A Fiery Tragedy Unfolds in London - a Residential High Rise Inferno

In the first hour of the day, today, in London, England, fire erupted and quickly consumed a 24-story residential high rise apartment building in West London. Thus far, 45 engines and 200-plus fireman have battled the blaze. The death toll stands at six, but is expected to increase. There have been 70 injuries, 20 of which are reported as critical, the BBC-News reported.

The tragic spectacular fiery flames engulfed the Grenfell Tower from about 12:54 a.m.(00:54 BST). The 24-story tower that has 20-residential floors, has 120 living units. It is a social housing high rise, built in 1974 and refurbished in 2016, the BBC-News reported. No cause of the fire has been determined. The site remains under active investigation.

Yet, the blaze at the Latimer Road tower, in north Kensington, west London, stands as a tragic reality of some risks of high-rise living. Some community activists raised an alarm about accessibility to emergency crews to the tower during its most recent refurbishment. These concerns had come after another residential tower fire at the Lankanal House, in London, in July 2009, killed six people and injured 20. Fire safety concerns were also echoed at that 14-story tower fire.