Expert Witness Presentations (20 June 2018 Pt 2 of 2)

Full transcript

00:00:01 yes mr. chairman I just ought to repeat if I if I can the trigger warning that thus afternoon's presentation from Professor Bisbee will contain a large

00:00:12 Professor Bisbee will contain a large number of images and videos depicting the external flame spread on the night of the fire and that will include the playing of his composite flame spread video which I played in my opening and

00:00:24 video which I played in my opening and detailed consideration of that and other flame spread material which shows the tower burning and on fire some of the videos include audio of people who

00:00:35 videos include audio of people who witnessed the fire and it shows some of their distress that the events as they unfolded and it will also contain a number of images of the burnt-out tower after the fire and the playing of the first nine nine nine called by mr. Kirby

00:00:47 first nine nine nine called by mr. Kirby day so I just repeat that warning yeah thank you very much Thank You professor yes when you're ready thank you thanks very much

00:00:58 ready thank you thanks very much during this third part of my presentation I will describe in general terms the spread of fire to and over the cladding that Grenville tower I will

00:01:10 cladding that Grenville tower I will begin by providing an overview of the fires or the developments since this is relevant to the question of how the fire spread from within the kitchen of flat 16 out and into or onto the cladding I will then describe the external fire

00:01:22 will then describe the external fire spread over the tower breaking this down into upward fire spreads downward fire spread and horizontal or lateral fire spread in that order for reasons that again I hope will become clear during

00:01:33 again I hope will become clear during the course of the inquiry I will make extensive use of photos and video footage that was provided by members of the public via the Metropolitan Police Service uploads website much of this

00:01:44 Service uploads website much of this information has proved critical in understanding the events of 14th June of 2017 as I've reviewed the evidence I've considered a number of hypotheses for the roots of fire spread from the

00:01:56 the roots of fire spread from the compartment of origin on to the external cladding the fire spread over the cladding and ingress of the fire and smoke back into the building these specific hypotheses are described in

00:02:08 specific hypotheses are described in detail in my phase 1 report and I understand that I'll have an opportunity to elaborate on these later this year based on the available evidence I've determined that the

00:02:19 evidence I've determined that the overall timeline for the progression of the fire - and over the cladding was as follows

00:02:26 follows the fire was first reported at 12:54 a.m. on the 14th of June 2017 with in the kitchen of flat 16 on level 4 of Grenville tower over the course of the

00:02:40 Grenville tower over the course of the subsequent 15 minutes or so the fire burned within the kitchen of flat 16 the fire was observed to spread to the cladding by about 109 a.m. the fire then

00:02:51 cladding by about 109 a.m. the fire then spread vertically upwards on the east face of Greenville tower breaking into breaking into flats on the floors above flat 16 as it spread it took approximately 20 minutes for the fire to

00:03:02 approximately 20 minutes for the fire to spread from level 4 to the roof why about 1:29 a.m. the fire had reached the top of the east face the vertical fire spread started slowly and accelerated as

00:03:14 spread started slowly and accelerated as the fire grew in size the fire then spread northwards on the east face and at approximately 1:30 6:00 a.m. spread horizontally onto the North Face this

00:03:28 horizontally onto the North Face this horizontal spread occurred first at the top of the tower the fire also spreads southwards on the east face again leading at the top of the tower at approximately 2:25 a.m. the fire spread

00:03:41 approximately 2:25 a.m. the fire spread from the east face to the south face again leading at the top of the building horizontal fire spread was coincident with horizontal fire spread was coincident with downward fire spread

00:03:53 coincident with downward fire spread causing a larger area of the cladding to become involved in the fire the fire spread from the north face to the west face at approximately 249 a.m. and the

00:04:04 face at approximately 249 a.m. and the cladding at the southwest corner was the last part to become involved in the fire at about 409 a.m. the fire approached this part of the building from both directions it took approximately three

00:04:18 directions it took approximately three hours and four minutes for the fire to spread around the full perimeter of the they note that here I'm referring to the spread at the top of the building by which I mean at the location of the architectural crown after this time the

00:04:32 architectural crown after this time the fire spread the fire continued to spread downwards to ingress into the building and to burn within the building for many more hours sir you asked me to report

00:04:47 more hours sir you asked me to report specifically on the spread to the cladding from within the flat of origin I've therefore reviewed the evidence associated with the early fire spread within the compartment of origin much of

00:05:00 within the compartment of origin much of this was presented yesterday by Professor Nick day and given that I agree broadly with Professor Nick dates findings I will only discuss this issue briefly here today my phase 1 report

00:05:11 briefly here today my phase 1 report provides a detailed description of the evidence of fire spread within the compartments of origin this includes witness statements a 999 call transcript interview transcripts video evidence for

00:05:22 interview transcripts video evidence for mr. cavaties phone witness statements from the for firefighters who initially entered flat 16 thermal imaging camera or TI see footage from within flat 16 fire scene photos and photos from my own

00:05:36 fire scene photos and photos from my own post fire investigations at Grenfell tower there are several item items of evidence to which I'd like to draw your attention as I believe they're particularly relevant in understanding the fire spread from the kitchen of flat

00:05:48 the fire spread from the kitchen of flat 16 to the cladding first the initial 999 call that was made by mr. Kabaddi the occupants of flat 16 who first discovered smoke within his kitchen the

00:06:02 discovered smoke within his kitchen the call was made at 12:54 29 during this recording which I have interpreted that at 52 seconds and at 55 seconds into the

00:06:15 at 52 seconds and at 55 seconds into the audio file the occupant states that the fire is by the fridge side I will play this call in full in a few minutes when I replay my composite flame spread video that was shown by mr. millet during his

00:06:27 that was shown by mr. millet during his opening remarks two weeks ago but I wanted to raise that point here second subsequent interviews with mr. cab ad he makes comments about the location of the

00:06:39 makes comments about the location of the smoke that he has observed an extract from one of these interview transcripts is shown here mr. curb ad says I could see a light colored smoke in the area next to the

