London Fire Brigade’s ‘systemic’ failures led to more Grenfell deaths
The London Fire Brigade’s systemic failings in dealing with the Grenfell Tower blaze in June 2017, in which 72 people died, prevented more lives from being saved, an official inquiry concluded.
The report, to be published today, praised the “extraordinary courage and selfless devotion to duty” of firefighters at the scene but was critical of the actions of brigade commanders on the night.
In particular, it was found the “stay put” strategy, where residents were advised to remain in their apartments at the 23-storey tower for about two hours after the fire broke out at 12.54am, had been abandoned too late.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, who chaired the two-year inquiry, identified “a number of serious shortcomings” in the control room of the operation and at the scene that were “for the most part systemic in nature”.
“That decision could and should have been made between 1.30am and 1.50am and would be likely to have resulted in fewer fatalities.
“The best part of an hour was lost before Assistant Commissioner [Andrew] Roe revoked the ‘stay put’ advice,” wrote Sir Martin in the report, which was leaked to The Daily Telegraph.
“The ‘stay put’ concept had become an article of faith in the LFB so powerful that to depart from it was to all intents and purposes unthinkable,” he said.
The disaster, the UK’s deadliest fire in a residential building since the Second World War, led to widespread outrage over how a densely populated social housing block could become a death trap.
The main reason the fire spread so fast was because the tower was covered in flammable aluminium cladding when it was refurbished.
Sir Martin said the fire started because of an electrical fault in a refrigerator in a fourth-floor apartment.
Dany Cotton, the brigade’s commissioner, was also accused of “remarkable insensitivity” to the families of the deceased for saying she would not have done anything differently.
She announced her retirement in June, reportedly after receiving a warning she would be criticised in the report.
In June, she said: “The utter devastation of the Grenfell Tower fire and its impact on so many people will never leave me. I want to reassure my staff and all those affected by the tragedy that I will remain dedicated to leading London Fire Brigade through any findings from phase one of the public inquiry.”
Nabil Choucair, who lost six relatives in the blaze, told Sky News: “Lessons need to be learnt and unfortunately we lost our loved ones and we don’t want anyone else to lose loved ones in order for it not to happen again.”
Matt Wrack, the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said “it will be deeply upsetting to bereaved and survivors of Grenfell fire that the report has been leaked”.
He said there needed to be greater scrutiny into the use of combustible cladding and the decisions of ministers.
A spokeswoman for the brigade said it would be inappropriate to comment on the report before its official release.
A police investigation is ongoing but no charges will be brought until the conclusion of the public inquiry process.