Grenfell Tower Fire of 2017

Introduction

The Grenfell Tower fire of 2017 was one of the deadliest residential building fires in the history of the United Kingdom. The disaster occurred on June 14, 2017, in the Grenfell Tower, a 24-story public housing building in London, and claimed the lives of 72 people. The tragedy remains one of the most significant events in the history of public housing and serves as a reminder of the dangers posed by inadequate fire safety measures and the importance of building regulations.

The Grenfell Tower was a high-rise public housing building that was home to hundreds of people, many of them low-income and immigrant families. On the evening of June 14, 2017, a fire broke out in the building, quickly spreading to other floors and engulfing the entire structure. The cause of the fire was later determined to be a result of inadequate fire safety measures, including the use of flammable cladding on the building’s exterior.

The response to the disaster was immediate, with rescue teams and first responders rushing to the building to assist in the search and rescue efforts. However, the conditions in the building were treacherous, with the fire having spread quickly and the risk of further collapses hindering the rescue efforts. Despite the efforts of the rescuers, many of the residents remained trapped in the building, and the final death toll was reported to be 72 people.

The Fire

On the morning of June 14th, 2017, Grenfell Tower, a 23-story building located in North Kensington, West London, caught fire and resulted in one of the worst modern disasters in the UK. The fire was reported to have originated from a Hotpoint fridge-freezer in a fourth floor flat and quickly spread to all four sides of the building. The final death toll from the blaze was 72 people. The cause of the fire was concluded to be the highly combustible polyethylene filler in the building’s exterior cladding.

The first fire crew arrived at the scene at 00:59 and entered the flat at 01:07. Although they initially searched the bedrooms, they did not enter the kitchen until 01:14 where they saw a “curtain of flame” from the fridge-freezer. By this time, the fire had already spread to the cladding. The fire spread rapidly up the tower and reached the top floor on the east side by 01:26. The fire safety engineer, Dr. Barbara Lane, identified the fire spreading vertically up the tower columns and laterally along the cladding and windows.

Grenfell Tower had a “stay put” fire policy, which meant that residents were advised to remain in their flats until the fire brigade could bring the fire under control. However, this policy failed by 01:26 and many residents were trapped in their flats due to thick smoke spreading up the single narrow stairwell. A total of 65 people were rescued from the building by firefighters and some residents sought refuge in flats of friends and neighbors on the upper floors. The stay put advice was finally abandoned at 02:47 and 144 people managed to evacuate before 01:38, but only 36 after the stay put guidance was abandoned. By 04:30, the whole building was engulfed and the fire burned for 24 hours.

The final death toll from the blaze was 72 people, including six members of the Choucair Family and five members of the Hashim Family, who lived on the 22nd floor. The youngest victim was six-month-old Leena Belkadi and the oldest was 84-year-old Sheila, who had lived in Grenfell Tower for 34 years. The building was part of the Lancaster West Estate, a social housing complex of almost 1,000 homes, and was managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization on behalf of the council.

A public inquiry was ordered by former Prime Minister Theresa May and began in December 2017. Lawyers representing survivors and relatives of the victims began giving evidence in the same month. Phase one of the inquiry, which examined what happened on the night, was released in October 2019 and found “systemic failures” in London Fire Brigade’s response. Phase two, which will look at the building’s refurbishment and external cladding, is due to begin in January 2020. The Met Police are investigating potential offenses including manslaughter, corporate manslaughter, misconduct in public office, and breaches of fire safety regulations.

The Cause

The Grenfell Tower fire in London, England was initially reported to have been caused by a faulty refrigerator. The police later confirmed that the fire was indeed started by a Hotpoint FF175BP fridge-freezer produced by Indesit. The model was manufactured between March 2006 and July 2009, and 64,000 units were produced, although it is unknown how many are still in use. A product safety investigation commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy found that the design met all legal safety requirements and there was no need to recall the model, although the Consumers’ Association complained that the legal requirements were inadequate.

Tenants of the Grenfell Tower had repeatedly complained about electrical power surges causing appliances to smoke, and it was suggested that such a surge may have set the fridge-freezer on fire. Despite the complaints and compensation paid to tenants for damaged appliances, the surges continued, and the cause of the surges was never solved. A local Labour councillor, Judith Blakeman, said that the surges affected many appliances, including fridges, and that the cause of the surges was never solved.

Electrical investigating engineer J. Duncan Glover gave evidence to the Grenfell Tower inquiry suggesting that the fridge-freezer compressor relay wiring in Flat 16 was not tightly fitted, which probably created additional electrical resistance and overheated, igniting the outer plastic insulation of the wire. Glover also compared US and UK safety standards and noted that while US regulations require a steel back to the fridge to contain a fire, UK fridges are only required to have a plastic backing.

Secondary Causes and the Aftermath

The building’s exterior cladding and insulation were found to be major factors in the rapid spread of the fire. The cladding was made of aluminum sandwich plates with a polyethylene core, while the insulation was made of PIR foam plates. Both the cladding and insulation failed fire safety tests conducted after the disaster. The combustible materials used were considerably cheaper than non-combustible alternatives. A building control officer from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea passed the cladding, but it was later determined that it was non-compliant with building regulations guidance.

The cladding was a possible cause of the rapid spread of the fire, with the gap between the cladding and insulation acting like a chimney. The cladding used, Reynobond PE, was banned in the UK and not suitable for buildings over 10 meters tall. The insulation used, Celotex RS5000, was also flammable and produced toxic cyanide fumes when heated. At least three survivors were treated for cyanide poisoning.

Cavity barriers intended to prevent the spread of fire were found to be of insufficient size and incorrectly installed, which facilitated the spread of fire. The windows and their surrounds installed as part of the refurbishment were also less fire resistant than those they replaced, making it easier for the fire to spread between the interior and exterior of the building.

In the aftermath of the fire, concerns were raised about the dangers of external cladding and the need for better fire safety regulations. The UK did not mandate the use of realistic fire simulations, unlike the US, where the use of cladding with a polyethylene core was banned for high-rise buildings. The Grenfell disaster highlights the need for stricter building regulations and better fire safety measures in high-rise buildings.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Grenfell Tower fire was a tragedy that resulted in 72 deaths and significant loss of property. The cause of the fire was determined to be the highly combustible polyethylene filler in the building’s exterior cladding and a number of other flammable materials that were present in the building. The public inquiry and the police investigation aim to uncover the systemic failures and potential criminal offenses that contributed to the disaster. The Grenfell Tower fire serves as a reminder of the importance of fire safety measures and the need for regular inspections and maintenance of buildings.

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