The Grenfell Tower fire began at about 00:54 on 14 June 2017 in a fourth-floor kitchen and spread around the 24-storey west London tower through combustible AC…
A concrete tower with one staircase, designed so a fire would stay inside one flat. That is why residents were told to stay put.
Aluminium panels with a polyethylene core were fitted over combustible foam insulation, replacing pricier zinc.
The Grenfell Action Group wrote that only a catastrophic event would expose the landlord. Concerns were dismissed.
A fridge-freezer fault on the fourth floor. Flames escaped the window into the cladding and reached the roof in about 30 minutes.
The Inquiry says stay-put should have ended by 01:30-01:50. By 02:47 smoke filled the single staircase.
Seventy-two people died. 223 of 293 people escaped. Britain's deadliest residential fire since WWII.
The exterior breached building rules and drove the spread; the fire brigade had serious shortcomings. 46 recommendations.
A new regime for high-rise homes, a Building Safety Regulator and protection for many leaseholders.
Decades of government failure, dishonest testing by some manufacturers, and failures by builders and the landlord. 58 recommendations.
Dismantling began, about a floor a month. In March 2026 work paused where families found handprints.
Police asked prosecutors to consider manslaughter, fraud and misconduct offences. Decision due by June 2027.
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