Questions raised about ‘dangerous living conditions’ as landlord ordered changes to way it handled fire risk in its properties

Residents of Grenfell Tower have said they raised multiple concerns about the risk of fire in the months before the fatal blaze at the building, but were “brushed away” by the council’s tenant management organisation.

Survivors of the disaster said on Wednesday they had raised fears about the fact that there was only one escape route. They also told the Kensington and Chelsea tenant management organisation (KCTMO) of their concerns over the placement of boilers and gas pipes, the absence of a building-wide fire alarm or sprinkler system, and piles of rubbish being dumped and causing a fire risk.

Investigations have begun into the cause of the fire and how it swept so rapidly up the tower’s 24 storeys, apparently spreading across a new thermal cladding system installed last year as part of a £10m refurbishment.



Only last November, the Grenfell Action Group warned of “dangerous living conditions” and said: “It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO.”

In the same month, the Guardian has learned, KCTMO placed fire safety issues across its estate under review and ordered multiple changes to the way it handled fire risk in its properties. As well as tackling hoarding and clutter in communal areas, it said it would speed up the installation of self-closing doors.

The disaster has sparked a review by construction professionals of dozens of similar refurbishment projects involving recladding that have been undertaken in recent years. One architect said he had placed the design of a dozen towers under review. The policing and fire minister, Nick Hurd, also announced checks would be carried out on projects currently under way.



As well as examining the cladding at Grenfell Tower, another line of inquiry is likely to be whether gas pipes triggered or exacerbated the blaze.

Firefighters, fire safety experts and architects all voiced alarm about the speed at which the fire swept across the new polyester powder-coated aluminium facade, installed as part of the refurbishment to improve the building’s insulation and appearance.

“I don’t think we have seen this sort of fire in the UK before,” said Mike Penning, former fire minister in David Cameron’s government. “We have to check if the existing regulations have been adhered to and it looks to me, from a distance, that that may not be the case.”

In March, local councillor Judith Blakeman, who sits on the KCTMO board, raised residents’ fears about the installation by the National Grid of gas pipes in the main stairwells. The landlord assured her they would be boxed in with “fire-rated” protection, but this was not done, Blakeman said. She also said she requested an independent safety adjudication of the building, but this was declined.



“I was treated like I was a nuisance,” she said. “I raised 19 complaints on behalf of individual residents. Every single time we were told that the board had satisfied itself that the fire safety was fine.”

David Collins, a member of the Grenfell Tower residents’ association, said it had “repeatedly reported concerns to the tenant management organisation of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, including fire safety concerns which were not investigated during the regeneration works”.

He said there were “concerns over locations of boilers, concerns about escape, concerns about fire escape lighting – the list goes on”.

“I spoke to councillors and they refused to investigate,” Collins said. “They wouldn’t believe that the residents were concerned. Ninety percent of residents signed an independent petition asking for there to be an investigation into the organisation that runs this building because they were so incompetent. And the council turned it down.”

The KCTMO said in a statement: “We are aware that concerns have been raised historically by residents. We always take all concerns seriously and these will form part of our forthcoming investigations. While these investigations continue with our cooperation, our core priority at the moment is our residents.”

The organisation said it was “too early to speculate what caused the fire and contributed to its spread”.

Later, the chief executive of KCTMO, Robert Black, told ITV News London that he and his colleagues were “in complete shock”. He said: “I’ve been here since 3.30 this morning working on the ground, it’s part of my job ... trying to actually manage the outcome of that devastation and make sure people are covered and they’ve got somewhere to go tonight.

Grenfell Tower's managers were reviewing safety after fire at another block Read more

“As a tenant management organisation, we do listen to people and we have listened to people and that’s what we’re doing,” he went on. Asked to comment on observations that the cladding on the tower may have added to the speed and intensity at which the fire spread, he said: “We had no expectation this would happen, we are absolutely devastated by it.”

The council has admitted it received complaints over the refurbishment. Asked whether the council had received complaints and was acting on them, the leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Nick Paget-Brown, said: “I think that’s going to have to be looked at in even more detail during the investigation behind this.

“But it is perfectly true that Grenfell Tower underwent a major refurbishment programme, starting about two and a half years ago, to improve the hot water system, to improve the heating, to improve insulation, put in new windows, new external cladding, to improve the quality of life for people who were living there.”



Rydon, the contractor for the refurbishment, said it “met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards”.



The architect was Studio E. In a statement, they said: “We are deeply shocked and distressed over news of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower. Our thoughts are with those that have been affected by this tragic incident, together with all of their relatives and friends. Given the ongoing nature of the incident, it would be inappropriate for us to comment or speculate further at this stage. We will be available to assist the relevant authorities as and when we are required.”

One architect, who has been responsible for several recladding projects, said the tower’s cladding was designed to include fire-breaks at every floor and around every window. He said that if the cladding were installed correctly, flames should not be able to sweep through the cavities.



Eyewitnesses including Beinazir Lasharie, councillor for Notting Dale ward, where the fire struck, told the Guardian the cladding appeared “very flammable”.

“The flames were working their way up and it seemed like the cladding had caught fire,” she said. “That is how it spread.”

Lasharie said residents often had meetings with the KCTMO and the organisation would “brush away” their worries.

Experts voiced differing opinions on the role of the cladding, which fell off in blazing chunks. According to planning documents, it was constructed from units called Reynobond rainscreen cassettes and was installed by Harley Facades Limited. The company declined to comment “until we have more information ourselves”, but described the blaze as “devastating”.

The London fire commissioner, Dany Cotton, said: “I do not want to speculate about the cause of the fire or what has caused it to spread in the way that it did.”

According to board papers for November 2016, KCTMO was handed a “deficiency notice” last year by the London fire brigade after an audit at another of its properties – Lonsdale House on the Portobello Court estate. The notice related to flat entrance doors and the requirement for regular inspections of self-closing devices.

“Before the regeneration, people raised concerns about how it was going to be made safe,” said Cllr Lasharie, speaking about Grenfell Tower. “Once it was done, the finishing wasn’t done properly. People were worried there was only one fire exit, that there was rubbish being left at the bottom of the tower where dumping was going on, open wires when the works were being done. They were concerned there was no proper evacuation process, no proper fire alarm for everyone to hear and there’s no sprinkler system.”

She said boilers were left “bare” in living rooms and kitchens. “It was poor work.”

“People were worried from the start about the safety and the workmanship,” she said. “This is the worst thing that could have happened. People have died.”















