Manslaughter charges eyed in deadly blaze
Police are considering filing manslaughter charges related to the fire at a west London apartment tower that killed at least 79 people.
In its most detailed briefing yet on the criminal investigation, the Metropolitan Police on Friday confirmed residents’ suspicions that the June 14 inferno at Grenfell Tower was touched off by a refrigerator fire.
The department also said exterior cladding attached to the 24-storey public housing project during a recent renovation failed safety tests conducted by investigators, and that police have seized documents from a number of organizations.
“We are looking at every criminal offence from manslaughter onwards,” Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack told reporters. “We are looking at all health and safety and fire safety offences, and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.”
One London community is evacuating some 800 households from five publicly owned apartment towers because of safety concerns.
Camden Council in north London, which announced the evacuation Friday night, was the first local government to take the dramatic step of emptying its buildings so safety upgrades could be made.
Council leader Georgia Gould said the borough made the decision after the London Fire Brigade and council experts said they couldn’t guarantee the safety of residents after inspecting the five towers.
The government has ordered an immediate examination of the refrigerator model that started the blaze. McCormack said the Hotpoint model FF175BP refrigerator-freezer had not been subject to any product recalls before the fire.
The overnight fire rapidly engulfed Grenfell Tower, with flames shooting up the outside of the building, raising concerns that the cladding material attached to the concrete block didn’t comply with fire-safety rules.
Police are looking at all parts of the cladding system and its installation, McCormack said.
“Preliminary tests show the insulation samples collected from Grenfell Tower combusted soon after the test started,” she said. “The initial tests on equivalent aluminum composite tiles failed the safety tests.”
The government has called on all building owners, public and private, to submit samples of cladding material used on their buildings for testing.