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195 Aftermath of the fire: The Rest Centres

β€œ2017 was a watershed year for emergencies in the UK”

This week, the Inquiry continued to investigate the events immediately after the fire by digging deeper into what happened at local rest centres which were opened to support survivors. An official who volunteered to help with the relief effort described the scene at the largest centre as a shambles, with chaotic scenes, an intimidating armed police presence and a lack of organisation. The authorities tried to send some residents from the walkway flats next to the tower back to their homes, despite them having broken front doors and lacking gas or communal heating. And we heard that at the time of the Grenfell disaster that tower block fires were not included in the official London Risk Register – even though it did mention wildfires and moorland fires.

Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producers: Sharon Hemans and Kristiina Cooper
Researcher: Marcia Veiga
Sound Engineer: Gareth Jones
Editor: Hugh Levinson

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33 minutes

Podcast