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The fire started in the early hours of June 14, 2017 (File).
The Grenfell Tower fire in Britain that killed 72 people was the result of “decades of failure” by government and construction industry bodies and “systematic dishonesty” by building materials firms, a damning final report said on Wednesday. It was said.
A blaze in the early hours of June 14, 2017 quickly spread through a 24-storey block of flats in west London as highly flammable cladding was applied to the exterior.
The fire, which started in a faulty freezer on the fourth floor, took barely half an hour to climb to the top floor of the building with catastrophic results.
The highly critical report marks the end of a two-part independent inquiry led by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick into Britain’s worst residential fire since the Second World War.
Unveiling his findings, Moor-Bick said all 72 deaths from the fire were “all avoidable” and said victims had “failed miserably”.
He said some of those who played a role in sowing the seeds of destruction had shown “incompetence” as well as “dishonesty and greed”.
The report is highly critical of the government and other influential bodies over the renovation of Grenfell, which led to the installation of cladding and other hazardous materials.
In particular, the report condemned firms involved in the supply of rainscreen cladding panels and other insulation products.
Accusing them of “systematic dishonesty”, it said they “engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing process, misrepresent test data and misrepresent the market.” can be misled.”
After the release of the report, Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged that his government would ensure that such a tragedy never happened again.
“The government will consider this report and its recommendations carefully, to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again,” he said in a written statement to parliament.
‘stop’
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has also faced heavy criticism with senior officers being called “complacent”.
The service failed to ensure that the risk posed by the increased use of cladding was “shared with the wider organization and reflected in training”.
It also failed to learn the lessons of a previous fire in 2009 that “should have alerted the LFB to deficiencies in fire-fighting capabilities in high-rise buildings”.
Residents who called emergency services were told to stay in their flats and wait for rescue for around two hours after the fire broke out.
The “stay put” advice, now considered for dear life, has since been revised.
It left some men, women and children dead, including entire family groups, trapped in their own homes.
Abdulaziz Al-Wahhabi, 52, and his wife Fawzia, 41, died on the 21st floor along with their three children, the youngest of whom was eight-year-old Mehdi.
Mahdi’s teacher recalled his ability to “make us laugh and smile” and “lighten our mood”.
Abdul Aziz was described as a “loyal family man” who always “helped neighbors by opening their bags and doors”.
Fauzia was “vivacious and friendly”.
The youngest victim of the tragedy was a stillborn and six-month-old baby Lena Belkadi, who was found with her mother in a stairwell between the 19th and 20th floors.
Dangerous buildings.
The disaster has left many living in similar sheet-covered buildings in constant fear of a repeat tragedy.
Those who owned their own homes also faced financial problems as their apartments became unsalable.
Britain’s then-Conservative government announced in 2022 that developers would have to contribute more to the cost of removal, with residents of buildings taller than 11 meters not having to pay at all.
But just a week ago a fire in Dagenham, east London, highlighted the ongoing dangers.
More than 80 people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night after being woken by smoke and flames in a block where work to remove “non-compliant” cladding was partially completed.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Rowe said there were still around 1,300 buildings in London alone where urgent “remedial” work still needed to be done.
Criminal charges?
Bereaved families and survivors said ahead of the report that they hoped it would bring them what they say “we deserve”.
For some it means prison for those who “put profit before people’s safety”.
“To me there’s no justice without people going behind bars,” said Sandra Ruiz, whose 12-year-old niece Jessica Urbano Ramirez died.
However, London’s Metropolitan Police has said its investigators will need until the end of 2025 to finalize their investigation.
Prosecutors will then need a year to decide whether anyone will face charges.
For former Grenfell Tower resident Edward Dufferin, however, a long delay is unacceptable.
“We are not prepared to wait any longer, and this report needs to be the catalyst for significant movement by the Met Police to bring charges against those responsible for the deaths of 72 people,” he said.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
