“I’ve made the really difficult decision of moving the people living there into temporary accommodation,” said Georgia Gould, head of the council. “I know it’s going to be difficult, but Grenfell changes everything. I just don’t believe that we can take any risks with our residents’ safety, and I just have to put them first.” 
 
 Justin Fuller, a resident of one of the buildings ordered evacuated, said he had been out having a drink with friends in a pub when he saw the news of the relocations on television. “This feels like a sick joke,” said Mr. Fuller, who was reached by phone. “They are playing with our minds. Yesterday they were telling us our building was safe. Now we have to pack up all our things and our small kids in the middle of the night in a state of emergency?” 
 
 Mr. Fuller said his wife had been informed of the evacuation by the fire department and was told to pack a bag for at least four weeks. 
 
 “She hasn’t been told where we are staying tonight,” he said. 
 
 Salma Derecho, 36, who lived on the 18th floor of Taplow Tower, one of the buildings ordered emptied, said officials knocked on her door at 9:30 p.m. with directions to pack enough for two to four weeks. Ms. Derecho said her girls, aged 6 and 10, were crying as the family left home and asking her: “Is the building going to fall?” 
 
 In the same building, Rechelle Atienza was carrying small suitcases and a few bags down the stairs. Her 6-year-old-son, Mike, was holding an inhaler to his mouth with one hand and clutching a stuffed dog with his other. ||||| One of the lowest apartments which is gutted by fire in the burnt Grenfell Tower apartment building standing testament to the recent fire in London, Friday, June 23, 2017. British officials have ordered... (Associated Press) 
 
 LONDON (AP) — The Latest on London's public housing tower fire on June 14 that has killed at least 79 people (all times local): 
 
 9:35 p.m. 
 
 British Prime Minister Theresa May has tweeted that her thoughts are with hundreds of public housing residents who are being evacuated because of fire safety concerns. 
 
 May said Friday that "she will work with and support the emergency services and relevant authorities to safeguard the public." 
 
 She says she asked the country's secretary for communities and local government to keep her updated on "ensure we are offering every support we can to residents & those working onsite." 
 
 The northwest London borough of Camden announced Friday that is evacuating 800 households in five buildings it owns during renovations that are expected to take two to three weeks. 
 
 The move was prompted after the Camden Council learned that the buildings had combustible cladding like the one on Grenfell Tower, where at least 79 people died in a fast-moving fire last week. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:55 p.m. 
 
 The London borough of Camden says it has begun evacuating 800 households in tower blocks after fire authorities said they could not guarantee the safety of residents following a devastating fire in a high-rise in a nearby area. 
 
 Camden council leader Georgia Gould told Sky News Friday that a rest center has been set up and that hotels were being found for residents. 
 
 She says the move came after firefighters said they "could not guarantee our residents safety." 
 
 Camden is one of the councils in England which has learned that combustible cladding has been placed on buildings during renovation projects, though they also had fire-resistant cladding. 
 
 Gould says the repair work is expected to take two to three weeks. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6 p.m. 
 
 London firefighters and emergency workers who battled the Grenfell Tower blaze have been leaving messages and tributes to the victims at a makeshift memorial near the charred apartment block. 
 
 Heartbreaking messages written on red London Fire Brigade T-shirts offer poignant tributes alongside flowers, toys and candles. At least 79 people died in the June 14 fire, which engulfed the building so quickly overnight that firefighters were unable to reach many of the victims. 
 
 One tribute, from a firefighter from a station in the Kensington and Chelsea borough read: "20th floor, we tried... we're sorry." Another firefighter wrote "Our hearts go out to everyone touched by this tragedy. We did our best I promise." 
 
 One shirt bearing the London Ambulance Service logo said: "We refuse to forget you." 
 
 ___ 
 
 3 p.m. 
 
 London police are considering filing manslaughter charges related to the fire at a west London apartment tower that killed at least 79 people. 
 
 The Metropolitan Police on Friday confirmed residents' suspicions that the June 14 inferno at Grenfell Tower was touched off by a refrigerator fire. The department also said exterior cladding attached to the 24-story public housing project during a recent renovation failed safety tests conducted by investigators, and that police have seized documents from a number of organizations. 
 
 Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack told reporters that "we are looking at every criminal offense from manslaughter onwards ... We are looking at all health and safety and fire safety offenses, and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower." 
 
 The government has ordered an immediate examination of the refrigerator model that started the blaze. McCormack said the Hotpoint model FF175BP refrigerator-freezer had not been subject to any product recalls before the fire. 
 
