Last week, the inquiry into the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, a devastating incident in June 2017 that cost 72 people their lives, published the second phase of its report into the cause of the fire and the response of multiple bodies involved.
The seven-volume document is a shocking read that examines the cause of the fire and highlights the importance of every company, public body, and individual involved in fire safety taking its responsibilities seriously after a multitude of errors came together in the worst possible scenario.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the chairman of the inquiry, met with survivors and bereaved families and friends of those who died in the fire and told them that every death was preventable.
The report concludes that the fire was ‘the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry to look carefully into the danger of incorporating combustible materials into the external walls of high-rise residential buildings and to act on the information available to them.’
The report also highlighted the ‘systematic dishonesty’ of the manufacturers and distributors of materials used in the tower’s construction and refurbishment, who were said to have ‘engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market.’
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Tenant Management Organisation were also heavily criticised in their positions as being jointly responsible for the management of fire safety at Grenfell Tower, showing a marked and persistent indifference to fire safety, particularly the safety of vulnerable people.
In total, the report makes a total of 58 recommendations for improvement.
Russell James, Chief Revenue Officer for Specialist Door Solutions, said: “The report makes very difficult reading but serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences for not making fire safety a priority at every stage of a building’s life; from design and specification right through to maintenance and modernisation.
“Having a safe place to live or work in should not be something people have to worry about and that’s exactly why all of us who supply public spaces must be expected to go to lengthy measures to ensure we meet or exceed fire certification standards with every doorset that leaves our factory. We welcome today’s report and the scrutiny it brings to regulations and bodies responsible for upholding them.
Understanding the behaviour of fire in any given situation is a specialist and technical area that cannot be underestimated. No amount of money or time saved is ever worth placing a risk on human life.