00:06:51 colored smoke in the area next to the fridge freezer and window it was in the general area there I cannot be more specific about exactly where it was coming from the interviewer asks so where was the smoke in your kitchen

00:07:02 where was the smoke in your kitchen whereabouts would you say the smoke was if you could say one point that the smoke was originated and mr. Khomeini replies the smoke is behind the fridge and the window side this overall

00:07:13 and the window side this overall description of events has since been corroborated by additional interviews and witness statements for mr. Kapadia third a segment of video footage recorded by mr. cab ad on his phone from

00:07:25 recorded by mr. cab ad on his phone from outside the building this video was captured beginning at 1:05 a.m. or about 11 minutes after the beginning of the initial 999 call I will now play this

00:07:38 initial 999 call I will now play this video

00:07:47 [Applause]

00:07:56 [Music]

00:08:08 [Music] I've interpreted from this video that flames initially appeared predominantly visible at the left hand side of the window when observed from outside the building the window infill panel and

00:08:20 building the window infill panel and mounting of the extract fan unit appears to be missing or burning the extract fan unit appears to be absent with flames passing through or around the infill panel mounting board and out of the

00:08:31 panel mounting board and out of the small window opening smoke is visible outside the compartments and the glazed windowpane beneath the extract fan appears to be open or absent finally I'd

00:08:46 appears to be open or absent finally I'd like to draw your attention to the thermal-imaging camera footage taken by the London Fire Brigade at the start of their intervention into the kitchen of flat 16 professor Nick Dade also showed

00:08:58 flat 16 professor Nick Dade also showed this video yesterday before doing so I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that this is the first that this first intervention by the London Fire Brigade occurs at oh one fourteen twelve at

00:09:11 occurs at oh one fourteen twelve at least five minutes after what I consider to be the first clear evidence of fire having spread to the external cladding as I'll describe in more detail in a few minutes the video was captured when the

00:09:23 minutes the video was captured when the firefighters were in the corridor directly outside the kitchen door the video shows footage captured by the thermal-imaging camera when the firefighters briefly opened the kitchen door of flat 16 and we will see that

00:09:36 door of flat 16 and we will see that heat is visible at the far end of the kitchen when viewed from the kitchen entrance doorway in the latter part of the clip a jet of water can be seen that is sprayed by the firefighters in the

00:09:51 is sprayed by the firefighters in the clip that I'll show in a moment the location of the firefighters who are holding the thermal imaging camera is shown here on a floor plan of flat 16 this location is represented by a red

00:10:02 this location is represented by a red circle and their line of sight is approximately indicated by the red arrow pointing into the kitchen the firefighters are low down in this location and looking up and into the

00:10:14 location and looking up and into the kitchen the red shaded area is the region where the fire is considered most likely to have originated as we heard yesterday

00:10:23 yesterday I'll now play a short clip from the thermal-imaging camera and please note as was mentioned yesterday that the timestamps on this original footage are incorrect I have included a corrected

00:10:34 incorrect I have included a corrected timer below the video in this clip and i will play the clip twice

00:10:57 I'm not there to clip a second time

00:11:16 I've extracted a frame from this video on the left of this slide and provided my interpretation of this image on the right of this slide below the images I've provided a schematic layout of the

00:11:28 I've provided a schematic layout of the kitchen of flat 16 at the time of the fire it's my interpretation that the heat which is indicated by the yellow

00:11:40 heat which is indicated by the yellow region in these images is primarily between the fridge freezer and the kitchen window however it's not possible to be more precise than this on the basis of the thermal-imaging camera

00:11:51 basis of the thermal-imaging camera footage in summary these four items that I've just brought to your attention lead me to agree broadly with the evidence of the initial fire presented yesterday by

00:12:02 the initial fire presented yesterday by Professor Nick day I won't speak anymore about that particular issue today

00:12:11 I'll now move on to present evidence concerning the spread of fire from within the kitchen of flat 16 out and on to or into the cladding to consider the

00:12:22 to or into the cladding to consider the evidence regarding fire spread to the cladding onions have briefly revisit the geometry of the kitchen window and its window ceramic this is a picture of the

00:12:33 window ceramic this is a picture of the kitchen window of flat 13 also on the fourth floor at Granville Tower and having essentially the same layout as flat 16 most of the relevant components of the window were visible in this image although it should be noted that the

00:12:46 although it should be noted that the uPVC windows boards have been removed in this photo this was done as part of the forensic deconstruction of flat 13 parts of which I attended after the fire in

00:12:58 of which I attended after the fire in this photo we can get a clear view of the configuration of the kitchen window from the inside of the building and the possible roots of fire spread from inside to the outside these could include through an open or broken window

00:13:12 include through an open or broken window through the extract fan or the infill panel in which the extract fan is mounted or through any gaps or openings that might have formed around the window as a consequence of heating because the

00:13:25 as a consequence of heating because the uPVC windows have been removed in this view we can see that a gap exists between the edge of the refurbishment window frame and the pre-existing opening of the reinforced concrete facade of the building which I've

00:13:37 facade of the building which I've previously mentioned today this is visible immediately to the right of the window frame we can also see that this gap has been bridged as I've already mentioned using a layer of EPDM rubber

00:13:51 mentioned using a layer of EPDM rubber weatherproofing membrane which is the black substance filling the gap as discussed previously behind this EPDM we would find the back of the cladding cavity which contains both PIR foam

00:14:04 cavity which contains both PIR foam insulation and exposed edges of polyethylene on the backside of the ACM rain stream kiss ring screen cassettes again as I've already discussed

00:14:15 I'd also like to quickly revisit the drawing that I showed earlier of the various materials that were present around the window to make sure that the configuration of materials around the window is clear in the present discussion working my way from the

00:14:28 discussion working my way from the inside of the building out which simulates the route the fire would have taken had it entered the cladding via this route we find first uPVC windows

00:14:39 this route we find first uPVC windows boards which has already discussed are comparatively compared ibly resistant to ignition and flame spread as compared with other polymers but which lose essentially all of their mechanical strength and stiffness at temperatures

