A SENIOR fire engineer did not think overcladding Grenfell Tower would pose any “particular issues or problems” for fire safety during early discussions about refurbishing the tower block, the inquiry into the disaster has heard.
Clare Barker, the former principal fire engineer at Exova, did not raise the need for any proposed cladding system to have a separate fire safety assessment during a meeting in July 2012, the inquiry heard yesterday, its first sitting since mid-March after being paused by the pandemic.
An early fee proposal by Exova for a fire assessment of Grenfell Tower in 2012 also assumed a “detailed appraisal” of the building’s fire compartmentation was unnecessary because it was a “concrete building”.
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The inquiry’s chief lawyer, Richard Millett QC, asked Barker: “Given that you knew Grenfell Tower would be overclad, although not the details, did you raise the need to carry out a fire assessment specifically in relation to the proposed cladding system as the proposal then stood?”
She replied: “No.”
Survivors and those bereaved by the blaze have criticised the inquiry for restricting attendanceat hearings.
Nabil Choucair, who lost six relatives in the tragedy, said: “We should be allowed to see their faces.”
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