The London Evening Standard has seen the 210 page document by fire experts BRE Global, a building research company who run fire tests in the UK, and leaked their findings, ahead of any official statement or presentation to the public.
The report was created to assist the Metropolitan Police in their ongoing investigation, and who are considering possible manslaughter charges.
The fire apparently started in Flat 16, on the 4th floor, when a fridge freezer set on fire (cause as yet unknown). The fire then travelled through an open window within a meter of the point of origin, and quickly took hold in the cladding which allowed it to consume the entire 24-storey, 70m high building, killing 71 people.
The report finds that Grenfell Tower “as originally built, appears to have been designed on the premise of providing very high levels of passive fire protection…comprising exposed concrete and, given its age, likely timber or metal frame windows, would not have provided a medium for fire spread up the external surface”. However multiple “deficiencies” in the recladding between 2014 and 2016, which cost £10m, created an environment that led to the disaster.
The report highlights 5 contributing factors, which together tell a horific narrative:
Window Frames
The window frames were “significantly narrower” than the gaps that they were meant to fill, leaving large gaps at either end. These spaces were then filled by a rubberised membrane, rigid foam insulation and uPVC lightweight plastic panels — but “none of the materials used would be capable of providing 30 minutes fire resistance”. In respect to the fire’s origin in Flat 16, instead of containing the fire to that one area, BRE says: “The construction of the window did not provide any substantial barrier to fire taking hold on the facade outside.”
Cavity Barriers
Cavity barriers that should expand and seal the gap between the concrete surface of the building and the cladding in the event of fire were of “insufficient size specification”. They were designed to close a 25mm gap but were installed with a 50mm gap which creaked a chimney-effect for the fire to travel upwards. Some were also installed upside down or back to front and the failures “provided a route for fire spread”.
Combustible Insulation
The insulation used on the panels was made from a combustible material which “provided a medium for fire spread up, across and within sections of the facade”. BRE notes that two types of foam insulation was used. The Spandrel Beams had a 100mm foam which can be traced to their manufacturer, but the 75mm insulation boards used elsewhere had “no markings to identify the manufacturer of the foam”. Both kinds were found to be combustible.
Highly combustible Aluminium Cladding
The composite material had a polyethylene core that “appears to be highly combustible” and “appears to have provided a medium for fire spread up and across the facade”.
Absent or non-functioning Door Closers
The BRE report shows that only 17% of door closers (devices to automatically close doors after opening) were present and working between Floors 4 (Fire point of Origin) and 23 (the top of the building). This created “shortcomings in compartmentation” of the fire and would have affected residents’ life chances as they sought to escape down the single stairwell.
Survivors’ group, Grenfell United said the findings were not surprising. “It was clear to us the refurbishment was shoddy and second rate,” the group said. “We raised concerns time and time again. We were not just ignored but bullied to keep quiet. That a refurbishment could make our homes dangerous and unsafe shows that the contractors put profit before lives. It’s an industry that is broken. It’s also an industry that has been allowed to get away with this behaviour”.
BRE have yet to comment of the leaked report. Scotland Yard said “Our aim is to carry out an investigation that has integrity and if it uncovers evidence that any individual or organisation is criminally culpable we want that evidence to be tested through the judicial system. The heart of our investigation is and will continue to be the families of those who lost their lives; those for whom Grenfell Tower was home and the local community so impacted by events that night.”
