A fire starting in a fourth-floor kitchen spread up the exterior of the 24-storey tower through recently installed aluminium composite cladding with a polyethylene core, bypassing the building's internal compartmentation.
Seventy-two people died. Residents were initially advised to stay in their flats under a "stay put" policy that assumed compartmentation would hold. Residents had raised fire safety concerns for years before the fire.
The public inquiry produced damning findings about product testing, regulatory failure and industry conduct, and triggered a national cladding remediation programme affecting thousands of buildings.
Why this event still matters
Historical incidents shape the rules that protect people today — building codes, evacuation policy, warning systems and inspection regimes almost always trace back to a specific disaster. Studying Grenfell Tower Fire alongside current events is how preparedness improves.
See what is happening right now on the live world incident map, browse every fires we track on the Fire tracker, or follow live incidents in United Kingdom.