A public inquiry into the devastating fire of 2017 at Grenfell Tower in London, published this Wednesday, attributed the tragedy to failures by the British government, the construction sector, and, above all, the companies involved in the installation of flammable cladding on the exterior of the building.
Seventy-two people died when the fire engulfed the 23-story social housing building in one of the wealthiest areas in West London during the early morning of June 14, 2017. It was the deadliest fire in a residential building in the UK since World War II.
In the conclusions of an inquiry that was long awaited, most of the responsibility for the disaster falls on the companies involved in maintaining and renovating the apartment tower, the failures of local and national authorities, as well as the companies that “dishonestly” marketed combustible cladding materials as safe.
Among those targeted by the criticism are the government, the Kensington and Chelsea council, sector regulators, specific companies and individuals, architects, and even the local fire brigade, which was unprepared due to years of inertia to deal with fires in tall buildings.
“The Grenfell Tower fire was the culmination of decades of failures by the central government and other responsible bodies in the construction industry,” reads the report of the inquiry, which spans nearly 1,700 pages.
In a statement to MPs this Wednesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer informed that the companies named in the report and deemed irresponsible will be banned from applying for public contracts.
In the years following the fire, survivors and families of the deceased have demanded that those responsible be brought to justice and criminally charged. However, although the British police have reported that 58 people and 19 companies and organizations are being investigated, legal proceedings – including involuntary manslaughter and fraud – have been dragging on for years due to the complexity of the case and the need to take the conclusions of this inquiry into account.
“I can’t imagine the impact that such a long police investigation can have on the families and survivors, but we have an opportunity to conduct a proper investigation,” explained Deputy Commissioner Stuart Cundy.
Uncontrollable fire
A 2019 report by the team that conducted this inquiry and focused on the events of the night of the tragedy concluded that the fire had been caused by an electrical fault in a refrigerator in a fourth-floor apartment.
The flames spread uncontrollably, primarily because the tower had been covered, during a renovation in 2016, with cladding – exterior panels designed to enhance appearance and add insulation – made of flammable composite aluminum material that acted as a fuel source.
The harrowing testimonies, including those of people who died while waiting for rescue teams and who, following the authorities’ instructions, did not leave the building, sparked outrage and a massive national debate about building standards and the treatment of low-income communities.
Led by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick, the inquiry identified a series of failures; lessons had not been learned from previous fires in high-rise buildings, and testing systems were inadequate.
The clearest blame was assigned to those involved in the renovation of the tower with the flammable cladding. According to the inquiry, the architecture firm Studio E, the main contractor Rydon, and the subcontractor Harley bore significant responsibility for the tragedy.
Fire safety inspectors Exova were also held accountable for leaving the building “in dangerous conditions after the completion of the renovation.”
The British government, led by Conservative David Cameron from 2010 to 2016 – in coalition with the Liberal Democrats in the first five years – and by Theresa May in the subsequent years, is criticized for having reduced regulation concerning such buildings, leading to various safety issues being “ignored, delayed, and disregarded.”
Deliberate manipulation
The Kensington and Chelsea council as well as the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), which managed the local council’s housing stock, were also sharply criticized.
In the years leading up to the fire, they showed indifference to fire safety standards and the TMO, whose difficult relationship with some residents had created a “toxic atmosphere,” had unduly focused on cost-cutting.
Although the local community and volunteer groups were praised for their support, the council was also criticized for its slow, confused, and “totally inadequate” response to the incident.
The companies that manufactured and sold the cladding or insulation foam were also criticized: Celotex, Kingspan, and Arconic Architectural Products, the French subsidiary of the American company Arconic. The inquiry even concluded that there was “systematic dishonesty” on the part of these companies.
“They engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate testing processes, distort tested data, and mislead the market,” the report emphasizes.
The issue of exterior cladding has raised concerns across Europe, where similar fires in apartment blocks have occurred, such as in the Spanish city of Valencia in February of this year, or in Italy in 2021.
In the UK, government figures as of July revealed that 3,280 buildings 11 meters or taller still had unsafe cladding, with repair work yet to begin on more than two-thirds of them.