A series of failings that hampered the efforts of firefighters to tackle the Grenfell Tower fire and rescue the building’s residents have been identified by a BBC investigation.
Crews cited low water pressure, radio problems and equipment that was either lacking or did not arrive before the fire on June 14 got out of control.
A high ladder did not arrive for more than 30 minutes.
The London Fire Brigade says it has changed its procedures since the fire.
A high ladder will now automatically be sent to a fire in a tower.
An independent fire expert said having the high ladder, which is also known as an “aerial”, available earlier would have given firefighters a better chance of stopping the blaze when it jumped from a fourth floor flat in the tower block and began to race up the side of the building.
More than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines were involved in battling the blaze that engulfed the block in North Kensington, west London.
About 300 people are believed to have lived in Grenfell Tower and most got out on their own.
The fire brigade rescued 65 people but at least 80 people are thought to have died.
The mobilisation list revealed that the 30m (100ft) aerial, which could reach the 10th floor of Grenfell Tower, was not dispatched until 01:19 BST, 24 minutes after the first crews were sent to fight what had started as a fridge fire on the fourth floor.
The aerial did not arrive until 01:32 BST, by which time the fire had raced up the building’s cladding.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “I have spoken to aerial appliance operators in London… who attended that incident, who think that having that on the first attendance might have made a difference, because it allows you to operate a very powerful water tower from outside the building onto the building.”
A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesman confirmed the so-called “pre determined attendance” for a tower fire – the list of appliances which are automatically dispatched – has been changed from four engines to five engines plus an aerial.
However, he added it was “important to understand that fires in high-rise buildings are nearly always dealt with internally, not usually needing an aerial appliance”. -BBC
