Incompetence and dishonesty: all the culprits of the Grenfell Tower fire in London
The report of the Commission of Inquiry reveals the responsibilities of the companies, which coated the building with flammable material, and of the governments that deregulated the industry, 72 people died in the fire
by Nicol Degli Innocenti
3' min read
3' min read
Today, 2,639 days after the Grenfell residential skyscraper fire in London, the truth about the terrible fire that killed 72 people, including the two young Italian architects Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi, who were trapped in their burning flat, is revealed.
The conclusions of the long-awaited report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by then PM Theresa May immediately after the fire on 14 June 2017, published today, are clear and devastating. Everyone is guilty: first and foremost, the 'rogue companies' that clad the building in highly flammable material to save money, but also the governments that deregulated the industry, leaving companies free to cut costs and increase profits without regard to safety.
A finger was also pointed at the local government in the Kensington & Chelsea district that neglected council houses and the rights of their residents, and at the fire brigades who, inexperienced, gave wrong instructions to Grenfell residents, advising them to stay barricaded inside the flats instead of running away.
"The simple truth is that the deaths were all avoidable," said Martin Moore-Brick, the chairman of the Commission.
The detailed 1,700-page report is the result of hundreds of testimonies collected by the Commission over the past few years: from city officials, firefighters, engineers and architects, technicians and representatives of the building companies involved, surviving residents, and family members of the dead.
The fire had started in the kitchen of a flat on the fourth floor of the 23-storey building and went out the window and quickly spread to the upper floors from outside, as the building's cladding, added during renovation work in 2016, was highly flammable. Within a short time, the high-rise had become 'a huge match'.
The report explains that the American company Arconic, which had supplied the polyethylene cladding material, had 'deliberately concealed' the fire risks, which it knew about because fires in Dubai in 2012 and 2013 had already demonstrated how flammable it was. Every company involved in the maintenance or restoration of Grenfell proved to be 'incompetent': the report has a long list with names and responsibilities.
