Our sincere condolences to all the residents and family who lived in the Grenfell Tower apartments in North Kensington, London.

Multiple news outlets have reported on the catastrophic fire which engulfed the 24-story building early Wednesday morning. The London Fire Brigade battled the flames with 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters , according to Aljazeera.com. The fire, which started on the second floor, has claimed at least 12 lives, but there are still many residents who are unaccounted for or missing.

The truly alarming piece in this tragedy is the potential predictability of such an event. Grenfell Action Group members, a group working to defend and serve the Lancaster West community, reportedly attempted to bring attention to the landlord’s neglect of health and safety conditions. A post to their blog in November reads, “all our warnings fell on deaf ears […] We predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time.”

This fire strikes close to our hearts as we entered the fire protection industry a few years ago, beginning with multi-story hotels. Never settle for less than fire industry regulation standards. The National Fire Protection Association recommends a smoke detector be installed in every “sleep room” and on every level of a home. Interconnected and monitored smoke detectors increase your notification power – to you, directly, and to emergency responders.

We recommend you regularly test your smoke detectors and always have an escape plan. Early detection can save lives.