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Matt Wrack

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Gender Male
Age 61
Date of birth May 23,1962
Zodiac sign Gemini
Born Manchester
United Kingdom
BooksWhose Money is it Anyway? The Case for Democratising the Trade Union Political Funds
Job Firefighter
Date of Reg.
Date of Upd.
ID403767
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Matt Wrack Life story


Matthew D. Wrack is a British trade unionist and former firefighter. He was elected General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union in May 2005.

UK unready as wildfires surge, warns firefighters' union

UK unready as wildfires surge, warns firefighters' union
Sep 28,2023 11:21 pm

... Matt Wrack, the FBU s general secretary, said: " We need urgent climate action...

Bibby Stockholm: Migrant barge faces legal challenge over fire safety

Bibby Stockholm: Migrant barge faces legal challenge over fire safety
Aug 28,2023 12:50 am

... Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the FBU, said the union had moved towards a legal challenge after spending weeks trying to raise concerns with the government...

London wildfire response hit by crew shortages - report

London wildfire response hit by crew shortages - report
Jul 10,2023 9:30 am

... " But Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), said firefighters were not being given " adequate resources...

Grenfell Tower: Community considers future of building six years on

Grenfell Tower: Community considers future of building six years on
Jun 14,2023 2:40 am

... " Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: " Six years on and the community is still waiting for answers...

Wildfires: UK to set up new Mediterranean-style specialist units

Wildfires: UK to set up new Mediterranean-style specialist units
Jun 9,2023 4:40 am

... Matt Wrack, the Fire Brigades Union s general secretary, called for more funding from the government, saying: " Rising temperatures and the systematic underfunding of the fire and rescue service are a recipe for destruction...

Fire services: Shocking bullying and abuse widespread, report says

Fire services: Shocking bullying and abuse widespread, report says
Mar 30,2023 5:10 pm

... Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), welcomed the report s acknowledgement of " the scale of the problem" and promised the union would " take a leading role" in transforming its culture...

UK Firefighters' strike postponed as union votes over new pay offer

UK Firefighters' strike postponed as union votes over new pay offer
Feb 9,2023 1:11 am

... Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the new pay offer was " testament to the power of collective action through the Fire Brigades Union"...

Grant Shapps unveils new powers in strike laws

Grant Shapps unveils new powers in strike laws
Jan 10,2023 1:51 pm

... Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack called the bill a " shameful attack" on democratic rights and key workers...

Grenfell Tower fire report 'gives victims the truth', says PM

Jan 5,2023 8:01 am

Survivors and bereaved relatives of the Grenfell Tower Fire have called for London Fire Brigade chief Dany Cotton to resign - After a from The Inquiry into The Blaze .

The Report said some of the 72 people who were killed could have been saved if The Building was evacuated sooner.

The Grenfell United group said it was "heartbreaking" to read, and some relatives want senior staff prosecuted.

The LFB said it was "disappointed" by some of the criticism of individuals.

The Inquiry , which examined what happened on The Night of 14 June 2017, concluded that "many more lives" could have been saved if the advice to residents to "stay put" had been abandoned earlier than 02:35 BST.

It said London Fire Brigade's preparations for such a Fire were "gravely inadequate".

Survivors called for senior Fire brigade staff to be sacked and prosecuted, saying that the brigade is "in the hands of people that are incapable of their jobs".

Nazanin Aghlani, who lost two Family Members in The Fire , said: "If a Fire happened tonight the same thing would happen again. "

The brigade's commissioner Dany Cotton , who is due To Retire in April 2020, expressed her "deepest sorrow" that firefighters had not been able to save those who died, But said The Inquiry had no expert evidence to support its conclusion about evacuating The Tower .

It would not have been possible or safe to evacuate residents through a "narrow, smoke-clogged stairwell" with The Number of firefighters who would have been available for that task said Matt Wrack , General Secretary of The Fire Brigades Union.

The Report also concluded that cladding surrounding The Tower did not comply with building regulations and was the main reason for The Fire 's "shocking" spread.

