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Grenfell Inquiry day 74: further evidence from TMO officers

Following the scrutiny over the evidence given by Robert Black, chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), today continued with further evidence from staff members at KCTMO. 

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Grenfell Inquiry day 74: further evidence from TMO officers #ukhousing

Mr Black had revealed he waited more than two hours before sending key information to fire fighters, claiming he hadn’t realised they wanted it.

Graham Webb told the inquiry he was the managing director of Repairs Direct, a subsidiary of KCTMO, when the fire broke out.

Mr Webb arrived at the scene at around 7am and took over as KCTMO’s point of contact from Mr Black when he left the site to attend a gold command meeting with council at 9am.

Giving evidence to the inquiry this morning, Mr Webb said that he was aware of requests for information that Mr Black had received before he had arrived at 7am.


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He said: “I know Mr Black had been requested information before I got there. I cannot recall if he was asked for information when we were there together.

“I know people had asked for information from him before I got there. In his explanation of the role he had been performing, he said people had asked him for information such as lists of tenants and residents.

“Robert Black had explained that the local authority liaison officer had been asking for information; the one that sticks to mind is the list of known residents.”

The list of residents was one of the key documents that Mr Black did not forward immediately. He received it at 5.24am but did not forward it until 7.56am.

Asked why, he replied: “I didn’t realise they wanted it.”

When asked if Mr Black had received any direct conversations with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) during the two hours they were together, Mr Webb said he could not recall whether he had “specific conversations with the fire brigade”.

Mr Webb was one of three TMO staff members who were present on the morning of the fire to give evidence today, alongside TMO director of housing Teresa Brown and TMO head of supported housing Hash Chamchoun.

In written evidence given to the inquiry by Ms Brown, she said that she recalled the fire brigade and the police had made requests to the TMO.

She said: “I recall information being requested by LFB about numbers of floors, numbers of flats, details of occupants and technical information such as presence of asbestos etc. I, together with my colleagues, liaised with various people and departments within the TMO to obtain this information if we did not know it ourselves, and in the early stages most of this information was relayed verbally.

“I recall that LFB was anxious to receive information about people who might be in the building. TMO was able to provide details of the registered tenants, leaseholders and household members but did not hold information on unknown occupants and visitors.”

As part of her work on the morning of the fire, she got TMO staff to record details of tenants, leaseholders and which flats they lived at within Grenfell, and report those missing. These were handwritten on sheets of paper.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Closing statements

 

Day 85: victims' lawyers attack the fire brigade

 

Further expert evidence

Including some additional evidence from emergency call handlers, bereaved and relatives

 

Day 84: further evidence from survivors and relatives

Day 83: swift evacuation of tower possible if residents alerted

Day 82: initial fire was extinguished but then returned to the flat

Day 81: overheating fridge-freezer most likely cause of fire

Day 80: fire doors installed did not match product tested

Day 79: resident advised to stay put despite fire in flat

Day 78: insulation and cladding material below required standard

Day 77: molten plastic spread blaze down tower

Day 76: 'stay put' should be dropped when fire spreads across floors

 

Other witness evidence

Police, ambulance, gas suppliers, council, TMO and call room operators give evidence

 

Day 75: call room operators give evidence

Day 74: further evidence from TMO officers

Day 73: TMO boss failed to pass information to firefighters

Day 72: fire finally extinguished when gas switched off

Day 71: further questions over stay put advice

Day 70: the police evidence

 

The bereaved, survivors and relatives’ evidence

 

Day 69: video shows smoke billowing through fire door

Day 68: KCTMO removed self closing mechanism and never replaced it

Day 67: gaps in cladding fixed with duct tape

Day 66: 'don't fix broken system with a sticking plaster'

Day 65: survivor dragged disabled man down nine floors to safety

Day 64: KCTMO 'did not replace broken fire door'

Day 63: foam insulation inside cladding 'exposed' says survivor

Day 62: father gives harrowing account of son's death

Day 61: council’s management organisation slammed for faulty electrics

Day 60: stay put advice ‘led to deaths’, residents say

Day 59: residents describe problems with new windows

Day 58: survivor describes how daughter saved his life

Day 57: firefighter evidence ‘a slap in the face’, says survivor

Day 56: relations with contractor were ‘toxic’

Day 55: resident 'never happy' with stay-put advice

Day 54: tenant gives evidence about housing association

Day 53: stay put advice 'felt like trap'

Day 52: resident saved by son's phone call

 

The firefighters’ evidence

 

Day 51: firefighter feared encouraging residents to jump

Day 50: the LFB commissioner

Day 49: fire chief reveals frustration over lack of building plans

Day 48: internal fire spread 'bigger story' than cladding

Day 47: fire officer considered evacuating crews over building collapse fears

Day 46: 'we were improvising' senior firefighter admits

Day 45: firefighter urged for abandonment of 'stay put' policy

Day 44: firefighter recalls radio signal difficulties

Day 43: call hander 'uncomfortable' with insisting residents stay put

Day 42: residents only told to leave if they called fire brigade back

Day 41: breathing equipment delay 'hampered rescues on upper floors'

Day 40: chiefs told firefighters to abandon policy

Day 39: firefighters reveal dramatic rescue of children

Day 38: firefighters issue aplogies to families

Day 37: council 'unable to provide tower plans'

Day 36: QC defends inquiry process

Day 35: Javid would welcome interim recommendations

Day 34: water from hose 'too weak' to reach the flames

Day 33: 'oh my god, we've been telling people to stay put'

Day 32: further fire fighter describes lack of equipment and low water pressure

Day 31: 'incredibly difficult' task of recording information outlined

Day 30: struggle to maintain control over rescue operation described

Day 29: fire service 'overwhelmed' by survival guidance calls

Day 28: 'the building beat us'

Day 27: firefighters 'forced to abandon plans to reach roof'

Day 26: poor signage hindered rescue efforts

Day 25: water pressure left firefighting equipment 'like garden hose'

Day 24: decision to abandon 'stay put' explored

Day 23: TV images 'could have assissted' rescue effort

Day 22: description of hectic scenes in the control centre

Day 21: account from the fire service 'nerve centre'

Day 20: firefighter describes 'huge volume' of calls from trapped residents

Day 19: firefighter 'given no training on cladding fires'

Day 18: evacuation would have been 'huge catastrophe'

Day 17: firefighters describe access and lift issues

Day 16: scenes of carnage likened to 9/11

Day 15: firefighters recount trauma of survival guidance calls

Day 14: firefighters describe spread of blaze

Day 13: firefighters recall radio difficulties

Day 12: "it was like a war zone"

Day 11: questions raised over fire fighters' radios

Day 10: watch manager emotional under questioning

Day nine: lead firefighter 'not trained in stay put policy'

 

The expert reports: authors give evidence to inquiry

 

Day eight: where the fire started

Day seven: what was in the cladding?

Day six: the cause and spread of the fire

Day five: expert highlights key issues

Day four: firefighters defend response to fire

Day three: council and contractors appear for the first time

Day two: lawyers for the survivors make their case

Day one: expert evidence released on cladding and stay put

 

The commemoration hearings

 

30 May: Grenfell Council 'recognised it should not house disabled victim above four storeys'

29 May: Anger on day six of the Grenfell Inquiry

25 May: Grenfell families 'forced to live in chimney with stay put policy'

24 May: Grenfell family complained about father being housed on 17th floor

23 May: Tributes to children on third day of Grenfell hearings

22 May: Emotions run high as Grenfell bereaved shown footage of the tower burning

21 May: Grenfell victims share tributes as inquiry opens

 

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