FIVE THINGS ABOUT GRENFELL TOWER FIRE

London’s Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72, was Britain’s deadliest residential blaze since the Second World War. Findings from the first phase of public inquiry, led by retired judge Martin Moore-bick, will be released Wednesday. Here

are some key takeaways:

1 GETTING OUT

The biggest failing was that for nearly two hours, residents in the 24-storey building were told to stay in with their doors closed. In theory, highrise buildings are designed to ensure that fire can’t spread from one unit to another. But at Grenfell Tower the fire spread so quickly that firefighters were never able to bring it under control. The first emergency call went out on June 14, 2017 at 12:54 a.m., and it was not until 2:47 a.m. that the decision was made to evacuate.“that decision could and should have been made between 01:30 and 01:50 and would be likely to have resulted in fewer fatalities,” the report states, according to the BBC.

2 FIRE DEPT. RESPONSE

Matt Wrack, chief of Britain’s main firefighters’ union, in a Twitter post Tuesday accused

the government of doing “nothing substantive” since the fire occurred. But, it has acknowledged some mistakes. Andrew Dismore, chair of the fire and emergency planning committee of the London Assembly, the elected panel that oversees city governance, has said that “significant progress is being made with new training, equipment and policies.”

3 BUILDING MATERIALS

Exterior cladding, made out of flammable aluminum composite material, had been added to the building the year before and that material wouldn’t have been allowed on a highrise in many countries.

4 RISKS IN OTHER BUILDINGS

Hundreds of highrises around Britain have similar cladding and insulation. The government said it would all be replaced, however, many people

are still living in buildings sheathed in it. Other buildings are clad in bare concrete, because their dangerous exteriors were removed, but owners,

residents and government officials are fighting over who

will pay to replace it.

5 WHAT’S NEXT

The next phase of the inquiry could be delayed until 2020, according to counsel for one of the main participants. Meanwhile, a police investigation into the disaster is ongoing, but no decision will be made on whether anyone will face criminal charges until the public inquiry process comes to an end,

which could be in 2022.