00:14:51 strength and stiffness at temperatures well below 105 degrees Celsius next possibly a piece of 25 millimeter thick foil faced PIR foam insulation this is a combustible thermosetting polymer as

00:15:03 combustible thermosetting polymer as I've already mentioned that chars on burning but can rapidly ignite and spread flame when not protected by a foil facing then a one millimeter thick layer of combustible EPDM rubber

00:15:15 layer of combustible EPDM rubber weatherproofing membrane which can be assumed to offer very little risk very little resistance against attack from fire then the edge of a piece of PIR

00:15:27 fire then the edge of a piece of PIR foam insulation on the adjacent column and it is likely based on my post fire investigations of the cladding at Grenfell tower that the PIR installations protective foil facing

00:15:38 installations protective foil facing would not have been present at this location due to the way the boards are cut and finally the back of the Rena bond piece PE ACM rain screen cassette

00:15:49 bond piece PE ACM rain screen cassette which as I noted earlier would present a number of exposed surfaces of highly combustible polyethylene along cut edges and folding lines in relation to spread

00:16:00 and folding lines in relation to spread of fire to the cladding I will draw on several additional items of evidence these include video taken from outside rental Tower during the early stages of the fire and thermal imaging camera

00:16:12 the fire and thermal imaging camera video captured by the firefighters during their intervention within flat 16 in a moment I will play a video that was captured outside Grenfell tower at about

00:16:23 captured outside Grenfell tower at about 109 a.m. during this video you will see falling debris for the lower left corner of the kitchen window a flat 16 I've concluded that

00:16:35 window a flat 16 I've concluded that this falling debris is likely to be polyethylene originating from within the ACM rain screen cassettes consequently this video is the earliest evidence of which I'm currently aware that shows

00:16:47 which I'm currently aware that shows that the fire has spread to the cladding I'll now play the video

00:16:57 [Music]

00:17:12 also significant in this video is that the earliest evidence of burning polyethylene appears to be associated with the left-hand side of the kitchen window a flat 16 when viewed from

00:17:23 window a flat 16 when viewed from outside the building this is where the potential pathway described in the previous slide would cause fire and hot gases to impinge on the back of the ACM

00:17:34 gases to impinge on the back of the ACM rain screen cassettes and also likely an exposed edge of PIR insulation board I'll now play a video captured by the firefighters using thermal imaging

00:17:45 firefighters using thermal imaging cameras within flat 16 this video begins at oh one 15 28 and shows the firefighters opening the kitchen door again from the hallway with in flat 16

00:17:56 again from the hallway with in flat 16 and pulsing a spray of water into the kitchen

00:18:14 again I've extracted stills from before and after the water was applied in the left-hand image the thermal-imaging camera footage shows heat across a wide area of wall and ceiling both above and

00:18:27 area of wall and ceiling both above and behind the fridge freezer in the subsequent right hand image immediately following application of water by the firefighters the heat is more localized to the area around the window I've

00:18:41 to the area around the window I've annotated these images with my interpretation in this next slide the significance of these images is that they indicate that the area around the window was very hot when other parts of

00:18:54 window was very hot when other parts of the kitchen were not I've interpreted from this image that there was burning in the window surround and possibly the back of the cladding cavity that was visible to the thermal-imaging camera

00:19:05 visible to the thermal-imaging camera from a position in the kitchen entrance I've provided more detail about this sequence within my phase 1 report there is this considerable evidence to indicate that the fire had spread to the

00:19:17 indicate that the fire had spread to the external cladding wide by about 109 a.m. if not slightly earlier the precise mechanism by which this occurred however cannot currently be stated and this is a

00:19:28 cannot currently be stated and this is a topic of ongoing investigation experimentation and analysis

00:19:36 [Music] I now like to walk you slowly through the preliminary evidence of fire spreads and to highlight some observations that I consider particularly noteworthy

00:19:48 I consider particularly noteworthy however before I begin this portion of my presentation I'd like to note regulation B 4 of the UK Building Regulations 2010 we heard this also on

00:19:59 Regulations 2010 we heard this also on Monday whilst providing expert opinions on the compliance of various aspects of Grenville tower is not strictly within my scope of work for phase 1 I believe that it's both important and useful to

00:20:11 that it's both important and useful to begin my presentation of fire spread evidence by reminding you the statutory obligations of designers as regards external fire spread on buildings

00:20:21 regulation B for the UK Building Regulations 2010 sentence 1 states that the external walls of the building shall adequately resist the spread of fire over the walls and from one building to

00:20:34 over the walls and from one building to another having regard to the height use and position of the building this functional objective clearly was not achieved at grenfell tower furthermore

00:20:47 achieved at grenfell tower furthermore when the fire did spread vertically none of the other fire safety design features of the building all of which were described by dr. Lane on Monday could be expected to function as intended two

00:20:59 expected to function as intended two main questions have therefore influenced my approach to studying the fire spread at Greenville tower first why did this happen by which I mean can we develop a

00:21:10 happen by which I mean can we develop a physical understanding of the fire spread mechanisms and factors influencing these both on Greenville tower and potentially on a significant number of other buildings in the UK

00:21:21 number of other buildings in the UK irrespective of any assessment of the regulatory compliance of the materials products and systems used in the cladding I will begin to address this question in my presentation today and

00:21:33 question in my presentation today and second how did this happen by which I mean how is it this particular combination of materials products and systems were installed on Greenville tower and how is it that this seemed

00:21:44 tower and how is it that this seemed that similar combinations of materials appear to have been installed on a large number of other buildings in the UK I will not address this question today with these questions in mind I'll now

00:21:56 with these questions in mind I'll now proceed to present my preliminary fire spread evidence I'll present this evidence in three sections upward fire spread from flat 16 downward fire spread

00:22:07 spread from flat 16 downward fire spread on all four phases of the building and horizontal fire spread around the building

00:22:13 building I will begin with upward fire spread from flat 16 the upward vertical spread of fire from flat 16 is evidenced in my

