Grenfell hell blamed on its revamp that created a tinderbox
THE Grenfell Tower inferno was caused by a deeply-flawed refurbishment that turned the high-rise into a tinderbox, a damning report revealed yesterday.
Fire experts found catastrophic deficiencies in the installation of windows, cavity barriers and cladding that led to the blaze – in which 71 people died – taking hold so quickly.
As a result of the refurbishment, much of the tower failed to meet building regulations, the interim document by fire investigators BRE Global found.
It is believed the report, leaked yesterday, will dramatically assist the Metropolitan Police in its investigation.
It found that the west London blaze last June, which started in a fridgefreezer in a fourth-floor flat, travelled through a nearby open window before spreading via the external cladding.
But in a damning assessment, investigators described how the original concrete building was turned from a safe structure into a tinderbox by the refurbishment between 2014 and 2016.
Bullied
The report found that not only was the new cladding material and insulation combustible, but the design and installation of windows and cavity barriers were incompetent. The latter are critical in closing the gap between the building’s inner and outer skins to prevent a chimney-like effect in a blaze.
The report found: “The original facade of Grenfell Tower, comprising exposed concrete and, given its age, likely timber or metal frame windows, would not have provided a medium for fire to spread up the external surface. In BRE’s opinion… there would have been little opportunity for a fire in a flat of Grenfell Tower to spread to any neighbouring flats.”
But BRE said “deficiencies” in the construction of the new facade provided fuel for the fire to spread. It did so with such ferocity that, if the original building had been built to less stringent standards of fire resistance, “it is likely the tower would have collapsed”.
Survivors and bereaved families’ group Grenfell United said the findings were “shocking but not surprising to those of us that lived in the tower”. A spokesman said: “It was clear the refurbishment was shoddy and second rate. We raised concerns time and again. We were not just ignored, but bullied to keep quiet.”