New twist in Brit fire nightmare

London firefighters who responded to Grenfell Tower on the day of the deadly inferno had earlier put out a refrigerator fire there and left, thinking it had been extinguished, a report said Tuesday.

The crews didn’t realize that there was still fire at the 24-story building until they were outside the tower and noticed the flames, the BBC said.

At least 79 people were killed in the June 14 fire.

The high-rise’s recently installed exterior coating is suspected of causing the flames to spread so quickly.

A national fire-union official said the first firefighters at the scene may not have expected the building’s exterior to be flammable.

Dave Green of the Fire Brigades Union told the London Telegraph that 1970s buildings such as Grenfell were designed so each apartment could contain a fire using a nonflammable concrete exterior.

“Clearly, it was a hot night, and if the [fire] was fairly close to an open window, then potentially the flames could have got outside. If there were net curtains, something like that, it could have got up,” he told the paper.

“Then the cladding [exterior coating] might well have been smoldering. As a firefighter, you wouldn’t have thought to look outside. We would assume that the outside of the building would not be compromised,” he said.

The BBC reported also that four government ministers had been warned that fire regulations were not keeping residents safe. According to leaked letters, experts said people living in highrise towers such as Grenfell were “at risk.”

One politician, former Conservative minister Gavin Barwell, received additional calls for action in September 2016. Two months later, he replied that his department would make a statement “in due course.”

In April, Barwell — who was recently appointed as Prime Minister Theresa May’s chief-of-staff — acknowledged that producing a statement on building regulations “has taken longer than I had envisaged.”

Meanwhile, the London Fire Brigade posted photos Tuesday of singer Adele posing with crews at the local fire station after the tragedy.

“We are so humbled by everyone’s support,” the brigade tweeted.