00:22:25 of fire from flat 16 is evidenced in my phase 1 report using 25 videos that I've assembled into a single sequence these have been analyzed to identify the sequence in which they occurred where there is overlap between the videos I've

00:22:37 there is overlap between the videos I've identified this based on matched background audio or matched visual content the Metropolitan Police Service have also provided timestamps for some of these videos sir with your permission

00:22:50 of these videos sir with your permission I'd like to play this video sequence with audio that shows the vertical fire spread from flat 16 and this is the same video that was shown by mr. millet during his opening remarks at the

00:23:02 during his opening remarks at the beginning of the evidential hearings I will play the whole video uninterrupted and I will then spend some time discussing specific sections in much more detail

00:23:37 fabricate your hello - the first let's ping graffito sorry as fire we're through the flood 16 going to torrential

00:23:49 through the flood 16 going to torrential toll flat 16 and what's the pulse hold the W live in one city w11 one - yeah kind of quick please yeah would you just

00:24:00 would you just I have to get the address okay cleanse flat 16 blinking w11 1 PG the fabricator on my way are you have your height yeah yeah come on set yeah well the five inches are on their

00:24:12 yeah well the five inches are on their way just tell me how many floors you got there it's resourceful right quick quick quick quick yes I know it's burning but they are on

00:24:23 yes I know it's burning but they are on their way

00:24:23 their way you've only just a cold as long as you're okay yeah okay yeah a phobia - those the three stairs off your clothes honey - yes you wait

00:24:34 off your clothes honey - yes you wait outside

00:24:35 outside yeah I'm also a motel says okay so the fire engines are on the way they will be there soon okay okay you've only just called us so it will take a minute for

00:24:47 called us so it will take a minute for them to get it yes yes yes okay

00:24:53 can I let you go what is let's go journalist is the sedition what's in the city can I make you go you are outside

00:25:09 city can I make you go you are outside yeah yeah I'm gonna say right okay bye

00:25:18 but

00:25:32 [Music]

00:25:45 [Music]

00:25:56 [Music]

00:26:13 Seifer gates the house guys go make fires kids parents keep kids away

00:26:21 away yeah five a game

00:26:29 [Applause]

00:27:44 dun Dada - yeah

00:27:53 [Applause]

00:28:02 going up you build is coming up said before what will be huh

00:28:07 that's going baby

00:28:12 Oh

00:28:16 [Music]

00:28:28 [Music] Tarkin I'm not going [Music]

00:28:47 [Music]

00:29:01 [Music] [Applause]

00:29:16 someone come

00:29:21 that was you

00:29:24 [ __ ] skin back push my order you know spin with the spoke there on one floor that's in my yard that's my yard is in my own but there is

00:29:41 that's my yard is in my own but there is only one come up

00:29:50 time out in it

00:29:54 I'm thought banana terracotta Parker [Music]

00:30:13 a grand Pooh tawa and I talked on the morning

00:30:18 morning [ __ ] you know file and ass getting bigger and bigger people gonna die and I'm still

00:30:40 okay [Music]

00:30:43 [Music] I told you

00:30:46 Oh [Music]

00:30:55 [Music] people still there because buddy

00:31:13 Manji that [ __ ]

00:31:33 Wow

00:31:39 wouldn't you work nothing

00:31:54 look at that people huh

00:32:14 yes Galgo

00:32:21 Wow

00:32:33 there's no longer it's gonna write on the top of that building in it yeah

00:32:45 by then

00:32:48 my father [Music]

00:32:57 [Applause]

00:34:09 Oh

00:34:19 [Music] [Applause]

00:34:32 [Music]

00:34:43 it's gone éand wasted [Music]

00:35:41 [Music]

00:35:54 [Music]

00:36:03 I'm innocent lives in there

00:36:15 from this video

00:36:18 I've extracted a number of short clips that I'd now like to play and discuss I've removed the audio from these clips and in some cases processed and stabilized the video to allow close-up

00:36:30 stabilized the video to allow close-up views of aspects to which I would like to draw your attention I will play each video on a loop and I will describe what I've observed in the video while the loop is repeating the first clip was

00:36:47 loop is repeating the first clip was captured at 108 a.m. and shows the window of the kitchen window a flat 16 from the outside of the building from this short clip I observed that flames

00:37:00 this short clip I observed that flames appear flames initially appear visible more to the left of the window the extract fan appears to be absent from the window infill panel at the top left of the kitchen window the window infill

00:37:12 of the kitchen window the window infill panel and mounting of the extract fan unit appear to be burning smoke is visible outside the compartment and the window pane below the extract fan unit appears to be absent or alternatively

00:37:24 appears to be absent or alternatively opened almost fully inwards I also observed that a small amount of burning material is falling from the region around the window opening

00:37:39 a second clip was captured at 1:09 a.m. and is part of the same clip that i previously played when discussing the route of fire spread to the cladding from this clip I observed that flames

00:37:53 from this clip I observed that flames appear more intense than in the previous video only one minute earlier suggesting that the fire has grown further during the elapsed time from the previous video the more intense flames are observed to

00:38:05 the more intense flames are observed to extend further out of the window and a regular flow of burning material is falling from the window the material flows from the corner where the window meets the column line a third clip was

00:38:22 meets the column line a third clip was captured at 1/12 a.m. and shows the fire from a different vantage point the fire now appears to be more intense than in the previous images however due to the

00:38:33 the previous images however due to the exposure of the image it is not possible to precisely determine the origin of the flames by this I mean whether they originate from the cladding or from within the compartment itself

00:38:44 within the compartment itself immediately below the window opening there appears to be burning material on the surface of the ACM cladding burning material is falling from the

00:38:55 burning material is falling from the window opening and some of it is burning some of the burning material is present on the ground please note that there is also some water on the ground in the

00:39:06 also some water on the ground in the bottom left-hand corner of this clip there again note the time of this clip at approximately 112 am

00:39:21 a fourth clip is a combination of three overlapping clips all from slightly different vantage points and captured at about 1:15 a.m. from this clip I observe

