London – A public inquiry into the 2017 fire that killed Grenfell Tower, a public housing apartment building in central London, published its final report Wednesday on the disaster that killed 72 people. The blaze – London’s deadliest since World War II – has been blamed for a host of failings, from poor construction and materials to poor local management and inadequate fire safety standards.
Among the parties found to have played a role in the tragedy was the American company Arconic, which manufactures and sells building exterior cladding through its French subsidiary.
The author of the report said the Pittsburgh-based company “intentionally hid from the market the true extent of the dangers of using” materials added to Grenfell Tower during the renovation, “especially in high-rise buildings.”
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At the end of 2007, Arconic realized that there was a serious concern in the construction industry about the safety of ACM panels and was aware of the danger it posed,” said the report. “In the summer of 2011 it also saw that Reynobond 55 PE in cassette form Grenfell Tower) performs worse in fire and is more dangerous than in riveted form. However, it is determined to exploit what it is. appears to be a weak regulatory regime in certain countries (including the UK) for the sale of Reynobond 55 PE in cassette form, including for use in residential buildings.
In a statement to CBS News on Wednesday, Arconic said “we reject the claim that AAP (Arconic subsidiary, Arconic Architectural Products SAS) is selling unsafe products,” and stressed that “these materials are routinely tested using third-party testing bodies.”
“Reports on these results are all available to the public, and AAP provides these reports to customers,” the company said, adding that it “does not hide information from or mislead certification bodies, customers, or the public.”
Arconic said that AAP has “acknowledged its role as one of the material suppliers involved in the renovation of Grenfell Tower,” and that the company “respects the Inquiry’s process” and is “cooperating fully with the Inquiry’s work and will continue to participate further in the legal process.”
“Along with other parties, AAP has made a financial contribution to the settlement for those affected, as well as to the restorative justice fund,” the company said.
Ongoing research
The earlier phase of multi-year inquiry concluded that some of the companies that produced materials used in the cladding of Grenfell Tower, including Arconic, continue to market their products as safe, although some employees know they are flammable.
Emails shared with the investigation show that some Arconic employees were aware of the fire risks associated with the coatings used at Grenfell Tower, but the company continued to sell them.
When approached in 2021 about whether employees were aware of the fire risk associated with Arconic cladding, Arconic told CBS News that it “continues to provide full support to the authorities as the inquiry can be conducted through the complex questions presented. It is not appropriate for us to comment further while the Inquiry is in progress and before all the evidence is presented at Stage Two.
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“This company is still operating as if nothing happened,” Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle died in the fire, told CBS News in 2021.
After a deadly fire, apartment buildings in England covered with the same or similar exterior cladding materials were found to be unsafe, leaving thousands of people trapped in dangerous homes and unable to sell because banks would not give them new mortgages. in these properties.
“People should be safe in their homes. People shouldn’t feel like they’re going to sleep and don’t know if they’re going to wake up or not,” Mussilhy said in 2021.
The victims are still seeking justice
The Grenfell Inquiry opened with the first hearing on Sept.14, 2017. The families of some victims and survivors said they have been denied justice as it has gone on.
“This means that criminal prosecution cannot happen,” said Nazanin Aghlani, whose mother Sakina Afrasehabi died in the fire. He told CBS News partner network BBC News that prosecutions should come before a public inquiry.
He said the investigation instead gave “everyone who should face criminal charges” a platform “to tell their version of the story.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said in May that no criminal prosecutions related to the Grenfell fire would begin until 2026, according to the BBC. Police are expected to make a statement later Wednesday.
“We have been waiting seven years to find out the truth, which will be black and white,” Nick Burton, who was rescued from the 19th floor of the tower, told the BBC, hoping the report will “tell the truth. about these companies and the part that they are playing with fire.”
“We need to know who is really responsible, who really made the decisions that led to this horror and who can actually be stopped and prosecuted,” Emma Dent Coad, a former MP for the central London district of Kensington, told the BBC.
