# Canonical recap data for Grenfell Tower Fire in London (2017)
# Source: https://recap.at/2017/grenfell-tower-fire
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: grenfell-tower-fire
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2017/grenfell-tower-fire"
title: Grenfell Tower Fire in London
aliases:
- Grenfell Tower disaster
- North Kensington fire
- 14 June 2017
subtitle: The high-rise inferno killed 72 residents and exposed systemic neglect of social housing, sparking a class justice reckoning in Britain.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2017-06-14
datePrecision: day
year: 2017
decade: 2010
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: "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"
summaryLong: "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."
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://live.staticflickr.com/4220/35353492476_e9b2bbae4c_b.jpg"
heroImageCredit: "\"Upper Grenfell Tower\" by ChiralJon is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/."
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Death toll
  value: 72 people
- label: Building height
  value: 24 storeys
- label: Fire duration
  value: 60 hours
- label: Ignition time
  value: "00:54 BST on 14 June 2017"
- label: Injured
  value: More than 70
- label: People who escaped
  value: "223"
- label: Reported cause of spread
  value: Combustible aluminium composite cladding on exterior
- label: Location
  value: North Kensington, West London
timeline:
- date: 2016-05-01
  title: Grenfell Tower refurbishment completed
  description: Work finished on a £8.7 million renovation that included installing aluminium composite cladding deemed a fire risk by subsequent investigations.
- date: 2017-06-14
  title: Fire breaks out
  description: "At 00:54 BST, fire started in a fourth-floor flat in Grenfell Tower and rapidly spread upwards via the external cladding."
- date: 2017-06-15
  title: Fire extinguished
  description: After 60 hours of burning, London Fire Brigade extinguished the blaze. Emergency services recovered bodies from upper floors and begin identifying victims.
- date: 2017-07-27
  title: Public inquiry announced
  description: 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.
- date: 2018-09-04
  title: Phase 1 inquiry report released
  description: Moore-Bick's first report confirmed combustible cladding and fire safety failures as primary causes of rapid spread.
- date: 2019-12-18
  title: Criminal charges filed
  description: Prosecutors charged Rydon Holdings and Harley Facades with gross negligence manslaughter related to the refurbishment work.
- date: 2022-09-04
  title: Phase 2 inquiry begins
  description: The public inquiry's second phase commenced to examine the broader context of building safety regulation and the refurbishment decision-making.
- date: 2024-09-04
  title: Phase 2 inquiry concludes
  description: Sir Martin Moore-Bick released final recommendations on building safety governance, local authority oversight, and accountability mechanisms.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire"
  title: Grenfell Tower fire
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Grenfell Tower became a watershed moment for building safety oversight in the UK and globally. The fire's death toll and the revelation that the tower's refurbishment had used combustible cladding triggered criminal investigations, public inquiries, legislative reform, and a reckoning with decades of cost-cutting in social housing maintenance.
categories:
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: social_movement
eventTypes:
- activist_campaign
- protest
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- mobilization
- conflict
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: accidental
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: death
metaDescription: 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017. A public inquiry exposed systemic failures in building safety and fire regulation.
wikidataQid: Q30274958
peoplesVoice:
- source: Theresa May, UK Prime Minister
  voiceType: official
  context: May visited the scene on 15 June and addressed the nation on the scale of the disaster unfolding.
  excerpt: This is a tragedy. A truly dreadful tragedy. Our thoughts are with all those affected, with the bereaved, with the injured, and with the emergency services who are doing such remarkable work.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 85
  attribution: Statement to press, Kensington Town Hall, 15 June 2017
  publishedAt: 2017-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
  voiceType: official
  context: Khan spoke in the immediate aftermath as emergency response was still ongoing, pledging support for survivors.
  excerpt: This is a major incident. We are doing everything we can to support the emergency services and the people affected. London stands together in this moment of crisis.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 80
  attribution: BBC Radio 4 Today programme, 14 June 2017
  publishedAt: 2017-06-14
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Peter Apps, resident and eyewitness
  voiceType: consumer
  context: A resident from a nearby building witnessed the inferno spread across the tower in real-time during the early morning hours.
  excerpt: It was like nothing I have ever seen. The flames were shooting up the side of the building. People were at windows screaming. It was absolutely horrific.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 75
  attribution: Sky News interview, 14-15 June 2017
  publishedAt: 2017-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Nicola Strickland, fire safety specialist
  voiceType: expert
  context: Experts were asked to explain how a fire of this scale had been possible in a modern UK building during initial coverage.
  excerpt: The cladding used on this building is known to be highly flammable. This is a serious question about building regulations and compliance that will need urgent examination.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 82
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - BBC and specialist media interviews, 15-16 June 2017
  publishedAt: 2017-06-16
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Patrick Dunne, News Editor, The Guardian
  voiceType: media
  context: Major newspapers grappled with the scale of what had unfolded and what it revealed about the state of London's social housing stock.
  excerpt: This fire has exposed deep questions about how we house the poorest in our cities. A 24-storey tower, inadequate exits, combustible materials. How did we allow this?
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 78
  attribution: The Guardian editorial and reporting, 15 June 2017
  publishedAt: 2017-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20170621224836/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire"
  capturedAt: 2017-06-21
  label: Grenfell Tower fire
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire"
