LONDON — A major public inquiry into the deadliest fire in Britain in more than a century opened on Thursday, with the retired judge who is leading the investigation citing a “sense of anger and betrayal” among former residents of Grenfell Tower in London, which was engulfed in flames in June.

The fire, which killed at least 80 people, began early June 14 after a refrigerator on the fourth floor of the high-rise apartment building burst into flames. The blaze ignited the building’s exterior cladding, shot up the side of the tower and transformed the 24-story structure into an inferno.

The inquiry’s leader, Martin Moore-Bick, said in his opening statement that he realized that the lives of Grenfell residents had been turned “upside down,” and he vowed to uncover the truth about what had led to the tragedy.

“We are acutely aware that so many people died and that many of those who survived have been severely affected,” Mr. Moore-Bick said. “We are also conscious that many have lost everything.”