Firefighters ‘hampered by the delayed arrival of high ladder’
THE ability of firefighters to tackle the devastating blaze at Grenfell Tower was hampered by the late arrival of specialist equipment, radio problems and low water pressure, it was claimed yesterday.
Crews sent to the fire in west London, which killed at least 80 people, said the problems led to serious difficulties in trying to fight the inferno as it consumed the 24-storey building.
Among the disturbing concerns reported by firefighters was the late arrival of a high ladder vehicle, also known as an “aerial”, which did not reach the scene for more than 30 minutes.
A fire safety expert said having the high ladder available earlier would have given firefighters a better chance of stopping the blaze when it spread from a fourth floor flat and began to race up the side of the building.
In an apparent admission that their procedures were at fault, the London Fire Brigade says it has changed its protocols since the Grenfell disaster and a high ladder will now automatically be sent to any fire in a tower block.
LFB says that since the Grenfell disaster it now increased the number of crews it sends to high-rise fires from a minimum of four fire engines to five, along with one aerial appliance. The claims emerged in an investigation into the brigade’s response to the fire by Newsnight on BBC Two on Friday.
A copy obtained by the programme of the “incident mobilisation list” – which details every appliance dispatched to the incident – revealed that the 100ft aerial, which could reach the 10th floor of Grenfell Tower, was not dispatched until 1.19am on June 14, 24 minutes after the first crews were sent to what had started as a fridge fire on the fourth floor.
The aerial did not arrive until 1.32am, by which time the fire had raced up the cladding. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades’ Union, said: “I have spoken to aerial appliance operators in London, who attended that incident, who think that having that on the first attendance might have made a difference, because it allows you to operate a powerful water tower from out on to the building.”
Questions have also been raised about why a 138ft firefighting platform had to be called from Surrey to fight the fire at the 220ft high tower because the LFB does not have one of its own.
Newsnight’s investigation also heard that firefighters had struggled with wa- ter pressure problems and had to ask Thames Water to increase pressure in the area.
One firefighter said: “The fire floors we went in were helmet-meltingly hot. When we were clearing flats, it was a case of a quick look and closing the doors because the water pressure wasn’t up to firefighting.”
Firefighters also described problems with radio reception inside the building and said they lacked enough of the “extended duration” breathing apparatus (45 minutes instead of the usual 30 minutes) they needed to reach the higher floors of the building.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has asked for an urgent review.
Mr Khan said: “There’s going to be a public inquiry and a police investigation. I’m not willing to wait for that though, so I’ve asked Dany Cotton – the commissioner of the LFB – to carry out an urgent review.”
‘It was a case of a quick look and closing the doors because the water pressure wasn’t up to firefighting’