2024-09-04 04:05:35
Seven years after the great fire, the United Kingdom is awaiting the announcement on Thursday September 4 of the final report of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in 2017. The disaster caused the death of 79 people and injured 74 others, showing many state weaknesses, especially in terms of construction laws.
Survivors of the disaster are waiting for this report to put an end to it “carousel of guilt” and condemn the behavior of the government, construction companies and multinational equipment sales, reports the British daily The Guardian.
Its publication should mark the end of the investigation announced the day after the disaster by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, and officially launched on September 14, 2017.
► What happened?
On June 14, 2017, around 12:15 a.m., a faulty refrigerator caught fire in a kitchen on the fourth floor of Grenfell Tower, a 24-story social housing complex located north of Kensington. Behailu Kebede, a resident of the tower, called the emergency number at 12:54 am
The fire seems insignificant at first glance and the firefighters are hoping to put it out quickly. The situation changed suddenly at 1:09 am: the fire spread to the kitchen window and then to the outer gate of the tower, and the building burst into flames like a torch at a strange speed.
However, emergency services ordered residents to stay at home. This was finally lifted from 2:35 am in view of the spread of the fire, but many residents of the building found themselves trapped.
By 4:30 am, the entire tower was on fire, and the last survivor was evacuated at 8 am. The fire was not extinguished until 1:14 the next morning, 24 hours after the fire started.
► Why did the fire spread?
The fire spread, despite the construction and safety rules intended to protect the residents from the fire hazard.
The first stage of the public inquiry, the report of which was published in October 2019, indicated that the exterior cladding, installed during a major renovation project on the tower in 2016, contributed to the spread of the fire. These panels are then made of aluminum on the surface and expanded polyethylene on the inside, a type of hard and flammable plastic.
According to the British daily The independentsThese panels cost £22 each, compared to £24 for the more fire-resistant version. Their use would have made it possible to save 6,000 pounds, up to €7,100.
Since then, the United Kingdom has banned the use of fireproofing for facades higher than 18 meters.
► Why are there so many victims?
The report of the first manager of the public still opposes the absence of “plan to follow in case of emergency to exit” Grenfell Tower, and “gaps in practices, procedures and training” fire fighters. The first firefighters to arrive at the scene were not “well prepared” to face this situation, noted the conservative newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
The first report from a public inquiry has finally revealed communication gaps between the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) emergency response center and their assigned field commander. He pointed “Critical System Failures” which would have made the disaster worse.
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