The Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) criticized the survey of London firefighters about the Grenfell Tower fire over a year ago. In an open letter to the head of the London fire brigade, Dany Cotton, the firefighters also declare their solidarity with their British colleagues. 72 people were killed in the fire disaster.
It is clear from the publicly available documents that the building construction regulations were largely not met. “As an example, we see that the fire was able to spread over the height of the facade from the source of the fire to the roof (approx. 50 m) in just 20 minutes,” says the letter signed by vfdb President Dirk Aschenbrenner and Vice President Anja Hofmann-Böllinghaus. “We believe it is essential to take the facts into account, particularly in the current phase 1 of the public inquiry.”
Questioning of London firefighters
vfdb sees the questioning of London firefighters in the public inquiry with increasing irritation
The London Fire Brigade began extinguishing the fire inside and outside immediately after arriving at the scene. Rescue operations also began at the same time. “All of this must be seen in view of the improperly functioning ventilation system in the lobbies and the one internal stairwell as well as the extremely rapid spread of the fire with the rapid smoke filling of the stairwell,” the German fire officials point out. The vfdb therefore sees the questioning of London firefighters in the public inquiry with increasing irritation.
“We understand the desire for complete clarification of the background and events on the night of the fire. In our view, this should not distract from the actual problem of the extensive disregard of the Grenfell Tower building regulations,” emphasizes the vfdb. “We consider speculation about the actions of the London Fire Brigade to be inappropriate.”
London Fire Brigade's overall operations
Only recently, an official from the London Fire Brigade's overall operations management used pictures and graphics to describe the course of the disaster and the difficult operating conditions at the annual meeting of the vfdb in Duisburg.
At that time, 200 firefighters were involved in the operation, which lasted a total of 13 days and, according to experts, the police and legal work will take many more months. “We have learned about the facts and challenges and are convinced that lessons can be learned from this fire in Germany too,” said the vfdb.