The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast

A legal discussion about whether to offer blanket protection from self-incrimination put the Inquiry on hold this week. We look into what this really means, and explain how building regulations work in England. Presenter / producer : Kate Lamble Producer: Luke Radcliff Researcher: May Cameron Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The opening statements of Phase 2 of the inquiry Phase 2 of the inquiry started by looking at the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The lead counsel to the inquiry said the majority of organisations involved in the redevelopment were indulging in a merry-go-round of buck-passing. Presenter / producer : Kate Lamble Producer: Luke Radcliff Researcher: May Cameron Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast...

Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry starts on Monday 27th January 2020. It will investigate how the tower was covered in combustible materials during a refurbishment, breaching building regulations. Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The last podcast analysing the Phase 1 report. In this episode we look in detail at the ‘systemic failings’ Sir Martin Moore-Bick found in the fire brigade’s response. Including in their training, equipment, and their failure to consider a full or partial evacuation of the tower. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Tom Wright Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The report says there was a fundamental failure of command and control when it came to the firefighters at Grenfell. In this episode we look at how the story of flat 142 illustrates this. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Tom Wright Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The report into Phase 1 of the Inquiry found that the tower did not comply with building regulations. In this episode we take a closer look at what happened to the building during the fire and the conclusions and recommendations made by the chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Tom Wright Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The report into Phase 1 of the inquiry was released today. It found that the tower breached building regulations. It was critical of the London Fire Brigade’s response, arguing that more people would have survived if they had evacuated the tower by 1.50 in the morning. In this episode we look at the main conclusions and recommendations made by the inquiry. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Tom Wrigh...

The report into Phase 1 of the inquiry is due to be released on the 30th October. In this episode we discuss what that report may include, as well as what the inquiry has been doing since the last piece of evidence was heard ten months ago. Producer Kate Lamble Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

On the 14th floor of Grenfell Tower, firefighters moved eight residents into flat 113. Only four would survive. Using evidence from phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, Katie Razzall pieces together what went wrong that night in flat 113. The answer reveals a catalogue of errors which may help to explain the wider disaster. Producer: Kate Lamble Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.c...

The final day of hearings for Phase 1. The Tenant Management Organisation, which ran Grenfell Tower, acknowledged that the external cladding created an unprecedented fire. Companies which supplied products used during the refurbishment also submitted written statements. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Lawyers for survivors called for the stay-put advice to be changed to get out. Counsel for the tenant in flat 16 where the fire started said the inquiry should conclude the fire was accidental. He urged the inquiry not to use firefighters as sacrificial lambs. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The London Fire Brigade acknowledges it was overwhelmed on the night of the fire. Lawyers for the bereaved, survivors and residents criticise the fire brigade’s response and argue the tower didn’t meet building regulations. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Today the inquiry heard evidence from the written statements given by the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell. These included accounts from Emmanuella Desaro whose daughter Gloria Trevisan died on the top floor of Grenfell Tower, and Adriana Ramirez, the mother of 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez, who went up the tower to try to escape the fire. Witness statements from residents who we...

Expert witness Professor David Purser believes people are more likely to have died from smoke inhalation than from exposure to heat and flames. During a presentation to the inquiry Professor Purser explained how irritants and gases in the smoke would have affected residents and impeded their escape. Producers Elisabeth Mahy and Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpo...

Forensic Scientist, Niamh Nic Daeid, agreed that the fire started in the fridge freezer in Flat 16. She told the inquiry she’s certain it was an accident. The Inquiry also released statements from the London Fire Brigade, the local council and the government about what changes they have made since the fire at Grenfell Tower. Producers Elisabeth Mahy and Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contac...

Electrical expert Dr Duncan Glover told the inquiry it’s likely the fire started when the wiring in a fridge freezer in Flat 16 overheated. He explained how a small piece of wire, discovered in a bedroom 27 days after the fire, led him to this conclusion. Producers Elisabeth Mahy and Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Nicholas Burton lived in flat 165 on the 19th floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife, Pily, and their dog. In an extended interview with Eddie Mair, Nicholas talks about life at Grenfell before the fire and how he had to give up work to care for his wife who developed dementia. He describes the night of the fire and the impact it has had on him. Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Dr. Barbara Lane returned to give a second day of evidence. This time she focusses on fire prevention and safety measures in place inside Grenfell Tower on the night of the fire. The inquiry heard how flat doors did not meet safety regulations, and how firefighters were unable to take control of the lifts. Listen to the full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p066rd9t Producer Elisabeth...

The inquiry heard from Call Room Operators Yvonne Adams, Christine Howson and Heidi Fox. Yvonne Adams took a call from a woman trapped on the 14th floor who pleaded with her to send for help. Christine Howson said it was so noisy in the control room that she found it difficult to hear callers. Listen to the full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p066rd9t Producer Elisabeth Mahy Research...

The inquiry heard from expert witness Dr Barbara Lane, a specialist in fire engineering. Her 2,000 page-long report focuses on the fire prevention and safety measures in place on the night of the fire, and to what extent these measures failed to control its spread. Dr Lane told the inquiry that parts of the external cladding did not meet required safety standards. Producer Kate Lamble and Elisabet...

Expert witness Professor Luke Bisby explained how the fire spread. He told the inquiry that advice for residents to stay in their flats in the event of a fire should have been scrapped as soon as combustible cladding was fitted to the tower. Producer Kate Lamble and Elisabeth Mahy Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The inquiry hears from Expert Witnesses. Fire safety expert Professor José Torero described how compartmentation in the building failed, and how materials in the external cladding may have contributed to the vertical spread of the fire. Producer Kate Lamble Researcher Olivia Beazley Contact us via email: grenfellpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Sarah Russell had been working as a Control Room Officer for only 9 months before the Grenfell Tower fire. The inquiry heard how she spent almost an hour on the phone with 12 year old Jessica Urbano Ramirez who died on the 23rd floor. The London control room was unable to handle all of the 999 calls made on the night of the fire. Control room officers from Surrey, Kent, and Essex Fire and Rescue S...

The inquiry heard evidence from senior officials in the tenant management organisation which ran the tower. Graham Webb was responsible for repairs inside the building. Hash Chamchoun was Head of Supported Housing. Both were present at Grenfell on the night of the fire. The inquiry also heard from Teresa Brown, who was Director of Housing in June 2017. She described how on the night she gathered i...

The inquiry heard from Nickolas Leyton and Michael Rumble, officials from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council. They both were present at the scene on the night of the fire. Robert Black was chief executive of the council’s tenant management organisation at the time of the fire. He told the inquiry that he remembered very little from events on the night, saying he was “a spare part”...