Joints Stuffed With Newspaper: The Ronan Point Disaster | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

A documentary covering the partial collapse of the Ronan Point tower block in London, and the huge impact it had on residents, survivors, and the construction industry...

Fascinating Horror posts weekly videos covering the true stories behind some of history's greatest disasters. The channel is made possible by supporters on Patreon and YouTube channel members. HUGE thanks to everyone who supports this channel!

*LINKS:* 🔗

*CHAPTERS:* 🔖
► 00:00 - Intro
► 00:38 - The History of Ronan Point
► 03:10 - The Collapse of Ronan Point
► 08:15 - The Aftermath

*MUSIC:* 🎵
► "Glass Pond" by Public Memory

*SOURCES:* 📑

​​​​​​​#documentary​​​​ #history​​​​​​​​​ #truestories​ #london #disaster #construction

[ZGryphon]

I feel like it is bizarrely appropriate that the outcome of rampant corner-cutting was an actual corner of the building falling off. I mean, a screenwriter who pitched that idea would get thrown out of the producer's office.

Also, I just realized that this was basically the literal embodiment of the second bid in the Monty Python architect sketch. "Well, as long as the tenants are of light build and relatively sedentary, I think we're onto a winner here!"

[whitneyloreu]

The man flying out of the building on his mattress, still asleep, sounds like a classic scene straight out of Looney Toons

[namethegame]

The stove who's gas caused the collapse survived without damage? Maybe these stove manufacturers should try their hand at building construction. They seem to have the sturdiness on lock already.

[Mknlp]

Imagine being such a heavy sleeper that you dont even wake up from falling down multiple floors

[cuddlepaws]

The fact that the council didn't carry out remedial works is of no surprise to us. We live in the UK and used to live in a 19-storey Tower Block in the Midlands. It had 114 flats. I was in a 1-bed flat and one day when my window was open, it was caught by the wind and slammed shut, cracking the window from top to bottom. I reported it, and reported it, then finally a worker turned up and said, 'Oh, wrong window.' He had been told that it was the reinforced glass on my balcony that was broken. Later that day, I finally had it replaced.

However, my husband had one better than this. He lived in a 2-bed flat in the same block, just on a higher floor, and when he moved in there was a large crack in the glass panel that surrounded the balcony. He was on the 11th floor, which was literally 100ft (he measured it whilst drunk one evening using a ball of string with a nut tied on the end, then used a tape measure) He reported the crack. Nothing happened. He reported it a further 8 times.

Finally, he woke up one morning after a windy night and found the very large piece of reinforced glass that spanned approximately 50% of the balcony, lying inside the balcony. He went to the council offices again, and this time he reported that half of the glass was now in the balcony. If the rest fell out and happened to fall down, it would kill someone as it would come down like a guillotine. He also stated that if it was not fixed by the end of the day, he would be ringing the local newspaper to tell them all about it. Strangely, the council suddenly became VERY efficient and the glass was replaced the same day. The workman who came round was laughing at the level of panic he had created at the council offices.

We ended up living together in his flat and we had various issues. The lighting was out on the floor around the lift and stairwell. There was debris, faecal matter and used needles in the stairwell and a mega build up of pigeon muck at the ground floor exit door. We had reported these things to no avail. There was even a concierge office, and they had been reporting these issues also to no avail. So we contacted the local Wolverhampton Express & Star and a reporter came round.

The Tower Block was called Wodensfield Tower, however, we called it Toilet Towers and this title appealed to the reporter who took photos and spoke to us. Our story ended up on the third page with a picture of us in the stairwell alongside the rubbish and graffiti, and the headline was Toilet Towers. The article was a fair size. Miraculously, the council came round in very short order afterwards, replaced the lighting, cleaned the stairwells and removed the pigeon Amazing what a little bit of bad publicity can do isn't it?

[paulban]

Stove: I'm alright
Building: I'm done.

[gab_v]

9:58 Experts have said that Ronan Point wouldn't have survived the Great Storm of 1987 (one year after the demolition of the building)

[tsrgoinc]

Lived in the sister block Gannon Point from 1971 to 1985, someone sneezed on the 1st floor, someone on the 22nd floor said bless you! In high winds you could feel the building sway!

[moonwolfv]

Always like it when Fascinating Horror and Plainly Difficult cover the same incidences. Each one covers points which the other didn't.

[bellezanegra]

I mean I think it’s alarming that the expected lifespan of the building was only 60 years. That’s not a long time. It didn’t even make it 20 years.

[rachaelcourtnell]

Who was held accountable and paid for the corrupt building? Let me guess, no one.

[carolbibby]

I remember as a child being driven past this block in the weeks after it happened, I was 9 but still remember feelings of horror when seeing the collapsed floors. I find the fact that the lifespan of these buildings was only intended to be 60 years anyway appalling. Why all that effort and expense for such a short time when houses can be built to last centuries. I would rather live in a tent than a tower block, no matter how well built it was!

[nopewmopan]

Sleepy dude's mattress company should have used that as an advert.

[trevormillar]

The Danish firm that invented LPS, Over Arup, never intended it to be used for buildings over 4 storeys because that was the legal limit in Denmark at the time.
Another cause of the collapse was thr use of sea-dredged aggregates I'm making the concrete: the salt in thr concrete corroded the rears in the concrete and weakened them to the point of uselessness.
My grandfather was one of the dockers who stopped work and went to the site to offer help as rescue workers. The press reported their action as "Another dock strike"!

[tmntleo]

Doesn't surprise me, Newham Council are terrible even to this day. I was under them when I was a student, they were so bad. Not only were all the houses we were shown to stay in falling apart because they hadn't bothered to maintain them, but they also tried to put me and my student friends in prison because we hadn't paid council tax that we were exempt from. This was because they'd only bothered to pick up half of the student register at the Uni. They never apologised and the threatening letters kept coming for a month after they'd acknowledged and accepted that we were students and thus, tax exempt.

[csbluechip]

I still don't know how you (repeatedly) mange to address such horrific events with such dignity and respect. My hat is off to you, sir.

[janem]

"...offered tea and brandy." If I was a survivor, I would be passing on the tea and ask that the brandy remain flowing!

[rawlahiabetes]

You either want to save lives or save money, but it seems greed never allows both.

[DeanJuvenal]

As I traveled home to central London from Dagenham late on that fateful day, I saw this damage. I was so astonished that I parked my car and stood with others in disbelief and shock.
Thank you for telling the story behind what could have been a major tragedy.
Tho given the recent fire deaths in a London tower block - “When will they ever learn?”

[andygarside]

Thanks for posting this video THE DAY AFTER I MOVED INTO A HIGH-RISE!!!

All levity aside, another disaster explained, without fanfare or sensationalism. This is why we love your channel.