The residents of Grenfell Tower had been warning anyone who would listen for years. The Grenfell Action Group, a residents' organization, published ten warnings about fire safety and maintenance in the four years before the fire. They documented expired fire extinguishers -- some with the word 'condemned' written on them -- that had not been inspected for up to four years. In November 2016, seven months before the fire, the Action Group published a post predicting that 'only a catastrophic event' would expose the failures of the building's management by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation. They wrote: 'They can't say that they haven't been warned.' The building had a single staircase serving all 24 floors. Corridors were often filled with rubbish, including old mattresses. The council and the TMO, according to a subsequent inquiry by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission, 'knew, or ought to have known' that their management of the tower was breaching residents' rights to life and to adequate housing.

Grenfell Tower was renovated between 2015 and 2016. New windows were installed, along with external cladding and thermal insulation. The cladding panels used on the tower's exterior contained a polyethylene core that was combustible. On the night of the fire, this cladding became a channel for the flames, carrying fire from the fourth floor to the top of the building in a matter of minutes. The renovation had been intended to improve the tower's thermal efficiency and appearance. Instead, it turned the building into a chimney. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which reported in September 2024, found that the companies involved in manufacturing and selling the cladding materials bore significant responsibility and had been aware of the risks. The inquiry found that the building's refurbishment was carried out with 'incompetence' and that 'dishonesty' by cladding manufacturers was a cause of the fire's rapid spread.

Grenfell Tower operated under a 'stay put' policy, standard for high-rise buildings in the UK. The design principle was that thick walls and fire doors would contain any blaze to the flat where it started, allowing firefighters to extinguish it while other residents remained safely in their homes. On the night of 14 June, the stay-put policy held for residents who called 999 and were told to remain in their flats. The fire was not contained. It spread outside the building's compartmentalized structure via the external cladding, bypassing every internal fire barrier. Residents who followed the official advice and stayed in their homes found themselves trapped as smoke and fire engulfed the upper floors. The London Fire Brigade did not revoke the stay-put advice until 2:47 a.m. -- nearly two hours after the first call. By then, for many residents, escape was no longer possible. The firefighters who entered the building displayed extraordinary courage, climbing the single staircase through smoke and heat to reach trapped residents on the upper floors.

In the days after the fire, the response of official bodies was widely criticized as inadequate. Survivors described being displaced, poorly housed, and ignored. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea -- one of the wealthiest local authorities in England -- was accused of failing the residents of one of its poorest neighborhoods. Community organizations, faith groups, and individual volunteers filled the gap, providing food, clothing, shelter, and emotional support where the state did not. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, examined the causes of the fire across two phases. Its final report in September 2024 documented systemic failures across multiple organizations and government bodies. As of 2025, criminal investigations continue, and no individual or corporation has been prosecuted. The tower, wrapped in protective sheeting since the fire, began demolition in September 2025. A memorial will eventually stand on the site, its design guided by the bereaved families and survivors. For the people who lost family, friends, and neighbors in the fire, justice remains incomplete. The green hearts that appeared in windows across London in the days after the fire have become a permanent symbol of remembrance -- and of a demand that has not been met.