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 12:05 p.m. 
 
 Downing Street has ordered an immediate examination of the model of refrigerator that is believed to have sparked last week's Grenfell Tower fire that killed at least 79 people. 
 
 Metropolitan Police Detective Supt. Fiona McCormack said the Hotpoint FF175BP fridge-freezer had not been subject to any product recall. 
 
 The fire spread quickly through the tower block, leading to concerns that cladding on the building did not meet fire safety rules. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:30 a.m. 
 
 London Police say manslaughter charges are among moves being considered over the Grenfell Tower fire that killed at least 79 people. 
 
 Metropolitan Police Detective Supt. Fiona McCormack says authorities are "looking at every health and safety and fire safety offense and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower." 
 
 McCormack also repeated calls for anyone with information on who might have been in the tower to come forward. The call comes after London Mayor Sadiq Khan's pledge to seek an amnesty for people who may have been living in the tower illegally. 
 
 McCormack says: "What we haven't got is a picture of how many people might have been in there. That's the number I'm really worried about." 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:50 a.m. 
 
 British police investigating the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London in which 79 people are believed to have died say the blaze started in a fridge freezer. They added that insulation and tiles recovered from the building have failed fire safety tests. 
 
 Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack says officers have seized documents in the investigation into the fire. 
 
 "What we are being told at the moment by the Building Research Establishment is that the cladding and insulation failed all safety tests," she told reporters Friday. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:55 a.m. 
 
 British authorities are studying samples of similar to that used on the west London apartment building that caught fire, killing at least 79 people. 
 
 Eleven buildings have now been identified as having combustible cladding such as that used on the Grenfell Tower. The cladding is being studied amid fears that the panels fueled the fire in the 24-story building that was engulfed in less than an hour. 
 
 Buildings in London, Manchester and Plymouth are among those where problem cladding has been identified. 
 
 Fears about cladding is not limited to apartment buildings, and at least one hotel chain is calling in experts to make certain it meets safety regulations. Premier Inn said Friday it had "concerns" about the material on some of its buildings, though it is different to the type used on Grenfell. ||||| Chalcots estate residents moved overnight into temporary accommodation after council said it could not guarantee safety 
 
 Hundreds of residents of a housing estate in north London have been evacuated overnight after fire inspectors said five tower blocks were at risk following the Grenfell Tower blaze. 
 
 People living on Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage were woken during the night and told to leave their homes immediately after Camden council became the first in the country to order an evacuation of blocks at risk of a similar fire. 
 
 Cladding on 27 tower blocks fails fire safety tests Read more 
 
 Those affected described scenes of confusion as they were told the council was unable to guarantee residents’ safety, They are asked to find alternative accommodation or report to a local leisure centre, where hundreds of mattresses had been laid out. Others were offered hotel rooms for the night. 
 
 Speaking on Saturday morning, the leader of Camden council, Georgia Gould, said: “We’ve had a huge effort overnight to evacuate people. We have had 650 households who have moved out of the tower blocks. We’ve had everyone, council staff, volunteers, different councillors, all coming together with the fire service to move people safely out of their accommodation.” 
 
 She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The last thing I wanted to do was ask residents late on a Friday night to leave their homes. I have been with them all night and people are distressed, angry and scared. It’s such a difficult decision. 
 
 “But I said to fire services, is there anything I can do to make this block safe tonight? I offered to pay for fire services to be stationed outside those blocks just so we could have a couple of days to get the works done, but the message was [that there was] nothing to do to make blocks safe that night.” 
 
 Gould had announced the evacuation after a review of the blocks found cladding similar to that which had been on Grenfell Tower, as well as fire risks on insulation surrounding gas piping. 
 
 “All we care about is getting people to safety. The cost we can deal with later,” she said. 
 
 Two Shelter board members quit after Grenfell Tower fire Read more 
 
 “The work to make the blocks safe is expected to take three to four weeks. An operation of this scale, at such pace, is not without issues and problems along the way, but we had to do this, we have to act on fire service advice.” 
 
 As the scattered families and individuals came to terms with the upheaval on Saturday morning, with some claiming to have only learned of the evacuation after seeing it on the news: 
 
 Two relief centres in Swiss Cottage and the Camden centre in King’s Cross were said to be near capacity. 
 
 Camden council said it had secured hundreds of hotel beds for evacuated residents. 
 
 People were being encouraged to stay with friends and family if possible while remedial work took place. 
 
 The prime minister, Theresa May, said her “thoughts are with residents being evacuated in Camden” and offered “every support”. 
 
