Shropshire Star comment: Lessons learned over Grenfell Tower disaster are too late

Sadly, it is often the case that such wisdom comes after a terrible tragedy, rather than before.

It seems obvious now that there should have been a plan in place to evacuate the tower in case of fire

And obvious that more lives could have been saved if the “stay put” advice to residents had been abandoned sooner.

These things are obvious because we know the terrible outcome that night. However, we also know that the firefighters were doing what they thought best to try to protect life, and their actions were governed by a strategic view that in such blazes the safest course was not to attempt a mass evacuation.

Indeed, the Fire Brigades Union still contends that an attempt to evacuate the building could have led to further fatalities.

Rather than finding scapegoats among the fire service, we should focus our main attention on the real Grenfell scandal, that the building was a death trap, by design and by construction.

Combustible exterior cladding was a ladder for the flames, leading to a rapid spread.

These tower blocks are in effect an expression of faith in the ability of construction techniques to withstand fire, as they are so tall there is no easy means to rescue those on the upper floor.

For the Grenfell residents, that faith was betrayed. For residents of all tower blocks which house occupants far above the reach of the highest fire service rescue ladders, Grenfell was a fearful demonstration that assurances of their safety in the event of fire are in question.

At last Grenfell survivors are learning the truth of that night. For too many, the lessons learned are too late.

Better understanding of what went wrong means that other tower blocks can be better protected against a recurrence.

But that should not have had to come at the price of so many destroyed lives among the innocents of Grenfell.