00:39:34 about 1:15 a.m. from this clip I observe that the upper tip of the external flaming is approximately between level 6 and 7 a large amount of burning material is now falling from the area of the fire and the smoke from the fire is drifting

00:39:47 and the smoke from the fire is drifting from south to north at the end of this clip the firefighters on the ground can also be observed to begin spraying water towards the fire this is the first

00:39:58 towards the fire this is the first visual evidence that I'm aware of showing application of firefighting Walter to the exterior of the building at oh one 15:53 however as noted in the

00:40:10 at oh one 15:53 however as noted in the previous clip there is evidence of water on the ground as early as 112 a.m. and this may indicate earlier external application of firefighting water what

00:40:22 application of firefighting water what the firefighters refer to as a covering jet for which there is currently no direct visual evidence I will not comment any further on these early attempts at external firefighting as I

00:40:34 attempts at external firefighting as I understand the inquiries expert Steve McGurk will comment on this issue in considerable detail in due course

00:40:47 I have estimated that a fifth clip for which I do not have a confirmed timestamp was captured some time between 116 and 119 a.m. in this clip I observe

00:41:02 116 and 119 a.m. in this clip I observe that intermittent external flaming exists between levels six and seven the highest point of the intermittent external flaming appears to be at the vertex of the junction between the

00:41:14 vertex of the junction between the column line and the faces of the spandrel sections of the building essentially in the small corner that's created there and you're a cook you'll you will recall from part two earlier in my presentation that a continuous

00:41:25 my presentation that a continuous vertical void exists within the cladding system at this location and a covering jet is applied onto the external cladding from ground level with

00:41:36 cladding from ground level with firefighter firefighting Walter being applied to the cloudy immediately below level for the

00:41:47 immediately below level for the subsequent videos were mostly captured from vantage points farther away from the base of the building likely because of the danger from falling burning debris the evidence can be used to

00:41:59 debris the evidence can be used to estimate the approximate extent and progression of the fire as it spread vertically up the East face of the town in most of the videos that I'm about to

00:42:11 in most of the videos that I'm about to show it is not currently possible to identify the precise level to which the fire had spread on the building in general is possible to deduce floor

00:42:22 general is possible to deduce floor levels approximately shown in these videos based on other images which clearly show the top of the building or using flats where lights are turned on or off as the fire progresses a sixth

00:42:36 or off as the fire progresses a sixth clip was captured at 122 a.m. during this clip at approximately 1:20 to 19 it

00:42:47 this clip at approximately 1:20 to 19 it plays on a loop so we'll see that again a firefighting jet can be observed to strike the column to the left of the vertically progressing fire some two to three floors of

00:42:58 three floors of of flat 16 Oh I'll be silent when we go past 19 here you'll see a jet there the angle of

00:43:10 you'll see a jet there the angle of attack of this jet suggests that this is a firefighting jet which is being operated by firefighters who are within flat 16 leaning out the window and spraying upward in an unsuccessful

00:43:22 spraying upward in an unsuccessful attempt to extinguish the rapidly spreading cladding fire and this is consistent both with firefighter witness statements and with the thermal-imaging camera footage from within flat 16 the

00:43:34 camera footage from within flat 16 the covering jet from ground level is visible near the end of this clip at bottom right and has a markedly different angle of attack I'll just let

00:43:46 different angle of attack I'll just let it play through one more time so you can see that there

00:43:55 a 7th clip shows a combination of videos captured at 1:24 a.m. during this clip or this series of clips rather I observe

00:44:06 or this series of clips rather I observe that the fires maximum extent at this point is at approximately level 16 on the east face there are large pieces of burning debris falling from the building

00:44:17 burning debris falling from the building these are likely to be a cm rain screen cassettes or portions thereof based on photographs of the debris field taken after the fire upward fire spread is most advanced at the location of the

00:44:28 most advanced at the location of the vertex between the spandrel section and the column section along this line is both a reentrant corner in the geometry of the cladding and a continuous vertical cavity within the cladding as

00:44:39 vertical cavity within the cladding as already discussed and at this stage the flames remain confines to the spandrel section excuse me the flames remind remain confined to the spandrel section

00:44:50 remain confined to the spandrel section forming the East walls of flats ending in the number 6 the fire is spreading slightly northwards as it moves up the building but is not spreading significantly southwards past the column

00:45:02 significantly southwards past the column line immediately to the left of the line of kitchen windows

00:45:10 an eighth clip was captured between 126 and 129 a.m. during this clip I observed

00:45:22 and 129 a.m. during this clip I observed the fire has now reached level 23 and by the end of the clip the flames are continuous at the level of the rooftop note that this is also the location of the architectural crown

00:45:33 the location of the architectural crown that I mentioned earlier the ninth and final clip that I'll show to illustrate vertical fire spread on the east face

00:45:45 vertical fire spread on the east face was captured some time between 129 and 136 a.m. during this clip I observed that the fire has spread to the top of

00:45:57 that the fire has spread to the top of the East face and is beginning to spread horizontally around the building both to the north face over the top of the northeastern North easternmost column and to the south along the architectural

00:46:10 and to the south along the architectural crown at the top of the East face and you can see the crown there in the top of the top of the video clip

00:46:23 on the basis of the sequence of videos that I've just shown I have also determined the time approximately that the fire reached different floors I've then plotted this on a graph this graph

00:46:41 then plotted this on a graph this graph starts at 12:54 a.m. at its left side when the first nine nine nine call was initially received and finishes at 1:29 am at the right approximately when the

00:46:53 am at the right approximately when the fire reaches the top roof level of the east face the dotted line in this graph is an illustrative exponential function that I've fitted to the data meaning that the available evidence shows that

00:47:05 that the available evidence shows that the rate of fire spread increased exponentially and recalling my vertical upward fire spread on a match earlier this is as expected by this I mean that

00:47:17 this is as expected by this I mean that the fire spread continued to accelerate until it reached the top of the building and here I would like to reiterate a previous observation which is also evident from this analysis by 1:15 a.m.