Campaign group Grenfell United said The Report showed "the immediate and real dangers" of "highly combustible cladding and insulation".

"Lives are At Risk and the government need to treat this as a national emergency," The Group said.

The Inquiry made 46 recommendations, including improvements in training for Fire brigade staff and the development of national guidelines for evacuating high-rise buildings.

Grenfell United called for the recommendations to be implemented in full, saying they would save lives.

The Report condemned the brigade for in its response to The Fire .

'Opportunity to save everyone'

Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said The Absence of a plan to evacuate The Tower was a "major omission" by the brigade and more lives could have been saved had the "stay-put" policy been abandoned sooner.

Grenfell United responded: "It is heartbreaking to read that more of our loved ones could have been saved That Night if The Building was evacuated earlier. "

At an emotional news conference, relatives of 20 victims of The Fire called for an overhaul of the brigade, saying its leadership should resign and face prosecution.

Sid-Ali Atmani, who escaped from the 15th floor, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "Those in command had [the] opportunity to save everyone in that Tower - we're talking about two hours. "

Karim Mussilhy, vice-chairman of Grenfell United, told the BBC he blamed The Fire brigade leadership, not the firefighters. "Dany Cotton needs to step down Today ," he said. "She should not have the luxury To Retire early with this £2m pot. "

But Moyra Samuels of the Justice4Grenfell group said the firefighters were being scapegoated.

"It wasn't the firefighters who put the cladding on The Building . The firefighters went into a building that was a deathtrap," She Said .

'Too little Too Late '

The Report said evidence from Ms Cotton that she would not have changed anything about the brigade's response was "insensitive".

Ms Cotton said many of the recommendations were welcome and would be "carefully considered".

She expressed her "deepest sorrow at not being able to save all those who died in the Grenfell Tower Fire ".

White doves were released at a memorial service earlier this year to mark two years since The Tragedy

She added: "We welcome The Chairman 's recognition of the courage, commitment and bravery of firefighters on The Night , But we are disappointed at some of the criticism of individual staff members who were placed in completely unprecedented circumstances and faced The Most unimaginable conditions while trying to save the lives of others. "

However, Natasha Elcock, chairwoman of Grenfell United who was rescued with her six-year-old daughter from the 11th floor, said Dany Cotton 's statement was "too little Too Late ".

"She stood up in The Inquiry , in a room full of bereaved and survivors and said there's nothing she would do to change That Night ," she told the BBC.

"If she'd expressed that sorrow That Day in that room, that potentially would have washed With Us Today . "

Grenfell United expressed concern at The Report 's finding that the LFB were "At Risk of not learning the lessons from Grenfell", adding that firefighters were "let down by their training, procedures, equipment and leadership".

Other issues highlighted in The Report included:

In The House of Commons, MPs held a minutes' silence to remember victims of The Fire , before a debate on The Inquiry .

Boris Johnson told MPs that survivors and the bereaved had been "overlooked and ignored" before The Fire and "shamefully failed" afterwards.

He said the government planned to name companies who were failing to replace unsafe cladding on their buildings, adding: "Too many building owners have not acted responsibly. "

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government's response had been "too slow and not strong enough on every front", from rehousing The Survivors to replacing Grenfell-style cladding.

Eight out of 10 buildings residential blocks have still not had their cladding replaced, he said.

The Second Phase of The Inquiry will focus on wider circumstances of The Fire , including the design of The Building .

While this was not the focus of The First phase, The Report found there was "compelling evidence" external walls of The Building failed to comply with building regulations and "actively promoted" the spread of Fire .

It said the principal reason The Flames shot up The Building so fiercely was the combustible aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding with polyethylene cores which acted as a "source of fuel".

Grenfell United said the Second Phase of The Inquiry "must now focus on where responsibility for the devastating refurbishment [of The Building ] lies", with The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, The Tenant management organisation and the companies involved facing "serious questions".

More in-depth coverage of The Report is available on on BBC Sounds



boris johnson, grenfell tower fire, grenfell tower inquiry

Source of news: bbc.com

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