Survivors mark five years since Grenfell Tower tragedy

Survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy have accused the government of “playing Russian roulette”, saying little has been done in the past five years to prevent another catastrophic fire. The inquiry into the tragedy has so far taken thousands of hours of testimony and tens of thousands of documents in evidence, building a picture of a disregard for safety within the construction industry and a compromised regulatory regime that led to the deaths of 72 people in 2017. “From manufacturers, to developers and architects — nobody paid any attention to fire safety. It wasn’t on their radar,” said Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, whose members the inquiry has previously criticised for their own failings on the night of the fire. The first phase of the inquiry, which ended in December 2018, addressed what happened on the night, concluding that the “principal reason why the flames spread so rapidly” was exterior cladding made of aluminium with a polyethylene core. Insulation boards “contributed to the rate” at which the fire spread. The second phase of the inquiry, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic but now in its final weeks, has delved into the environment that made it possible for developers to refurbish a high-rise building using such combustible materials. The written conclusions to the inquiry are not expected for at least a year. The Metropolitan Police are waiting until then before pressing any charges. A definitive tally for how much it will cost to remove combustible cladding from other affected buildings has yet to emerge. The government is attempting to force developers to foot much of the bill, estimated by a parliamentary committee to be about £15bn. The government also passed a fire safety act last year and is now seeking to pass a building safety bill in an attempt to address shortcomings underscored by the inquiry. However, tens of thousands of leaseholders remain trapped in unsaleable apartments blighted by fire safety defects similar to those found at Grenfell. There are 111 high-rise buildings wrapped in aluminium composite cladding similar to that which was the main cause of fire spread at Grenfell which have not yet been fully fixed, with 31 yet to start any kind of work. Survivors say comparatively little has been done in the past five years to prevent the disaster happening again. Edward Daffarn, a Grenfell resident who warned of a catastrophic fire months before the 2017 blaze, said: “If it was five weeks after the fire and there was still cladding on buildings that wouldn’t be good. Five months? That wouldn’t be good. Five years? It’s a failure.” He added: “They’re playing Russian roulette because another fire will happen.” The Times (£) The FT (£) The Guardian and The Guardian