UK - Huge fire rips through Grenfell Tower, Latimer Road, White City, London, June 2017

[MelmothTheLost]

A damning report into the Grenfell Tower fire has revealed that 'nobody wold have died had the building not been re-clad'.

A 210-page report into the fatal inferno in west London states the fire would have had "little opportunity" to spread from the flat it started in if the exterior of the tower had not been renovated with combustible material.

According to the report, seen by the Evening Standard , the 2014-2016 refurbishment of the tower block failed to meet fire safety standards and "deficiencies" in the new facade helped the fire to spread up the building's exterior.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/damning-leaked-grenfell-tower-fire-12372689

What this demonstrates is that even though many of these blocks were getting on for 50 years old, there was nothing wrong with the fundamental design of them. The idea of each flat being a separate fire-proof box remains sound.

I hope the enquiry really does get to the bottom of what went wrong, which as I've said before will, I think, turn out to be a series of errors and miscalculations by different parties.

 

[Ellmau]

Families all to speak at the public inquiry: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44190742

 

[Ellmau]

The insulation that burned out of control on Grenfell Tower had never passed the required safety test and should never have been on the building, a BBC investigation has discovered.
Panorama understands the manufacturer, Celotex, used extra fire retardant in the product that qualified for the safety certificate.
A more flammable version was then sold for public use

the way Celotex tested and sold the insulation could amount to corporate manslaughter.

The BS8414-2 test only showed RS5000 was safe to use on certain new build projects when it was combined with a specific fire-proof cladding panel.
But Celotex knowingly misled buyers about RS5000.
Its marketing suggested the insulation was suitable for use with other cladding panels and for tower block refurbishment projects like Grenfell. Neither was true.
The company was repeatedly warned that its marketing was misleading, but it carried on mis-selling the product anyway.
Panorama has discovered Celotex targeted the contractors who were refurbishing Grenfell and specifically offered its flammable insulation - even though the company knew it was going to be combined with combustible cladding panels.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said Panorama's allegations should be investigated: "If there are breaches of the law then those people need to be held to account."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44200041

 

[Ellmau]

Catalogue of errors in fire prevention: 'Catastrophic' Grenfell failures outlined

This makes it seem increasingly likely that the council will be prosecuted.

 

[Ellmau]

"The smoke ventilation system at Grenfell Tower was reported to have failed eight days before the fatal blaze claimed 71 lives but a proposal to fix it for £1,800 was ignored, the public inquiry has heard."

Grenfell Tower’s smoke ventilation system 'failed days before fire'

 

[gregjrichards]

Hard to believe it’s nearly a year already. It has been absolutely infuriating listening and reading about the public enquiry and how the poor tenants safety was secondary to profit.

 

[gregjrichards]

Grenfell Tower has been lit up green to mark the first anniversary of the devastating fire that claimed the lives of 72 residents.

Pictures posted to social media show how the building, which is still undergoing extensive refurbishment, was brightly illuminated by a green glow.

Grenfell Tower lit up green to mark one year since tragedy that killed 72

Thinking of the 72 men, women, children and unborn children who tragically died one year ago today.

May they Rest In Peace.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Vital building plans for Grenfell could not be found, says fire officer

 

[Ironside]

Grenfell victim, 12, begged fire brigade 'Can you hurry up please?'


This has to be one of the most heartbreaking emergency call transcripts I've ever read. Bless the poor helpless operator who probably had thousands of calls queued up at the time but stayed on the line to offer some comfort.

 

[Ellmau]

Expert confirms fire probably started in fridge-freezer: 'Faulty fridge wires' started Grenfell blaze

 

[Ellmau]

On last night's Paul O'Grady's For The Love Of Dogs they revealed that Battersea Dogs Home has been fostering 15 dogs belonging to residents from the tower or neighbouring properties who have been in temporary accommodation themselves. (Not something they normally do.) They showed the reunion of one woman and her dogs now she has a permanent home where they can live with her.

 

[Elainera]

On last night's Paul O'Grady's For The Love Of Dogs they revealed that Battersea Dogs Home has been fostering 15 dogs belonging to residents from the tower or neighbouring properties who have been in temporary accommodation themselves. (Not something they normally do.) They showed the reunion of one woman and her dogs now she has a permanent home where they can live with her.

That's very kind of them to help out. Hopefully all dogs and their owners will be able to live together again soon.

 

[Ellmau]

Case is not directly related to Grenfell, but:

A former manager at the company responsible for installing fire alarms at Grenfell Tower has been jailed for six years for taking £800,000 in bribes.

Lee Wylie, an £88,000-a-year divisional director at Lakehouse Contractors Ltd, told sub-contractors they needed to pay £100 sweeteners to guarantee jobs or he would go elsewhere, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Manager at firm responsible for installing fire alarms at Grenfell Tower is jailed for six years | Daily Mail Online

 

[Ellmau]

The second phase of the enquiry, in which how and why the sub standard cladding was fitted, has started: Firms 'deny responsibility' for Grenfell fire

It won't be as emotive as the first phase, but may be more important in terms of allocating blame and indicating who might be prosecuted.

 

[Legally Bland]

Grenfell witnesses threaten to withhold evidence

 

[Legally Bland]

Witnesses at the Grenfell Tower public inquiry will be allowed to give evidence without incriminating themselves, the attorney general has announced.

Suella Braverman said staff of companies and organisations involved in the disastrous refurbishment would be able to give oral evidence about how the tower was clad with combustible materials, without it being used against them in any future criminal prosecutions. The undertaking will not protect corporate entities, as some of the lawyers had requested.

Grenfell witnesses will not have their evidence used against them


The Grenfell Tower inquiry was halted within minutes of its restart when community activists stood up in the room and angrily shouted it was “a cover-up”.

Jonty Leff, 42, and Scott Dore, 40, shouted at the chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, that the inquiry was a “disgrace” because witnesses who worked for some of the companies involved in the works had been assured by the attorney general that their evidence would not be used in criminal prosecutions against them.

The hearing on Monday descended into confusion when the two men complained that this assurance was not given to firefighters who gave evidence in an earlier stage of the inquiry in 2018.

Grenfell Tower inquiry halted by protesters calling it a 'cover-up'

 

[Legally Bland]

Police investigating the Grenfell Tower disaster have arrested a man on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

The unnamed 38-year-old was arrested on Saturday in Sussex and taken to a local police station, Scotland Yard said. Detectives released him the same day under investigation.

[...]

It follows fury among bereaved and survivors at revelations emerging from the public inquiry about the handling of potential evidence.

Police investigating Grenfell Tower fire make first arrest