Grenfell Tower fire inquiry blames U.K. authorities, firms and industry
An inquiry into the 2017 London Grenfell Tower fire blamed failings by government, the construction industry and firms involved in fitting flammable cladding.
A public inquiry into the devastating 2017 London Grenfell Tower fire on Wednesday blamed the disaster on failings by government, the construction industry and most of all the firms involved in fitting the exterior with flammable cladding.
Seventy-two people died when the fire ripped through the 23-storey social housing block in one of the richest areas of west London during the early hours of June 14, 2017. It was Britain’s deadliest blaze in a residential building since World War II.
In its long-awaited final report, the inquiry laid most responsibility for the disaster on the companies involved in the maintenance and refit of the apartment tower, failings by local and national authorities as well as companies which had dishonestly marketed combustible cladding materials as safe.
There was also widespread criticism and blame levelled at the government, local authority of Kensington and Chelsea, the industry, regulatory groups, specific individuals and an ill-prepared fire brigade for years of inaction over fire safety in high-rise blocks.
“The fire at Grenfell Tower was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry,” said the inquiry report, which ran to almost 1,700 pages.
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