00:47:31 evident from this analysis by 1:15 a.m. as we can see here flames were observed to be extending at least two levels above flat 16 the fire services first visual confirmation of the location of the fire from within

00:47:43 the location of the fire from within flat 16 was at o 114 16 and the firefighters were unable to make an effective intervention to extinguish the internal fire within the kitchen until approximately 1:21 a.m. I therefore

00:47:57 approximately 1:21 a.m. I therefore estimate that the fire had spread to the cladding and begun spreading up the east face of Grenfell tower between five and ten minutes before the initial internal fire had been effectively extinguished

00:48:10 fire had been effectively extinguished this concludes the key evidence to which I would like to draw your attention on upward vertical fire spread

00:48:27 I will now present preliminary evidence of downward fire spread at Grenville tower the purpose of presenting specific evidence of downward fire spread is to highlight the key fire spread mechanisms

00:48:39 highlight the key fire spread mechanisms which can help to explain the extent of external fire spread that was experienced at Grenville tower the Greenville tower fire is somewhat unusual in the context of similar

00:48:50 unusual in the context of similar cladding fires that have occurred internationally in that the fire not only spread vertically upward but it also spread downward and horizontally it's my opinion that a combination of

00:49:03 it's my opinion that a combination of these fire spread directions and mechanisms conspired to cause the extensive fire spread which eventually included almost the entire exterior surface of the building there are two

00:49:15 surface of the building there are two main source of sources of evidence to which I'd like to draw your attention first a series of videos captured by members of the public and second photos taken by the Metropolitan Police Service after the fire I will begin by

00:49:30 after the fire I will begin by presenting several short video clips that provide visual evidence of downward fire spread again I will play these without audio and again on a loop from

00:49:41 without audio and again on a loop from these videos it will be observed that considerable melting and dripping of burning material occurred primarily along the column lines it is my opinion that this burning and dripping material

00:49:53 that this burning and dripping material is predominantly polyethylene from the ACM rain screen cassettes and we will also see that falling flaming debris landed on horizontal edges on the spandrel sections and in some cases

00:50:05 spandrel sections and in some cases resulted in localized burning at these locations the first clip

00:50:15 shows the north and west faces of grenfell tower and for the next series of clips I have small diagrams in the left hand corner that shows where the view is from again with my red circle

00:50:26 view is from again with my red circle and red arrow showing line of sight and the blue lines indicating the bits of the building that we're looking at so

00:50:37 the building that we're looking at so again the first clip shows the north and west faces of grenfell tower it was captured some time between 248 and 3:11 a.m. this clip shows dripping burning

00:50:50 a.m. this clip shows dripping burning material at the column line we can see this particularly near the top of the north western most column where fight where the where the fire first spreads

00:51:01 where the where the fire first spreads on to the west face from the north face along the architectural crown and over the column top here I would also note the similarities between this video and the video of a burning sheep of

00:51:14 the video of a burning sheep of polyethylene that I showed in part one of my presentation today a second clip shows essentially the same area of the building a short while later sometime in

00:51:26 building a short while later sometime in this case between 320 and 333 a.m. this clip again shows dripping burning material at the column line this time on

00:51:37 material at the column line this time on one of the columns on the West face of the building rather than a corner column as in the previous clip

00:51:47 and again note the similarity to my earlier video a third clip was captured as part of the same recording in this

00:51:59 as part of the same recording in this clip right in the centre of the image we can also see evidence of burning debris falling landing and accumulating on window ledges on the spandrel section of the building where it continues to burn

00:52:10 the building where it continues to burn as a small localized fire

00:52:28 a fourth and final clip that I'll show in the context of downward fire spread was captured some time after 409 a.m. and shows the leading edge of the fire

00:52:39 and shows the leading edge of the fire spreading downwards along column lines on the west face of the building in this clip we can observe that the leading edge of the downward spreading fire is

00:52:50 edge of the downward spreading fire is again along the column lines and possibly along the column tips and sir I would again like to remind you that a continuous internal void runs the full height of the building at the column tip

00:53:01 height of the building at the column tip location as well further evidence of the possible mechanisms for downward vertical fire spread is available in

00:53:14 vertical fire spread is available in post fire photos of damage to the cladding system of particular interest are areas of the cladding where a boundary exists between fire damaged cladding and undamaged cladding these

00:53:27 cladding and undamaged cladding these areas present zones of partial damage where the progression of the fire has been stopped where the ACM rain screen cassettes were fully burned by the external fire little physical evidence remains to support fire spread analysis

00:53:41 remains to support fire spread analysis however at the interface between the unburned and burned regions of the cladding a number of relevant observations can be made in relation to this point it's noteworthy that both

00:53:53 this point it's noteworthy that both video and photo evidence appear to suggest the downward vertical fire spread was halted as a results of Fire Service intervention during the fire this was because water was applied

00:54:05 this was because water was applied directly to the external cladding which was able to halt the downward progress of the fire this can be observed in the photographs that I will present in a moment however I have not personally

00:54:16 moment however I have not personally undertaken any detailed analysis of fire service water application on the exterior of the tower in my phase 1 report this is a point being addressed by other experts I'll now show a series

00:54:27 by other experts I'll now show a series of post-fire images photos that were captured by the Metropolitan Police Service using a drone on the 25th of July 2017

00:54:37 July 2017 in this photo I observed that the ACM cassettes show locations where the polyethylene has work where polyethylene has melted dripped or flowed and

00:54:49 has melted dripped or flowed and solidified this is particularly evident along column lines which in most cases represent the leading downward edge of

00:55:00 represent the leading downward edge of the fire as I've already noted and you can see that clearly here on the central column the black material being the polyethylene in this photo I observe the

00:55:15 polyethylene in this photo I observe the following the ACM rain screen cassettes show locations where polyethylene has melted dripped or flowed and solidified at the interface between the burned and

00:55:27 at the interface between the burned and unburned sections of the external cladding partially burned ACM rain screen cassettes are present and these indicate that the aluminium layers had separated from the polyethylene

