Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a British public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people and destroyed Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017.[1] It was ordered by Prime Minister Theresa May on the day following the fire.[2]

See also: Grenfell Tower Inquiry and Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2

Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Date14 September 2017 (2017-09-14) – (in progress)
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Participants
Websitewww.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk

May announced on 29 June 2017 that the inquiry would be chaired by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick, with the immediate priority "to establish the facts of what happened at Grenfell Tower in order to take the necessary action to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again". She promised that "No stone will be left unturned by this inquiry."[3] On 15 August 2017, the terms of reference of the Inquiry were announced.

Phase One
138–142 Holborn, where Phase 1 of the inquiry was held.

The inquiry opened on 14 September 2017.[4] Procedural hearings were held in December 2017[5] and March 2018.[6]

In May 2018, a series of commemorative hearings were held in which relatives and survivors paid tribute to the 72 who had died.[7]

Phase 1 evidence

Evidential hearings began on 4 June 2018. The first week saw opening statements on behalf of the key organizations and the presentation of reports by key expert witnesses.[8] No hearings were held in the week beginning on 11 June 2018, as the anniversary of the fire and commemorations fell within this week. The hearings resumed on 18 June 2018.

The appointed expert witnesses were:[9]

The witness statement from the resident of Flat 16 (where the fire started) was published. He reported he had been harassed by the media. His lawyer had requested that the inquiry's report should specifically exonerate him.[11]

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) fire engines and 720 firefighters were deployed; deputy assistant commissioner, Andrew Bell, told the inquiry on Thursday that it was probably the largest deployment of breathing apparatuses ever made in the UK.[12]

Firefighters' evidence

Evidence from the firefighters and fire officers was heard from 25 June to 2 October, with a gap in August.

The first to testify was Watch Manager Michael Dowden, the initial incident commander. His testimony lasted three days. He admitted that he had been unsure how to respond when the fire began climbing up the side of the building.[13][14][15] Some of the questions he answered were repetitious – as they had been independently asked by the victims families. He could not continue when Richard Millett QC, counsel to the inquiry asked about a 12-year-old girl.[15]

Moore-Bick praised Dowden for his three days of testimony, saying he had shown "courage and candour". The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) described the line of questioning about Fire Brigade Policy as "at times absurd" given Dowden's relatively low rank. Matt Wrack, the FBU general secretary said, "There clearly are important and difficult questions to ask but they should not be directed at those who do not have the power or authority to have altered policies, operational procedures or training,"[15]

The first firefighters and officers to testify were among those who were first to respond, [16][17] followed by others including senior command staff. Several firefighters reported being in life-threatening situations and felling emotional trauma after being unable to rescue certain residents.[18][19] Control room staff also testified.[20]

Issues discussed included communications problems,[21] the sheer amount of smoke,[17] the stay put policy that was eventually abandoned,[22] equipment shortages[18][23] and missing fire safety features in the building such as floor plans.[24]

Dany Cotton, who had been the brigade's Commissioner since January 2017, testified on 27 September. In response to questions about LFB's preparedness, she said the disaster was as unexpected as "a Space Shuttle landing on The Shard." She also said that "I wouldn't change anything we did on the night." These remarks draw criticism from survivors groups. [25]

Other Phase 1 evidence

The inquiry also heard from representatives of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). [26] KCTMO's lawyer said that although the building only had a single stairway "it managed to continue supporting evacuations and firefighting activities throughout the life of the fire" and that expert evidence suggested that 239 people could have got out after seven minutes.[27] She said, "The inquiry will want to consider that the stairs at Grenfell Tower could have coped with a full building evacuation." They remained operational throughout the fire; 239 people could have exited within seven minutes if so instructed. Expert Dr Barbara Lane, had said the stay-put policy effectively failed at 1.23 am, but it was kept in place until 2.37 am when 107 people were still inside; 36 lived.[27]

It was revealed that in July 2014 an official from KCTMO emailed the project team: “We need good costs for Cllr Feilding-Mellen.” At that point £300,000 was removed from the cladding budget and zinc panels were replaced with the aluminium composite material with a plastic core, which the government has now banned from use on high-rise residential blocks.[26]

The barrister for Arconic claimed that the Reynobond aluminium composite panels cladding had not been responsible for the disaster. If the replacement windows and sub frames had been installed correctly the flames from a simple kitchen fire could not have bridged the gap into the cladding, and could have been put out with a simple fire extinguisher.[27]

