Everything you need to know about the Grenfell Tower fire: when, how it started, how many died

Bereaved families have been told, seven years after the tragedy that claimed 72 lives, that Grenfell Tower will be demolished. An official announcement is expected on Friday to confirm the Kensington tower block will be razed to the ground, although not before the eighth anniversary of the tragic inferno on June 14. Grenfell United, which represents some of the bereaved and survivors of fire, were told of the plans on Wednesday night by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

They have now accused the deputy prime minister of ignoring them and have said she could not give a reason for the tower’s destruction. A statement read: “She refused to confirm how many bereaved and survivors had been spoken to in the recent, short four-week consultation. “But judging from the room alone – the vast majority of whom were bereaved – no one supported her decision. But she claims her decision is based on our views.”.

Kensington and Bayswater MP Joe Powell said the decision “will not for one second” change any resolve to “support the fight for truth, justice and change” on the back of the disaster. “Grenfell Tower will always be in our hearts as a community,” he said. “I know the decision to start planning for the tower to come down has not been taken lightly. “I thank Angela Rayner for her intensive engagement with our community in recent months.”.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Grenfell Tower, a high-rise social housing block in Kensington, caught fire on June 14, 2017. It had been built in 1977, but the deadly cladding which caused the fire to spread was added just years earlier between 2012 and 2016. The 24-storey building consisted of 129 residential flats, and many residents were asleep when the fire broke out early that morning.

Just before 1am on June 14, 2017, an electrical fault in a resident’s fridge-freezer triggered a small kitchen fire on the fourth floor of the building. Firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes, but the first responders quickly noticed the fire spreading. Around 15 minutes after the fire broke out, the flames reached the exterior cladding of the building and began rapidly ascending the block.

The severity and rapid spread of the fire have been attributed to the cladding, which failed to comply with building regulations. While the fire continued to spread, residents were initially told to remain in their apartments and await rescue from the fire department. Official advice to residents was only changed almost two hours later when it was too late for many residents trapped on the upper floors.

Considered the worst UK residential fire since the Second World War, the blaze burned for around 60 hours. Seventy-two people perished in the Grenfell Tower fire. Of the victims, 70 died on the scene, while two later died in hospital. Those who died came from 19 different countries worldwide and brought a wealth of stories, skills, jobs, and religions with them. The youngest victim was an unborn baby called Logan Gomes, who died in his mother’s womb because of the smoke. He was one of 19 children who died in the tragedy.

Two years after the disaster, an initial 2019 report found that the tower’s cladding failed to meet building regulations, leading to the “profoundly shocking” fire spread. It also criticised the fire department for instructing residents to remain in their apartments. An inquiry into the blaze found that victims, bereaved and survivors were “badly failed”, according to a report released in September, with the building “turned into a death trap”.

Architects, companies involving in the disastrous refubishment, and the local council in Kensington and Chelsea were all held to blame in the conclusion of the public inquiry. Police and prosecutors said last May that investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry and will file any potential criminal charges the end of 2026. The near wait for justice has been described by families as “unbearable”.