You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Grenfell Inquiry day 67: gaps in cladding ‘fixed with duct tape’
Gaps in the cladding on Grenfell Tower were covered up with duct tape, the public inquiry heard today.
Key points:
- Gaps between cladding and windows on Grenfell Tower had been covered with black duct tape, resident tells inquiry
- She says fitting of insulation and cladding was “very badly done”
- Resident escaped from seventh floor at 1.27am, still able to see through smoke on stairwell and walk slowly out of tower
Elizabeth Sobiesczak, a resident of Grenfell Tower for 32 years, gave evidence to the inquiry into the deadly fire at the building last June.
She lived in flat 43 on the seventh floor, with her husband Michael and daughter Florentyna.
In her written evidence to the inquiry, she described the tower as “a great place to live”.
But she was critical of refurbishment works to the tower carried out by Rydon in 2016, particularly concerning her kitchen windows.
READ MORE
She said: “I had no idea what they were doing and I wasn’t very happy with the work that they did.
“When I saw the end result the window looked nice and pretty but when they were putting on the insulation and cladding I could see that it was very badly done.
“There were gaps everywhere but they just covered up the bad workmanship. Everything was plastic. You could put your put your finger inside the gaps between the cladding, even after they had finished, especially at the corners.
“By the kitchen window there was an even bigger gap and they simply covered it with black duct tape.”
She told the inquiry today that workers had travelled up outside the tower “just masking whenever it had to be done” – but added she did not see anyone applying the tape.
However, she insisted the duct tape was still in place on the night of the fire.
Ms Sobiesczak said that “nobody” explained why the gaps were being fixed in this way and indicated that she did not bother complaining because Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was “ignoring us and whatever work should be done, it was taking ages after reporting”.
She also said there were “visible gaps” in the windows in her flat post-refurbishment, but that some of these were later fixed.
On the night of the fire, Ms Sobiesczak said she heard the tower’s smoke ventilation system soon after 12.30am, at around the same time she first heard the fire brigade outside the building. She said this was the “large ventilation system downstairs on the ground floor” outside the tower.
The family decided to leave the tower after her daughter visited their neighbour, named as Betty, in flat 41, and said it was “full of smoke”.
They escaped by 1.27am. Ms Sobiesczak described walking down the tower’s stairs calmly while still able to see clearly through the smoke.
However, she said that a “chemical smell” choked her, meaning she had to cover her mouth.
She said that upon exiting the tower through its side door, she “realised that there were balls of fire and burning material falling off the side of the building directly above and into the path that I took from the door”.
And she said that outside the tower, firefighters’ hoses were already unable to reach the flames by the time she left.
“It was clear they couldn’t control the fire,” she added.
She described the family watching with “horror” as the “fire spread very quickly to the top of the building”.
“We were just numb and I was utterly terrified and shocked about what was happening.”
Finishing her evidence, she said in her time living at Grenfell there were never any fire drills or meetings on what to do in a fire and that residents “were always ignored”.
The inquiry also published 21 other written witness statements today.