Martin Seward counsel for the Fire Brigades Union said that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had failed to make an evacuation plan for Grenfell Tower and relied on an outdated "stay put" strategy, leaving it to the fire brigade on the ground to devise an evacuation strategy. He urged the inquiry to give his members from "protection from unwarranted criticism".[27]

Phase 1 Report: October 2019

Sir Martin Moore-Bick issued the first part of the report Wednesday 30 October 2019, though some parts had been leaked days earlier.[28] He found that:

  • The resident of the flat where the fire started was not at fault.
  • The principal reason the fire spread was the aluminium composite cladding filled with plastic used on the building exterior.
  • Firefighters showed "courage and devotion to duty" and 999 call operators were "unstinting" in their efforts to help trapped residents.
  • Incident commanders were not trained to cope with the fire and there was no contingency plan for evacuation.
  • The LFB failed to lift the "stay put" advice when the stairs remained passable, which cost lives.
  • The brigade suffered "significant systemic failings".
  • Communications systems failed and there were serious deficiencies in command and control.[28]
  • Pictures transmitted on the night of Grenfell could not be viewed by the LFB because the encryption was incompatible with its receiving equipment.[29]

He highlighted Dany Cotton's rhetorical question "It's all very well saying 'get everybody out', but then how do you get them all out?", saying that it demonstrated that the London Fire Brigade had never considered that question before the night of the fire.[29]

Effects

On 6 December, Dany Cotton announced her early retirement effective from 31 December 2019 after 32 years of service. This followed calls from bereaved families and survivors of the disaster for her to quit.[30]

References
  1. "Grenfell Tower fire: Who were the victims?". BBC News. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. "London fire: Prime minister orders full public inquiry". BBC News. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. "Grenfell Tower Fire Written Statement". UK Parliament Official Website. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. "Grenfell Tower fire: Inquiry 'can and will provide answers'". BBC News. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  5. "Grenfell labelled a 'national atrocity' as lawyers begin giving evidence". The Independent. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  6. "Grenfell Tower Procedural Hearing is underway". National Fire Chiefs' Association. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  7. "Grenfell Tower inquiry: Disabled woman placed on 18th floor". BBC News. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  8. "Grenfell Tower Inquiry Evidence Database Search Page". Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  9. "Expert Witnesses". Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  10. Booth, Robert; Bowcott, Owen (4 June 2018). "What we learned from day eight of the Grenfell Tower inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  11. Bowcott, Owen (21 June 2018). "Grenfell works left no one happy, says tenant in fire-source flat". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  12. Bowcott, Owen (21 June 2018). "Grenfell inquiry: fire brigade report shows blaze's rapid progress". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  13. Booth, Robert (25 June 2018). "Grenfell fire chief says he failed to make safety checks before disaster". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  14. Booth, Robert (26 June 2018). "Evacuating Grenfell 'impossible owing to lack of resources'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. Booth, Robert (27 June 2018). "Incident commander felt 'helpless' as Grenfell Tower burned". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  16. Bowcott, Owen (29 June 2018). "Grenfell firefighter tells of attempt to rescue girl from 20th floor". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  17. Bowcott, Owen (2 July 2018). "Grenfell inquiry told how 13-metre ladder was used to rescue pair". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  18. Booth, Robert (4 July 2018). "Grenfell firefighter prepared to die when oxygen almost ran out". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. "Four Grenfell Tower victims accidentally left to die, inquiry hears". The Guardian. Press Association. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  20. "Grenfell firefighter 'took impossible decision' for distressed father". The Guardian. Press Association. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. Press Association (10 July 2018). "Grenfell call handler feared people were trapped on every floor". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  22. Booth, Robert (3 July 2018). "Grenfell firefighter says residents should have been evacuated earlier". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  23. Booth, Robert (5 July 2018). "Grenfell firefighters ran out of the most basic equipment, inquiry hears". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  24. "Vital building plans for Grenfell could not be found, says fire officer". The Guardian. Press Association. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  25. "Fire chief: I would change nothing about Grenfell response". The Guardian. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  26. Booth, Robert (15 November 2018). "Grenfell Tower management company chief sent warning memo during fire". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  27. Booth, Robert, Social affairs correspondent (12 December 2018). "Grenfell cladding firm: 'fire could have been put out with simple extinguisher'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. Booth, Robert (30 October 2019). "Grenfell Tower fire survivors welcome damning inquiry report". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  29. Booth, Robert; Bowcott, Owen (30 October 2019). "Grenfell Tower inquiry: the chair's findings so far". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  30. Booth, Robert (6 December 2019). "London fire chief Dany Cotton resigns after Grenfell criticism". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2019.

Phase 1 Report
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