Getting Answers

London’s Grenfell Fire Inquiry Hears Firefighters Wrong to Tell Residents to Stay Put

Blaze killed more than 70 people, who were told not to flee.

The devastating fire in London’s Grenfell Tower that killed more than 70 people in June 2017 most likely started in a fridge-freezer, experts said. The inquiry into the disaster published multiple expert reports Monday in an attempt to answer how the fire started and why it spread so quickly. A report from Prof. Niamh Nic Daeid said: “On the basis of the available evidence, it is more likely than not that the area of origin of the fire was in, or around, the tall fridge freezer in the southeast part of the kitchen. The cause of the fire remains undetermined although, based on the available information, it is more likely than not be an accidental cause rather than a deliberate act.” Another expert, Barbara Lane, wrote that the building’s cladding gave a “disproportionately high probability of fire spread” and therefore it was wrong for fire services to advise residents to “stay put.”