Grenfell firefighter training scheduled for days before disaster cancelled, inquiry told

Planned drill did not go ahead due to timetabling issues, says watch manager Dean Ricketts

A high-rise training exercise for firefighters was scheduled to take place at Grenfell Tower just days before the building was engulfed in flames, but it was cancelled due to a timetabling clash, a public inquiry has heard.

Dean Ricketts, a watch manager at North Kensington fire station, suggested the tower block was suitable for the drill due to the “complexities of the basement”, which he discovered while on a visit to the high-rise in March 2017, he told the probe.

The exercise was planned for June 8 2017, less than a week before the fire that killed 72 people, but was postponed when it emerged it coincided with another drill due to take place at Wormwood Scrubs prison.

Asked why the prison exercise took precedence over the high-rise operation, Mr Ricketts replied: “You will have to ask the station manager who cancelled the exercise.”

Mr Ricketts discovered a number of hazards at the ill-fated tower block during his March 2017 visit, which was intended gather basic information for the brigade’s operational risk data base (ORD), on which a tactical plan is based.

A large number of residents leaving and entering the building at the time of the visit meant he and his crew were unable to test the controls of the fireman’s lifts within the building, he said.

Firefighters responding to Grenfell Tower have previously told the public inquiry they failed to gain control of the lifts on the night of the blaze, which endangered their lives and those of the public, since they had no control over which floor the elevators would open.

Mr Ricketts said he was unable to locate an information box during the visit. The box was supposed to contain information useful to the brigade in an emergency, including plans to the floors, evacuation strategies and procedures.

He was also surprised that there was a dry riser system – which requires firefighters to pump water from through a pipe running up the building – given the extensive renovations recently carried out on the building.

Firefighters have said their response to the blaze would have been quicker had Grenfell Tower had a pressurised wet fire main, which is already filled with water.

As a result of the visit, Mr Ricketts noted on the ORD the absence of the premises information box within the lobby, and concerns about restricted access to emergency vehicles in the immediate area around the tower.

He agreed the contents of a previous risk assessment that highlighted Grenfell Tower’s “non ambulant, visually or hearing impaired and non English speaking occupants” and “hidden voids which may aid fire spread”.

Mr Ricketts reported having “absolutely no communication problems” during the visit, but admitted he did not venture up the tower to test the radios.

He did not ask about the building materials used as part of the refurbishment, saying it was important to have faith in the building controls process.

The public inquiry at Holborn Bars in central London, will begin hearing evidence from those who survived the fire and were bereaved by it on Wednesday.

Press Association contributed to this report