It is widely felt amongst the campaign group that the second report, which will focus on the causes of the fire, should have been released first.
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Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have expressed their concern that the report produced by the inquiry investigating the incident is “unbalanced.”
The report has criticised “systemic failures” in the London Fire Brigade, leading to some feeling they have been “scapegoated”. They believe the council played a more crucial role and should be held accountable.
The report said that the Stay Put protocol should have been abandoned earlier.
Stay Put is a method adopted by firefighters to tackle fires in high-rise buildings, yet in this case the inquiry shows it caused more deaths. The inquiry also said that the cladding “actively promoted” the spread of the fire as regulations were ignored during the refurbishment of the tower.
‘Historical context missed’
Ahmed Challat, a survivor who lost five members of his family in the tragedy, said the inquiry focused on the wrong people.
He said the London Fire Brigade were the last people to concentrate on.
“They came to save people. They didn’t know about the cladding or how quickly the fire could spread.”
The spokesperson for Justice4Grenfell, Moyra Samuels, echoed Challat’s words saying that the inquiry “missed out the historical context in which the fire was allowed to happen.”
It is widely felt amongst the campaign group that the second report, which will focus on the causes of the fire, should have been released first.
It is believed that, if this had been done, measures would be implemented sooner to ensure a disaster like this does not happen again.
Without Phase Two of the report, the existing buildings with the same cladding will continue to stand and the company that installed it will continue to operate.
Ms Challat said it is “unfair” for the company’s errors to not be identified sooner.
‘Fire brigade scapegoated’
Cllr Robert Atkinson, a Labour councillor for Notting Dale, criticises the decision made by the Conservative-held council to alter the tower block’s design by adding flammable cladding.
He agrees that the report should have looked at why people were living in an unsafe building. He said it was, ‘not right to place all of the blame on the LFB… who are being set up as scapegoats.’
Council leader for the borough, Elizabeth Campbell responded to these criticisms. In a statement she said: ‘We must all take responsibility for what has happened… Grenfell is a tragedy that should not have happened.’
Fears for the Future
Many say that the Grenfell Tower fire was caused by authorities failing to learn from the past. Specifically, the 2009 fire in Lakanal House in Camberwell killed people.
An inquest at the time concluded that the disaster was largely caused by unsafe renovation work, the council’s failure to inspect the building and errors by firefighters.
At the time, leading figures said they would “learn from their mistakes”.
Following the lack of accountability for the Grenfell tragedy, there are fears amongst the survivors and bereaved that it will happen again.
Phase Two of the report will determine whether Kensington and Chelsea Council, as well as other parties involved, will be held accountable for their actions regarding the structure of the building.
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HeadlineGrenfell fire survivors fear tragedy will happen again after ‘unbalanced’ inquiry report
Short HeadlineGrenfell survivors criticise 'unbalanced' inquiry report
StandfirstCritics say the report focuses on the London Fire Brigade which is being 'scapegoated', and omits any role the council had.
After the release of phase one of the Grenfell inquiry, survivors and bereaved have expressed their concern that the report is unbalanced.
The report has criticised ‘systemic failures’ in the London Fire Brigade, leading to some feeling they have been ‘scapegoated’. They believe the council played a more crucial role and should be held accountable.
The Inquiry
The report shows that the ‘stay put’ protocol should have been abandoned earlier. ‘Stay put’ is a method adopted by firefighters to tackle fires in high-rise buildings, yet in this case the inquiry shows it caused more deaths. The inquiry also said that the cladding “actively promoted” the spread of the fire as regulations were ignored during the refurbishment of the tower.
Criticisms
A survivor of the fire, Ahmed Challat, who lost five members of his family in the tragedy, said the inquiry focussed on the wrong people. He said the London Fire Brigade were the last people to concentrate on as ‘They came to save people. They didn’t know about the cladding or how quickly the fire could spread.’
The spokesperson for Justice 4 Grenfell, Moyra Samuels, echoed Challat’s words saying that the inquiry ‘missed out the historical context in which the fire was allowed to happen.’
