On 30 October the report of phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was published. The summary is 32 pages and the full report about 1,000 pages. Unfortunately phase one focussed on what happened but while receiving reports detailing flaws in the building’s fire safety measures did not conclude who was at fault for this routine fire becoming a disaster. This means, for example, it did not consider whether sprinklers could have made a difference or whether they should be fitted in apartment buildings. This and many other issues should be addressed in phase two, which will start in January 2020 and is set to last 18 months.

Phase one was critical of London Fire Brigade’s management and training, the preparedness of its control room to handle a major incident, and how it conducts inspections of buildings. It made a number of recommendations. These issues are not core to the EFSN’s mission, so we will not comment on them.