The events had been reported around the world. On 14 June 2017, shortly after midnight, a faulty fridge caused a fire to break out in a flat on the fourth floor of Grenfell Tower in London. The fire, which spread very quickly, claimed 72 lives and left just as many people injured. Two years on, a report points the finger at "shortcomings in practices, strategies and training" the fire brigade.
Judge Martin Moore-Bick, who drafted the report, does not question the courage of the firefighters who made numerous trips in and out of the burning building. "The first people to tackle the fire found themselves facing a situation for which they were not properly prepared" he adds.
A breakdown in communication
The report also states that there were numerous communication breakdowns between the trapped residents, the emergency call centre and the teams on the ground. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) reportedly asked residents to stay indoors, whilst the judge believes that an evacuation, "would certainly have helped to reduce the number of casualties".
The daily newspaper The Guardian, concluded on Tuesday that the LFB’s equipment and training were, in the face of a massive fire such as the one at Grenfell Tower, "seriously inadequate". According to the same source, 400 blocks of flats are said to have been fitted with cladding similar to that used on the Grenfell Tower. This cladding has been called into question, as it is believed to have caused the fire to spread particularly rapidly.
The LFB has nearly 6,000 firefighters
The London Fire Brigade is London’s fire service. It is the fifth-largest fire service in the world, with 5,992 staff, including 5,096 professional firefighters. In 2014, they responded to 171,067 emergency calls and tackled 20,934 fires, making them the busiest fire service in the world.
Apart from its operational duties, the brigade is responsible for emergency planning and carries out inspections and public education. The brigade does not provide an ambulance service; this is provided by the London Ambulance Service.