It is widely felt amongst the campaign group that the second report, which will focus on the causes of the fire, should have been released first. It is believed that, if this had been done, measures would be implemented sooner to ensure a disaster like this does not happen again.
Without this second report, the existing buildings with the same cladding will continue to stand and the company that installed it will continue to operate. Challat said it is ‘unfair’ for the company’s errors to not be identified sooner.
The Council
Current Labour Councillor for Notting Dale, Robert Atkinson, criticises the decision made by the Conservative held council to alter the tower block’s design by adding flammable cladding. He agrees that the report should have looked at why people were living in an unsafe building. He said it was, ‘not right to place all of the blame on the LFB… who are being set up as scapegoats.’
Council leader for the borough, Elizabeth Campbell responded to these criticisms. In a statement she said: ‘We must all take responsibility for what has happened… Grenfell is a tragedy that should not have happened.’
Fears for the Future
Grenfell was a repeat of authorities failing to learn from the past. In 2009, a fire in a tower block in Camberwell killed 6 people. An inquest at the time concluded that the disaster was largely caused by unsafe renovation work, the council’s failure to inspect the building and errors by firefighters.
At the time, leading figures said they would ‘learn from their mistakes’. Following the lack of accountability for the Grenfell tragedy, there are fears amongst the survivors and bereaved that it will happen again.
Stage 2 of the report will determine whether Kensington and Chelsea council, as well as other parties involved, will take full accountability for their actions regarding the structure of the building.
Until then, survivors and the bereaved of Grenfell tower remain unsure if justice will be received.
Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have expressed their concern that the report produced by the inquiry investigating the incident is “unbalanced.”
The report has criticised “systemic failures” in the London Fire Brigade, leading to some feeling they have been “scapegoated”. They believe the council played a more crucial role and should be held accountable.
The report said that the Stay Put protocol should have been abandoned earlier.
Stay Put is a method adopted by firefighters to tackle fires in high-rise buildings, yet in this case the inquiry shows it caused more deaths. The inquiry also said that the cladding “actively promoted” the spread of the fire as regulations were ignored during the refurbishment of the tower.
‘Historical context missed’
Ahmed Challat, a survivor who lost five members of his family in the tragedy, said the inquiry focused on the wrong people.
He said the London Fire Brigade were the last people to concentrate on.
“They came to save people. They didn’t know about the cladding or how quickly the fire could spread.”
The spokesperson for Justice4Grenfell, Moyra Samuels, echoed Challat’s words saying that the inquiry “missed out the historical context in which the fire was allowed to happen.”
It is widely felt amongst the campaign group that the second report, which will focus on the causes of the fire, should have been released first.
It is believed that, if this had been done, measures would be implemented sooner to ensure a disaster like this does not happen again.
Without Phase Two of the report, the existing buildings with the same cladding will continue to stand and the company that installed it will continue to operate.
Ms Challat said it is “unfair” for the company’s errors to not be identified sooner.
‘Fire brigade scapegoated’
Cllr Robert Atkinson, a Labour councillor for Notting Dale, criticises the decision made by the Conservative-held council to alter the tower block’s design by adding flammable cladding.
He agrees that the report should have looked at why people were living in an unsafe building. He said it was, ‘not right to place all of the blame on the LFB… who are being set up as scapegoats.’
Council leader for the borough, Elizabeth Campbell responded to these criticisms. In a statement she said: ‘We must all take responsibility for what has happened… Grenfell is a tragedy that should not have happened.’
Fears for the Future
Many say that the Grenfell Tower fire was caused by authorities failing to learn from the past. Specifically, the 2009 fire in Lakanal House in Camberwell killed people.
An inquest at the time concluded that the disaster was largely caused by unsafe renovation work, the council’s failure to inspect the building and errors by firefighters.
At the time, leading figures said they would “learn from their mistakes”.
Following the lack of accountability for the Grenfell tragedy, there are fears amongst the survivors and bereaved that it will happen again.
Phase Two of the report will determine whether Kensington and Chelsea Council, as well as other parties involved, will be held accountable for their actions regarding the structure of the building.
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