Grenfell Tower fire inquiry: UK authorities blame business and industry

A public inquiry into the 2017 fire at London's Grenfell Tower, which opened on Wednesday, blamed the disaster on the government, the construction industry and, most importantly, the negligence of the companies that installed the flammable cladding on the outside.

In the early hours of June 14, 2017, a fire broke out in a 23-storey social housing building in one of the wealthiest areas of west London, killing 72 people. It was the deadliest fire in a residential building in Britain since World War II.

In its long-awaited final report, the commission blamed the disaster on the companies involved in maintaining and renovating the apartment towers, mistakes by local and state authorities, and the company's misrepresentation of combustible cladding as safe.

Years of neglect of fire safety in high-rise buildings have led to widespread criticism and blame directed at the government, Kensington and Chelsea local authorities, industry, regulators, certain individuals and an unprepared fire service.

A 1,700-page investigation report says the Grenfell Tower fire was the result of decades of failures by central government and responsible authorities in the construction industry.

In the years since the fire, survivors and families of the dead have been demanding that those responsible face justice and criminal charges. But while police in the UK say 58 people and 19 companies and organizations are under investigation, charges including corporate manslaughter and fraud can take years to be brought due to the complexity and need to consider the investigation report.

“I can’t imagine what it’s going to do to the families and survivors when police are investigating this long,” said Stuart Cundy, deputy chief of police. “But we only get one chance to do this properly.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmus's spokesman said on Tuesday the government was determined to hold those responsible to account.

refrigerator fire

A previous report released by the investigation team in 2019 focused on the events of that night, saying the fire was caused by an electrical fault in a refrigerator in a fourth-floor apartment.

The blaze spread uncontrollably because the tower was covered in cladding panels during a 2016 renovation designed to improve its appearance and add insulation made of combustible aluminum composite material used as a fuel source.

The harrowing accounts of those who died while waiting for rescuers, and those who stayed put following official instructions, have sparked outrage and prompted a national introspection about the treatment of low-income communities.

The inquiry, led by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick, found numerous problems, including a lack of lessons learned from past high-rise building fires and a lack of inspection systems.

The most blatant blame was placed on those who retrofitted the tower with combustible cladding. The inquiry found that architect Studio E, main contractor Rydon and cladding subcontractor Harley all bear substantial responsibility for the disaster.

Exova, a fire safety inspector, was also criticised for leaving the building in a dangerous state after renovation work was completed.

Kensington and Chelsea Council and the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), which manages local authority housing, have also come under heavy criticism.

They were indifferent to fire safety regulations in the years leading up to the fire, and the TMO said they were overly focused on cost cutting, which led to a toxic atmosphere caused by difficult relationships with some residents.

Grenfell Tower in west London on Tuesday. Henry Nicholls/AFP – Getty Images

While community and volunteer groups were praised for their support, the council was criticised for being slow, disorganised and downright inadequate in its response to the incident.

There were also accusations against the companies that made and sold the cladding or foam insulation, Celotex, Kingspan and Arconic Architectural Products, a French subsidiary of the US company Arconic. An investigation concluded that these companies had engaged in systematic misconduct.

According to the report, they engaged in a deliberate and sustained strategy to manipulate the testing process, misrepresent tested data, and mislead the market. The external cladding issue has raised concerns across Europe following similar fires in apartment blocks in Valencia, Spain in February and in Italy in 2021.

According to figures released by the UK government in July, 3,280 buildings taller than 36 feet still have unsafe cladding, and more than two-thirds of them have yet to be renovated.

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