Subcontracting Raises Concerns After Fatal London Fire

With deaths so far at nearly 60, say police, UK experts speculate on underlying causes of the Grenfell Tower blaze

Exterior section of Grenfell Tower as the West London building continued to smoulder June 15. Express Newspapers via AP Images

A long chain of companies was responsible for refurbishing Grenfell Tower, the Guardian newspaper reports, raising concerns among architectural and fire safety experts about the quality of oversight and accountability.

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Firefighters battle the blaze at Grenfell Tower. Photo: Rex Features via AP Images

Grenfell Tower is also absent from the websites of several companies involved, many of which list the other projects they have worked on as case studies intended to demonstrate excellence.

The work last year included re-cladding the building with material that commentators, including Building Design Editor Thomas Lane, allege could have been a factor in the fire’s rapid spread.

Two firms involved in the building's upgrade say they are cooperating with investigators, according to British construction publication UK Building.

Among the dead in the tragedy, whih police say now number close to 60, is 23-year-old refugee Mohammed al-Haj Ali who had been studying civil engineering at a London university.

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