00:55:38 separated from the polyethylene contained within the ACM rain screen cassettes by this I mean the D bonding of the aluminium skins had occurred and the polyethylene had partially melted or burned away debris which I assumed to be

00:55:52 burned away debris which I assumed to be Risa Lydda fide polyethylene is present on the detail in front of the windows and below the burned sections of the cladding essentially on the windowsills I also have observed this during my own

00:56:06 I also have observed this during my own site inspections of the external cladding in the months following the fire

00:56:15 this photo shows the debrief debris field on 16th of June 2017 in what was the children's play area on the west side of the building photos of the

00:56:29 side of the building photos of the debris field and the firefighter witness statements suggest that a significant proportion of this falling debris consisted of ACM rainscreen cassettes I believe that this will also have included window infill panels or parts

00:56:41 included window infill panels or parts thereof although I wasn't able to inspect the debris field myself this concludes the evidence to which I'd like your draw to attention on downward vertical fire spread

00:57:07 I'll now present a summary of my preliminary evidence of horizontal or lateral fire spread sorry the horizontal

00:57:19 lateral fire spread sorry the horizontal fire spread eventually resulted in all four phases of grenfell town are becoming involved in the fire as I've already noted this extent of horizontal fire spread must be considered unusual in the context of most other external

00:57:32 in the context of most other external cladding fires experienced internationally and understanding the specific reasons mechanisms for this is therefore very important the horizontal fire spread is documented in videos and

00:57:44 fire spread is documented in videos and images captured by members of the public CCTV and other media horizontal fire spread cannot be viewed totally in isolation from upward vertical and

00:57:55 isolation from upward vertical and downward vertical fire spread and it's important to recognize that these directions of fire spread surely interacted during the fire i've developed an approximate timeline of the

00:58:07 developed an approximate timeline of the location of maximum horizontal fire spread on each face of the building for Phase one I based this timeline primarily on CCTV images available from around the tower these were provided to

00:58:19 around the tower these were provided to the inquiry by the Metropolitan Police Service and are as follows the upper east and west sorry the upper east and south phases were captured in one

00:58:30 south phases were captured in one sequence by a single CCTV camera no CCTV footage was available for the North Face of the tower the upper west face was captured by a single CCTV camera I've

00:58:43 captured by a single CCTV camera I've developed my initial overall horizontal fire spread timeline by comparing the maximum extent of fire spread with subsequent and previous images the exact times for fire spread to each face based

00:58:56 times for fire spread to each face based on this analysis are unlikely to be sufficiently accurate to assure a greater precision than plus or minus 5 minutes

00:59:07 during my review of the available evidence I observed that the furthest extent the horizontal fire spread usually but not always occurs appears to be at the top of the building at the

00:59:19 be at the top of the building at the location of the architectural crown and column tops I described the crown earlier in my presentation and I've just shown it again here I also observed that

00:59:30 shown it again here I also observed that the external cladding detail at the top of the columns was generally the first location where the fire was observed to spread to the next spandrel section of the face when the fire spreads

00:59:41 the face when the fire spreads horizontally across the faces of the building to develop a timeline i've therefore defined horizontal fire spread as the time at which the fire reached a column at the top of the building the

01:00:01 column at the top of the building the columns at Grenfell tower are defined on a grid and are denoted by the references a1 through d5 as I've shown here this

01:00:12 a1 through d5 as I've shown here this slide shows the overall plan for the tower for levels 4 and above with the column notations shown and the times that the fire reached the column tops as

01:00:23 that the fire reached the column tops as it spread horizontally around the building at 1:29 a.m. the fire had reached the top of the east face as I've

01:00:35 reached the top of the east face as I've already said at columns a5 and b5 as shown here at 1:56 a.m. the fire reached column c5 on the

01:00:49 a.m. the fire reached column c5 on the east face

01:00:53 at 2:23 a.m. the fire reached the corner column at the southeast corner of the building column d5 during this time the

01:01:04 building column d5 during this time the fire was also spreading laterally across the North Face or horizontally across the North Face for which I don't currently have any CCTV image imagery at 2:48 a.m. the fire reached the northwest

01:01:18 2:48 a.m. the fire reached the northwest corner of the building also at 248 a.m. the fire had spread to column d4 on the south side of the building at 3:11 a.m.

01:01:29 south side of the building at 3:11 a.m. the fire reached column d3 halfway across the south face and at 3:20 a.m. the fire spread to call them B one on the west face a 333 a.m. the fire spread

01:01:45 the west face a 333 a.m. the fire spread to column D 2 on the west face and at 3:48 a.m. the fire spread to call them C one on the west face and finally at 409

01:01:57 one on the west face and finally at 409 a.m. the fire spread to the southwest corner of Granville Tower from both directions after this time the fire continued to spread vertically down the

01:02:08 continued to spread vertically down the building I will now present a series of specific images showing horizontal fire spread to which I'd like to draw your attention I will present these images

01:02:20 attention I will present these images with reference to each face of the building independently and I'll start with the east face

01:02:33 image one shows the east face of Grenfell tower between 129 and 156 a.m. in this image I'd like to draw your

01:02:44 in this image I'd like to draw your attention to the top of the column I've interpreted this images showing that the fire has spread over the column top this is the column at left of the fire zone

01:02:55 is the column at left of the fire zone video evidence of this is also referenced in my phase one report image 2 shows the north and east faces of

01:03:07 2 shows the north and east faces of grenfell tower between 129 and 223 a.m.