 One of the five towers evacuated was deemed safe and residents were told they could return. 
 
 Gould said 83 people refused to leave their homes. 
 
 Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, told Sky News early on Saturday morning that the evacuation was forced not by the cladding alone, but “multiple other fire safety failures”, including problems with insulation on gas pipes and missing fire doors. 
 
 
 
 The council initially announced on Friday that only one tower, Taplow, which contains 161 households, was to be “temporarily decanted”. Within the hour, however, Gould said the decision had been taken to evacuate the whole estate. 
 
 She said a rest centre for residents had been set up at Swiss Cottage library and efforts by council staff to process residents’ cases there were beginning immediately. 
 
 'Why did they wait for people to die?' Grenfell survivor tells of anger Read more 
 
 A council spokesman said: “We’re encouraging all residents to stay with friends and family if they can, otherwise we’ll provide accommodation. 
 
 Swiss Cottage rest centre is nearing capacity, so we’ve secured more space at the Camden centre [in] King’s Cross. 
 
 “Specialist staff are on the ground to assist residents with care needs. Pets are also welcome at both rest centres and hotel accommodation.” 
 
 The council earlier said it would immediately start preparing to remove cladding from five towers on the estate after an inspection ordered following the Grenfell disaster, which killed at least 79 people, found it could be a fire risk. 
 
 Gould said residents had since shared fire safety concerns that she had not previously been aware of and experts who inspected the estate on Friday informed her they could not guarantee the tenants’ safety. 
 
 
 
 “We realise that this is hugely distressing for everyone affected and we will be doing all we can, alongside London fire brigade and other authorities, to support our residents at this difficult time. The Grenfell fire changes everything, we need to do everything we can to keep residents safe,” she said. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Residents being evacuated from the Taplow block on Chalcots estate. A number refused to leave their homes. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP 
 
 On Thursday, the council said its safety inspection found that while the cladding and insulation were different from that used on Grenfell Tower, the former “did not satisfy our independent laboratory testing or the high standards we set for contractors”. In a letter sent to residents, the council said it was taking legal advice. 
 
 Camden council said officials had been knocking on doors one block at a time for safety reasons, starting at Taplow, then working through Burnham, Bray, Blashford and Dorney, from about 8pm on Friday. 
 
 A spokesman said residents would be allowed back at the weekend to collect their possessions under fire brigade escort. It is believed that some may not be able to return permanently for up to four weeks. 
 
 The evacuation came as four more Grenfell Tower victims were formally identified, bringing the total to nine. Scotland Yard said detectives were keeping open the option of bringing manslaughter charges relating to the fire. 
 
 
 
 Refurbishment on Chalcots estate was overseen by Rydon, the company involved in the refit of Grenfell Tower, according to its website. 
 
 
 
 A statement released by Downing Street on behalf of Theresa May said: “My thoughts are with residents being evacuated in Camden while their homes are made safe tonight. We will work with and support the emergency services and relevant authorities to safeguard the public.” 
 
 Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, the constituency in which Chalcots is located, said the council decision was the right thing to do. 
 
 “If you think someone’s in danger, especially in light of Grenfell, you take the first decision, even if it’s not ideal. Off the back of the meeting we had last night, in which lots of residents raised concerns, Camden council and London fire brigade did the right thing, which was to carry out the safety checks,” she said. 
 
 “Once they’d checked out the internal machinery, they decided that the buildings are not fit for purpose. So they’ve made a decision that couldn’t have been easy for the council, to rehouse the 800 households that we have. It may seem dramatic to some people, but if you are in a position of responsibility then I think it’s the right decision to make.”
– Hundreds of residents living in five public housing buildings in the Camden borough of London were being evacuated Friday evening after firefighters couldn't guarantee their safety in the wake of the deadly Grenfell Tower disaster, the AP reports. According to the New York Times, police say cladding material used on the five buildings at the Chalcots housing estate failed safety tests by investigators. It's similar to the combustible cladding used in Grenfell Tower, where at least 79 people died in a fire last week. The Camden council is trying to find hotels for residents of the approximately 800 apartments being evacuated. A rest center has been set up at an area library, the Guardian reports. Residents are scared and angry about the sudden evacuation. “I don’t know where we are going to go," one resident says. "One man in a suit said to me, ‘You can’t stay here tonight.’" Renovations to the buildings are expected to take up to a month. "I know it's going to be difficult, but Grenfell changes everything," the Times quotes Gould as saying. She adds: "All we care about is getting people to safety."