Whirlpool fridge started London tower block fire that killed 79.The blaze, Britain's worst since World War Two, has heaped pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May, already fighting for her political survival after her party lost its parliamentary majority in a snap election on June 8.
A deadly fire that killed at least 79 people in a London tower block started in a Whirlpool Corp. fridge and spread at “unexpected speed” through the building’s exterior cladding, police said, indicating they’ll pursue charges if criminal offenses are identified
Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said that in view of the heavy death toll, police were considering manslaughter charges over the disaster.
She said the Hotpoint model, FF175BP, involved was not subject to recall and the manufacturer was doing further tests.
"We now have expert evidence that the fire was not started deliberately," McCormack told reporters in London. Britain ordered an immediate technical examination of the Hotpoint fridge model to establish whether further action needed to be taken, but said there was no need for owners to switch off their appliances.
Whirlpool Corp, the world's largest maker of home appliances, owns the Hotpoint brand in the Europe and Asia Pacific regions. In the United States, the brand now belongs to Haier, following the Chinese group's purchase of General Electric Co's appliance business.
A spokesman for Whirlpool could not be immediately reached out of US business hours.
Police said both the insulation and tiles used in cladding at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block failed all post-fire safety tests.
"Preliminary tests show the insulation samples collected from Grenfell tower combusted soon after the test started," McCormack said.
Such were their concerns after the tests that the information was immediately shared with government to disseminate more widely.
"Given the deaths of so many people we are considering manslaughter as well as criminal offences and breaches of legislation and regulations," McCormack said.
Police are seizing “relevant material from a number of organizations,” McCormack told reporters, without naming the companies or authorities involved. Media attention has focused on a unit of Rydon Group, which refurbished the building last summer. The company issued a statement last week saying its work “met all required building regulations -- as well as fire regulation and health and safety standards.”
Inspections are being carried out on about 600 social housing tower blocks in England and 11 have so far failed initial safety tests. Checks are also being offered to owners of privately held tower blocks as well as schools, hospitals and other public buildings, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman, Alison Donnelly, told reporters on Friday.
The blaze, Britain's worst since World War Two, has heaped pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May, already fighting for her political survival after her party lost its parliamentary majority in a snap election on June 8.
Business Minister Margot James wrote to trade associations representing all major household appliance manufacturers last week outlining the government's expectation of action by their members should a household appliance be found to have played a part in the Grenfell Tower fire.