The hearing continues.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Closing statements
Day 85: victims' lawyers attack the fire brigade
Further expert evidence
Including some additional evidence from emergency call handlers, bereaved and relatives
Day 84: further evidence from survivors and relatives
Day 83: swift evacuation of tower possible if residents alerted
Day 82: initial fire was extinguished but then returned to the flat
Day 81: overheating fridge-freezer most likely cause of fire
Day 80: fire doors installed did not match product tested
Day 79: resident advised to stay put despite fire in flat
Day 78: insulation and cladding material below required standard
Day 77: molten plastic spread blaze down tower
Day 76: 'stay put' should be dropped when fire spreads across floors
Other witness evidence
Police, ambulance, gas suppliers, council, TMO and call room operators give evidence
Day 75: call room operators give evidence
Day 74: further evidence from TMO officers
Day 73: TMO boss failed to pass information to firefighters
Day 72: fire finally extinguished when gas switched off
Day 71: further questions over stay put advice
Day 70: the police evidence
The bereaved, survivors and relatives’ evidence
Day 69: video shows smoke billowing through fire door
Day 68: KCTMO removed self closing mechanism and never replaced it
Day 67: gaps in cladding fixed with duct tape
Day 66: 'don't fix broken system with a sticking plaster'
Day 65: survivor dragged disabled man down nine floors to safety
Day 64: KCTMO 'did not replace broken fire door'
Day 63: foam insulation inside cladding 'exposed' says survivor
Day 62: father gives harrowing account of son's death
Day 61: council’s management organisation slammed for faulty electrics
Day 60: stay put advice ‘led to deaths’, residents say
Day 59: residents describe problems with new windows
Day 58: survivor describes how daughter saved his life
Day 57: firefighter evidence ‘a slap in the face’, says survivor
Day 56: relations with contractor were ‘toxic’
Day 55: resident 'never happy' with stay-put advice
Day 54: tenant gives evidence about housing association
Day 53: stay put advice 'felt like trap'
Day 52: resident saved by son's phone call
The firefighters’ evidence
Day 51: firefighter feared encouraging residents to jump
Day 50: the LFB commissioner
Day 49: fire chief reveals frustration over lack of building plans
Day 48: internal fire spread 'bigger story' than cladding
Day 47: fire officer considered evacuating crews over building collapse fears
Day 46: 'we were improvising' senior firefighter admits
Day 45: firefighter urged for abandonment of 'stay put' policy
Day 44: firefighter recalls radio signal difficulties
Day 43: call hander 'uncomfortable' with insisting residents stay put
Day 42: residents only told to leave if they called fire brigade back
Day 41: breathing equipment delay 'hampered rescues on upper floors'
Day 40: chiefs told firefighters to abandon policy
Day 39: firefighters reveal dramatic rescue of children
Day 38: firefighters issue aplogies to families
Day 37: council 'unable to provide tower plans'
Day 36: QC defends inquiry process
Day 35: Javid would welcome interim recommendations
Day 34: water from hose 'too weak' to reach the flames
Day 33: 'oh my god, we've been telling people to stay put'
Day 32: further fire fighter describes lack of equipment and low water pressure
Day 31: 'incredibly difficult' task of recording information outlined
Day 30: struggle to maintain control over rescue operation described
Day 29: fire service 'overwhelmed' by survival guidance calls
Day 28: 'the building beat us'
Day 27: firefighters 'forced to abandon plans to reach roof'
Day 26: poor signage hindered rescue efforts
Day 25: water pressure left firefighting equipment 'like garden hose'
Day 24: decision to abandon 'stay put' explored
Day 23: TV images 'could have assissted' rescue effort
Day 22: description of hectic scenes in the control centre
Day 21: account from the fire service 'nerve centre'
Day 20: firefighter describes 'huge volume' of calls from trapped residents
Day 19: firefighter 'given no training on cladding fires'
Day 18: evacuation would have been 'huge catastrophe'
Day 17: firefighters describe access and lift issues
Day 16: scenes of carnage likened to 9/11
Day 15: firefighters recount trauma of survival guidance calls
Day 14: firefighters describe spread of blaze
Day 13: firefighters recall radio difficulties
Day 12: "it was like a war zone"
Day 11: questions raised over fire fighters' radios
Day 10: watch manager emotional under questioning
Day nine: lead firefighter 'not trained in stay put policy'
The expert reports: authors give evidence to inquiry
Day eight: where the fire started
Day seven: what was in the cladding?
Day six: the cause and spread of the fire
Day five: expert highlights key issues
Day four: firefighters defend response to fire
Day three: council and contractors appear for the first time
Day two: lawyers for the survivors make their case
Day one: expert evidence released on cladding and stay put
The commemoration hearings
30 May: Grenfell Council 'recognised it should not house disabled victim above four storeys'
29 May: Anger on day six of the Grenfell Inquiry
25 May: Grenfell families 'forced to live in chimney with stay put policy'
24 May: Grenfell family complained about father being housed on 17th floor
23 May: Tributes to children on third day of Grenfell hearings
22 May: Emotions run high as Grenfell bereaved shown footage of the tower burning
21 May: Grenfell victims share tributes as inquiry opens
