute to the Kua family

 I am Chair of Governors at the Neasden primary school attended by two of the children who died in the house fire at the weekend. I went in this morning to provide as much support as I was able and have returned humbled by the experience. The strength and sensitivity shown by the headteacher and staff as they struggled with their own emotions but put them aside to support the children was truly impressive.

The headteacher ran three assemblies for the different age groups and read out warm and vivid accounts of Amal aged 9 and Mustafa aged 7 provided by their teachers. The children were encouraged to share happy memories of their class mates and were given time to reflect or pray during the assembly. Throughout staff were on hand to give out tissues and provide physical reassurance with strokes and pats on the shoulder for sobbing children. After the assembly the children were given time to talk in class. Time and space was set aside for children to pray later in the morning if they wished. Tributes were paid to the London Fire Brigade, ambulance staff, and the doctors and nurses attending the family's father and surviving older sister.

During the assembly and in class children were very caring and supportive of each other. Some children chose to write, draw pictures or send messages to Amal and Mustafa and others were keen to discuss other, more permanent, ways of remembering the whole family. The older children had attended the school before moving on to Crest Academy.

Bringing to life the concept of 'Brent's Community of Schools' messages of support, sympathy and solidarity came from other Brent schools and from officers in the local authority along with sound practical advice.

In a poignant moment two Year 5 girls knocked at the headteacher's office door while we were meeting after the assemblies. They had noticed how upset the head had been in the assembly and said, "We've come to see if you are okay, Miss."

Out of tragedy is born hope. We have schools and children to be proud of.

Various rumours are circulating locally about the cause of the fire including stories about a faulty fridge. The London Fire Brigade, who observed a minute's silence for the family on Saturday at an event at the Excel Centre, have issued the following statement:

A painstaking investigation into the cause of a fire in Neasden, which killed six people and seriously injured two others, in the early hours of Saturday morning is still ongoing. Fire investigators are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to establish the cause of the fire.

At this stage, the London Fire Brigade is able to confirm that a BEKO fridge freezer was at the scene of the fire. However, this is not forming part of the fire investigation at this time.

Six fire engines and around 30 firefighters were called to the fire on Sonia Gardens in Neasden, London, NW10, in the early hours of Saturday 24 September. The ground floor and first floor of the two storey semi detached house was badly damaged by the fire.

A woman aged 41 and five children – three girls aged 14, 13 and 9 and two boys aged 5 and 2 died. Two further people, a man aged 51 and a girl aged 16, escaped from the house before firefighters arrived at the scene, both were injured and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Fire crews were at the scene within minutes of the Brigade being called about the fire - the first fire engine was there within four minutes and the second was there within seven minutes. Metropolitan Police and London Ambulance Service crews were also at the scene.

The Metropolitan Police has deemed the cause of the fire to be non-suspicious but investigations continue to find out how the fire started.

The investigation findings will be updated on the London Fire Brigade website HERE

Schools start the long healing process after fire deaths

 

A child's death is always terrible with all that curiosity, openness, zest for life and excitement about an unfolding future, suddenly and cruelly extinguished. The death of five children along with their mother in the fire in Neasden is almost too much to bear and somehow even worse at a time when as Palestinians they may have dared to hope for a better future.

Such a large family will have lots of  friends and relatives in the area and their loss will be a  terrible blow to a close-knit community. The children's schools will be holding special assemblies tomorrow as the first step in the long healing process. Staff, pupils and parents will be united in struggling to make sense of what has happened and will be seeking reassurance, support and comfort from each other. At times like this schools shoulder a huge responsibility and their central role in the community is revealed for all to see.

Muna Elmufatish and her children Hanin, 14, Basma, 13, Amal, nine, Mustafa, five, and Yehya, aged two all died in the fire. Their father Bassam Kua and sister Nur, 16, are in hospital in critical condition. My thoughts are with them them and everyone who has been affected by the tragedy.