01:03:15 and closer to about 156 a.m. from this image I observe that the farthest extent of horizontal fire spread is at the top of the building the fire appears to have spread over the

01:03:28 the fire appears to have spread over the top of the column and between the columns the flame front forms a slightly inclined angle over the face of the building image 3 shows the east face of

01:03:45 building image 3 shows the east face of Grenville tower between about 156 and 223 a.m. from this image I observe again the farthest extent of horizontal fire spread is at the top of the building and the fire has spread to the column top of

01:03:58 the fire has spread to the column top of the southeast corner of the building

01:04:04 image four which is unfortunately quite low resolution shows the south face of grenfell tower between 223 and 248 am I've shown this image to illustrate with

01:04:17 I've shown this image to illustrate with the horizontal fire spread between the east and south faces again occurred at the top of the column I will now move on to the North Face all I've not been able

01:04:30 to the North Face all I've not been able to provide definitive timings for the spread of fire over the North Face due to the lack of CCTV for this space there is some photographic evidence showing the spread across the North Face images

01:04:47 the spread across the North Face images 5 and 6 are taken directly from the north of the building as shown here and these are extracts from the start and end of a longer video the left-hand

01:05:03 end of a longer video the left-hand earlier image shows that the flames are visible at the horizontal joints between the ACM column cassettes you can see those annotated on the photograph my

01:05:14 those annotated on the photograph my phase 1 report shows that horizontal ledges between the rain screen cassettes existed at these locations and would have presented locations where melted polyethylene could collect and continue

01:05:26 polyethylene could collect and continue to burn as small localized pool fires over the course of the two minute and 48 second video from which these images are extracted the fire spreads from localized joints and becomes established

01:05:38 localized joints and becomes established across most of the height of the column this is visible in the right-hand image taken near the end of the clip the left-hand image also suggests that fire

01:05:50 left-hand image also suggests that fire is spreading over the column top I will now show the full source video for further illustration of these points and this video is about three minutes long

01:06:06 [Music]

01:06:17 [Music] [Applause] [Music]

01:06:22 [Music] skip down I'm gonna be closed it because we're facing aside all right I let my road never growth level growth

01:06:48 [Music] oh look you see three the windows up from where they went

01:06:58 and just to save the small triangular is at the very top of the building is the column talked to the right of that is the architectural cramp

01:07:20 yeah I'm expecting like [ __ ]

01:07:30 stun

01:07:39 [Applause]

01:07:47 Natsuki

01:07:53 I think the battling from the inside your honor

01:08:18 Kimbell asking [Music]

01:08:25 and from that clip we can see that the fire progresses is most advanced again within the architectural crown slightly ahead of other locations on the North Face image 7 was taken between 129 and

01:08:42 Face image 7 was taken between 129 and 156 a.m. from this image I observe spread around the column top although it's quite difficult to see in this image and spread around the column lower

01:08:53 image and spread around the column lower down the building so this is one case where the fire does spread horizontally around a column at a lower level image 8 was taken between 223 and 248 a.m. and

01:09:08 was taken between 223 and 248 a.m. and from this image I observed that the furthest extent of horizontal fire spread is at the top floors of the building again and particularly at the location of the architectural crown and

01:09:19 location of the architectural crown and between the columns the fire front again forms an inclined angle over the face of the building image 9 was taken sometime

01:09:33 the building image 9 was taken sometime between 248 to 3:11 a.m. from this image I observed again that the farthest extent of the horizontal fire spread is at the top floors of the building at the

01:09:45 at the top floors of the building at the top of the column and the architectural crown is the first location where the fire spreads to the next Bay and the external flames formed at the column locations appear to be slightly larger

01:09:56 locations appear to be slightly larger or brighter than those formed between the columns I will now move on to the west face the first evidence of spread

01:10:08 west face the first evidence of spread to the west face is the image I showed previously image 9 this image shows that the first location of spread to the west face was over the column top in the

01:10:19 face was over the column top in the northwest corner image 10 was taken between 248 and 348 a.m. and

01:10:30 was taken between 248 and 348 a.m. and in this image the fire has reached the next column on the west face at its top before any other location between the columns the fire front again forms an

01:10:41 columns the fire front again forms an inclined angle over the face of the building

01:10:49 image 11 was taken between 320 and 340 8 a.m.

01:10:55 a.m. this image shows that the fire spreads within the architectural crown ahead of horizontal fire spread at any other location and again between the columns the fire front forms an inclined angle

01:11:06 the fire front forms an inclined angle over the face of the building

01:11:16 image 12 was taken between 320 and 348 am closer to 348 from this image I observe that the fire has reached the

01:11:27 observe that the fire has reached the column top again before any other location and between the columns the fire front forms an inclined angle over the face of the building image 13 was

01:11:42 the face of the building image 13 was captured between 348 and 409 am closer to 409 from this image I observed that the fire is converging on the southwest corner of the building and that the fire

01:11:55 corner of the building and that the fire is spreading within the architectural crown again ahead of horizontal fire spread to any other level I will now move on to describing the fire spread

01:12:07 move on to describing the fire spread over the final phase the south face of the building for this face of the building I've relied more heavily on the CCTV footage from the southeast corner of Grenville tower from the CCTV footage

01:12:22 of Grenville tower from the CCTV footage I observe sorry that's the that's the view for the CCTV from the southeast corner

01:12:34 so in the center of this image is the top of the column in the southeast corner of the building and from this footage I observe the fire initially spread onto the South Face via the

01:12:45 spread onto the South Face via the column top cough column d5 and the architectural crown at that location the farthest extent of horizontal fire spread was consistently the top floors of the building as shown here as it's

01:12:57 of the building as shown here as it's progressing further around the face and again on the architectural crown and a short while later the fire is spreading

01:13:09 short while later the fire is spreading rapidly downwards from this location along the column lines and this horizontal fire spread followed by downwards fire spread I believe is people to be very significant

01:13:24 all of these fire spread directions and mechanisms upward downward and horizontal are subject to ongoing investigation experimentation and analysis by the inquiries experts this

01:13:38 analysis by the inquiries experts this brings to a close the preliminary evidence of fire spread over the cladding on the building that I would like to bring to your attention at this stage of the inquiry this also therefore includes the evidence that I would like

01:13:50 includes the evidence that I would like to present today thank you very much indeed yes mr. chairman that concludes the work of the inquiry for today thank you very much professor Bisby professor

01:14:03 you very much professor Bisby professor we'll stop there then and we'll resume at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning when we shall hear some evidence read thank you very much

01:14:21 you