Grenfell advice that led to catastrophe
Residents were told to ‘stay put’ during fire
ADVICE to residents to “stay put” during the Grenfell Tower fire may have made “all the difference between life and death”, the public inquiry heard, amid a catalogue of fire safety failings in the building.
Tenants were told to stay in their flats during the June 14 blaze, guidance which was undermined by the London apartment block’s multiple structural flaws that allowed the fire to breach barriers.
Richard Millett QC, counsel to the Grenfell Tower inquiry, said there had been a “catastrophic failure” of the external cladding to resist the spread of fire. Cavities which should have prevented flames spreading between floors were installed incorrectly, experts said, while poorly performing fire doors “contributed significantly” to the spread of smoke and fire to the lobbies, impeding escape. Mr Millett told the hearing that 187 occupants, about 64%, had evacuated the tower by the time the “stay put” advice was formally abandoned at 2.47am.
He said: “It may well be that the withdrawal of the formal ‘stay put’ guidance at that stage was just that — mere formality in light of the number of occupants that had escaped safely before that time.
“On the other hand, it may be that the formal maintenance of that advice until 2.47am made all the difference between life and death.”
On the first day of evidence hearings, Mr Millett introduced five expert reports.
As part of his address, footage of the tower alight, with fiery debris raining down its side, was shown, as witnesses in the background sobbed.
Fire safety engineer Dr Barbara Lane wrote that the “stay put” strategy had “effectively failed” barely half an hour after the fire started, at 1.26am.
The fire spread 19 storeys within 12 minutes once it took hold of the external facade, but she claimed the key players involved in the 2016 refurbishment had not ascertained how the new system would behave in a fire.
Dr Lane said: “The building envelope itself was therefore a major hazard on the night of the fire.
“The active and passive fire protection measures within Grenfell Tower were required to mitigate an extraordinary event.
“As a result, the consequences were catastrophic.”
The abundance of toxic smoke in the stairwell, the sole escape route, caused a “disproportionately high loss of life”, she added.
Meanwhile, two experts diverged from the police’s assessment of the origin of the fire.
Professor Luke Bisby said there was “insufficient evidence” that the fire was started by a fridge-freezer, while forensic scientist Professor Niamh Nic Daeid said the origin was “undetermined”.