Dear Brother/Sister,
Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report – a digest of key findings
The Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017 killed 72 people, left hundreds homeless and devastated a whole community. The campaign for justice continues.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry (GTI) was announced by prime minister Theresa May a day after the fire. The terms of reference were set by the prime minister after a public consultation. The chair, retired judge Martin Moore- Bick, was appointed by the prime minister. The public inquiry employed more than 200 legal professionals. Its strengths and limitations reflect this.
The inquiry sat for 400 days of hearings between May 2018 and November 2022. The inquiry published its Phase 1 report in October 2019, dealing with events on the night. The GTI’s Phase 2 report, published in September 2024, consists of 7 volumes and 1,700 pages.
The Phase 2 report is designed to answer the question:
1.3 How was it possible in 21st century London for a reinforced concrete building, itself
structurally impervious to fire, to be turned into a death trap that would enable fire to sweep
through it in an uncontrollable way in a matter of a few hours despite what were thought to be
effective regulations designed to prevent just such an event?
The FBU
The FBU has played a prominent role in learning lessons from the Grenfell Tower fire:
• as a core participant through the public inquiry
• representing nearly a thousand firefighters and emergency control staff who submitted witness
statements to police and the inquiry
• supporting nearly 100 firefighters and emergency control staff who gave oral testimony
• submitting seven witness statements, 23 written submissions and other correspondence
• working with Grenfell community organisations and other campaigners
• briefing our members, ministers, MPs, LFB and other bodies about the report
• speaking to national and local media.
The GTI Phase 2 report is not the last word on the Grenfell Tower fire, but it will shape the agenda in our profession for years to come.
This is a selection of some crucial paragraphs that are most relevant to FBU members and officials, who will want to know the main points to take from the report. The selection concentrates on central government and LFB and leaves out important matters of individual tenants and residents.
Chief fire officers are already setting out their own views on the findings and recommendations.
The FBU wants firefighters and emergency control staff to read the report, discuss it around the mess table and with principal management in brigades. The fire and rescue service must be transformed, with sustained investment, national standards and proper consultation with the FBU, through a new statutory advisory body.
The FBU will continue to campaign to secure justice for Grenfell.
Yours in unity,
Matt Wrack
General Secretary