Greens say Private Finance Initiatives should be 'nationalised'

Following the revelation that more than 60 hospitals cannot afford the rising cost of private finance initiative schemes, the Green Party calls on the Government to call these PFI schemes in.

The NHS faces a bill of £65billion for new hospitals built under PFI schemes and some NHS Trusts face annual repayments of more than 10% of their turnover. It has been claimed that across 154 different PFI projects, over £500 million of profits have been generated.

Penny Kemp, Green Party spokesperson said, “These PFI companies make huge profits. The National Audit office claimed one deal on a hospital in Bromley gave a return for the PFI contractors of more than 70%. In a time of economic austerity, this is scandalous.

"Furthermore, even the Government has no idea how much profit is being generated by the selling of private finance initiatives by construction and investment operators to other funds on a secondary PFI market.”

The Green Party believes that Private Finance Initiative needs to bought back from the companies and shown as Government debt rather than the dubious accounting stream, which does not require the capital cost of the schemes to be shown in the Government books.

Update on Brent Council Cuts

The much improved Brent and Kilburn Times has coverage of the latest Brent cuts following the Brent  Executive Decisions on Monday. Here are the main details taken from my regular Brent Green Party local press briefing: WKT E-EDITION

ANGUISH AS CARE CENTRE IS AXED WKTp1 A family expresses concern that the closure of Knowles House care home (decided by the Executive on Monday) will kill a 94 year old if she has to be moved. They said they did not know of the imminent closure until contacted by the newspaper. Cllr Ruth Moher expresses surprise that they did not know and says the moves will be based on individual needs and planned carefully: 'Residents and their families will be involved in this process'. (Families had opposed the closure in the initial consultation) OUR VIEW - AGAIN ITS THE MOST VULNERABLE WHO PAY PRICE WKTp20 Editorial on Knowles House claims it increasingly  seems 'the most vulnerable who are being asked to pay the heaviest price for the financial and political failings of the past' . They claim that 'unfit for purpose' is trailed out too readily and asks 'in this case does it mean that Brent (Council) has been negligent in maintaining a building for which it is wholly responsible?'
MOBILITY CURBED AS NUMBER OF TAXI-CARD DRIVES HALVED WKTp3 Brent council Executive voted on Monday to reduce the number of rides for people with mobility problems from 96 to 48 per year. It also ended 'double swiping' which enabled members to use two subsidies for one journey.
PUBLIC HAS BEEN MISLED OVER CUTS IN LOLLIPOP STAFF, CLAIMS COUNCILLOR WKTp2 Cllr Lorber (Lib Dem) says that the Council has misled residents over the reversal of school crossing patrol cuts because leaving staff will not be replaced and schools deemed low priority could lose their patrols to schools designated high priority. Cllr Jim Moher says Lorber is using parental concerns to 'play politics' and 'wherever there is a serious risk to safety we will not move the lollipop people'.
SCHOOLS COULD FUND SAFETY PATROLS WWOp10 Cllr Moher says patrols cost £6,000 but schools could employ volunteers if they funded their training. He said if they were unable to do so the council will look at alternatives. 'We would not withdraw the patrol unless we were satisfied there was adequate safety provision.'
AUTHOR BACKS FIGHT TO KEEP SIX LIBRARIES OPEN WKTp4 Former children's laureate Jacqueline Wilson will pledge her support for the libraries campaign when she appears at St Martin's Church, Mortimer Road, Kensal Green on Wednesday September 28th (tickets available from L'Angolo's Deli and Queens Park books £10 adults, £5 children - doors open 6pm)
STREET CLEANING - BRING SERVICE BACK IN HOUSE WKTp20 Letter from Martin Francis responding to Cllr Moher's defence of street cleansing cuts last week.  He quotes from the officers' document that Moher put to the Council to disprove his claims, and calls for the waste management service to be brought  back 'in-house' following Veolia's attempt to increase profit margins.