London fire traced to freezer

High-rises in U.K. examine cladding

LONDON — London police said Friday that a deadly fire last week that killed at least 79 people began in a refrigerator freezer — the first official confirmation of the cause of the blaze.

The fridge freezer, a Hotpoint FF175BP, was not subject to a product recall, police said, adding that a key concern in their investigation is how a fire that originated in the kitchen of one apartment spread so rapidly though a 24-story high-rise. The fire was not started deliberately, they said.

The police also said they are considering manslaughter charges after the insulation and tiles used in the building’s exterior cladding failed fire-safety tests.

“Preliminary tests on the insulation samples collected from Grenfell Tower showed that they combusted soon after the test started,” Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack told reporters. She added that the cladding tiles also failed safety tests.

The government ordered an immediate examination of the refrigerator model that started the blaze.

Hotpoint said Friday that “words cannot express our sorrow at this terrible tragedy” and added it was working with authorities to examine the appliance. Hotpoint issued a “product notice” on Friday for the appliance identified as the source of the June 14 blaze.

There has been widespread attention on the building’s exterior cladding. Combustible cladding has been blamed for fast-moving fires at high-rise buildings in places including Dubai and Melbourne, Australia.

Investigators said they are looking into various aspects of the facade of Grenfell Tower, including the aluminum tiles, the insulation behind them and how the tiles were affixed.

The British government is also conducting tests at hundreds of high-rise apartments to see whether they have potentially flammable exterior tiles. Samples from 14 buildings in London, Manchester and Plymouth have already been found to be combustible.

The London borough of Camden said it has begun evacuating 800 households in tower blocks after fire authorities said they could not guarantee the safety of residents. Camden council leader Georgia Gould told Sky News on Friday that a rest center has been set up and that hotels were being found for residents.