In short
On 14 June 2017, a fire broke out in Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey residential building in North Kensington, London, and burned for 60 hours. The blaze killed 72 people-making it the deadliest structural fire in the UK since World War II-and exposed systemic failures in building safety regulation and fire response.
How it unfolded.
The five-minute version
What actually happened.
On 14 June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 BST and burned for 60 hours. Seventy people died at the scene and two people died later in hospital, with more than 70 injured and 223 escaping. It was the deadliest structural fire in the United Kingdom since the 1988 Piper Alpha oil-platform disaster and the worst UK residential fire since the Blitz of World War II. The fire was declared a major incident, with more than 250 London Fire Brigade firefighters and 70 fire engines from stations across Greater London involved in efforts to control it and rescue residents. More than 100 London Ambulance Service crews on at least 20 ambulances attended, joined by specialist paramedics from the Hazardous Area Response Team. The Metropolitan Police and London's Air Ambulance also assisted.
As it was happening
13 voices, 3048 days.
One beat at a time. Click any dot on the timeline to jump, press play for autoplay, or use the arrow keys to step.
Grenfell Tower refurbishment completed
Work finished on a £8.7 million renovation that included installing aluminium composite cladding deemed a fire risk by subsequent investigations.
Voices from this moment (1)
Grenfell Tower refurbishment completed
May 1
“Work finished on a £8.”
As it was happening
13 voices, 3048 days.
Day 0 · May 1, 2016
Grenfell Tower refurbishment completed
Work finished on a £8.7 million renovation that included installing aluminium composite cladding deemed a fire risk by subsequent investigations.
“Work finished on a £8.”
- Grenfell Tower refurbishment completed, May 1
Day 409 · June 14, 2017
Fire breaks out
At 00:54 BST, fire started in a fourth-floor flat in Grenfell Tower and rapidly spread upwards via the external cladding.
“This is a major incident.”
- BBC Radio 4 Today programme, 14 June 2017, Jun 14
“At 00:54 BST, fire started in a fourth-floor flat in…”
- Fire breaks out, Jun 14
Day 410 · June 15, 2017
Fire extinguished
After 60 hours of burning, London Fire Brigade extinguished the blaze. Emergency services recovered bodies from upper floors and begin identifying victims.
“This is a tragedy.”
- Statement to press, Kensington Town Hall, 15 June 2017, Jun 15
“It was like nothing I have ever seen.”
- Sky News interview, 14-15 June 2017, Jun 15
“The cladding used on this building is known to be highly…”
- Synthesized from period accounts - BBC and specialist media interviews, 15-16 June 2017, Jun 16
“This fire has exposed deep questions about how we house the…”
- The Guardian editorial and reporting, 15 June 2017, Jun 15
“After 60 hours of burning, London Fire Brigade extinguished…”
- Fire extinguished, Jun 15
Day 452 · July 27, 2017
Public inquiry announced
Prime Minister Theresa May announced a full public inquiry to be led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick into the fire's cause and the circumstances surrounding it.
“Prime Minister Theresa May announced a full public inquiry…”
- Public inquiry announced, Jul 27
Day 856 · September 4, 2018
Phase 1 inquiry report released
Moore-Bick's first report confirmed combustible cladding and fire safety failures as primary causes of rapid spread.
“Moore-Bick's first report confirmed combustible cladding…”
- Phase 1 inquiry report released, Sep 4
Day 1326 · December 18, 2019
Criminal charges filed
Prosecutors charged Rydon Holdings and Harley Facades with gross negligence manslaughter related to the refurbishment work.
“Prosecutors charged Rydon Holdings and Harley Facades with…”
- Criminal charges filed, Dec 18
Day 2317 · September 4, 2022
Phase 2 inquiry begins
The public inquiry's second phase commenced to examine the broader context of building safety regulation and the refurbishment decision-making.
“The public inquiry's second phase commenced to examine the…”
- Phase 2 inquiry begins, Sep 4
Day 3048 · September 4, 2024
Phase 2 inquiry concludes
Sir Martin Moore-Bick released final recommendations on building safety governance, local authority oversight, and accountability mechanisms.
“Sir Martin Moore-Bick released final recommendations on…”
- Phase 2 inquiry concludes, Sep 4
The numbers.
5 numbers that anchor the scale.
By the numbers
The countable parts.
Death toll
0 people
Building height
0 storeys
Fire duration
0 hours
Ignition time
0:54 BST on 14 June 2017
People who escaped
0
Captured in time.
Captured before it changed
The web as it looked, the day it happened.
Wayback Machine snapshots of the pages people actually loaded that day. Click any card to open the archive at full size.
Sources & citations.
Sources
Where this came from.
Every claim on this page traces to a public, license-clean source. We don't asterisk well.
Wikipedia
1 source- 1.Grenfell Tower fire
en.wikipedia.org