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Leaked report blames refurbishment for Grenfell Tower fire
Fire would not have spread beyond one flat in Grenfell Tower had it not been refurbished in 2016, a leaked report drafted for the Metropolitan Police has found.
The report, produced by the Building Research Establishment and seen by Inside Housing, is an interim summary of findings from the investigation of the site of the fire.
It said the evidence showed that various aspects of the refurbishment, led by Rydon, helped the fire to spread.
The cladding system installed as part of the refurbishment helped fire spread up and across the facade, according to the report.
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This happened, the report said, because the insulation behind the cladding was combustible, cavity barriers were too small to fill the gaps and prevent fire spreading, there were more gaps between insulation and the surface of the building, the polyethylene core of the aluminium cladding was “highly combustible” and the newly installed windows had no cavity barriers and allowed fire to spread from flats into the cavity of the facade.
The report also drew attention to the spread of smoke and fire into the stairwell, which made escape much harder for residents of the higher floors.
This was driven by the lack of automatic closers on some fire doors and the fact the smoke extraction system was only designed to deal with a fire on one floor, meaning it could have pumped more smoke from higher floors into the stairwell.
Survivors group Grenfell United said in a statement: “It was clear to us the refurbishment was shoddy and second rate. We raised concerns time and time again. We were not just ignored but bullied to keep quiet.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Inside Housing the service was “disappointed” with the leak.
Rydon has been contacted for comment.
