Police say door that was supposed to hold back fire for 30 minutes lasted 15 minutes in test

Detectives investigating the Grenfell Tower blaze have revealed the front door to one of the flats failed fire tests.

The door was on a lower floor where the fire had not gutted the building where 71 people lost their lives in the 14 June disaster. Following recent tests it emerged that it could only withstand fire for 15 minutes when it was meant to withstand it for 30 minutes.

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The housing secretary, Sajid Javid, told MPs on Thursday that the government had ordered further tests.

In a statement to parliament he said officials had consulted a panel of experts appointed by the government to look into fire safety and had been advised the risk to public safety remained low.

He added that there would be no change to fire safety advice for the public and said that there is “no evidence that this is a systemic issue”.

The shadow housing minister, Tony Lloyd, said he was astounded by what he had heard, adding: “If this isn’t systemic, what assessment has been made of how many buildings are potentially affected by this? How many individual flats? How many people who have fire doors that simply don’t do the job?”

Before Javid’s statement, Scotland Yard wrote to families affected by the fire to inform them of the development. The Metropolitan police letter, sent on Wednesday, said: “Independent experts have advised that the risk to public safety is low, and that evidence from the suspected issue does not change that assessment.”



Officials said the door manufacturer was Manse Masterdor, but it is not clear whether other doors in the building were of the same type. Government officials said further investigations were needed to establish if the heat in the rest of the building may have compromised its fire resistance prior to the test.



Kensington and Chelsea council acknowledged that the doors tested “provided less protection than guidelines recommend” but said the results were inconclusive and suggested that the wider safety implications were not yet clear.

A spokesperson added: “We understand this news will be of particular concern to residents in this borough, which is why we are urging the government to move as quickly as it can to give us clarity about the situation.”

The news follows the earlier discovery that the aluminium composite cladding and synthetic insulation installed in 2014 were also combustible.



A police spokesman said: “We have previously described that our forensic examination at the scene would be followed by a phase of offsite testing to be conducted by experts on our behalf.



“As part of this investigation experts tested a flat front door taken from Grenfell Tower. The door tested was designed to resist fire for up to 30 minutes but during the test it was only found to resist the fire for approximately 15 minutes - a much shorter period than expected.



“The forensic examination and the testing phase is ongoing and we are not able to comment as to the potential impact or otherwise that any test result may have on the overall criminal investigation.



“We have shared our information with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as the appropriate government departments, so they are able to take any action required.”

Natasha Elcock from the survivors’ group Grenfell United said: “It’s shocking – first the cladding and insulation, then the doors. Who knows what else is putting people’s lives at risk? It’s time people’s lives are taken more seriously – and that includes everyone from every walk of life.

“People’s homes must be made absolutely safe for them and their children. The government should have improved regulations after previous fires. We can’t listen to any more excuses.

“Grenfell United will not stop campaigning until the lessons of Grenfell are learnt. Nothing can bring our loved ones back but we must make sure a fire like this never happens again.”