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Why Grenfell tower burned: Regulators put cost before safety

Incineration of Grenfell Tower, deadliest fire in Britain in a century, is now a national tragedy

London fire, tower
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Flames and smoke billow as a major fire engulfs a 27-storey high-rise apartment at Latimer Road in West London on Wednesday. The fire killed at least six and injured 70 others. Photo: Reuters

David D Kirkpatrick, Danny Hakim & James Glanz | NYT
The doorbell woke Yassin Adam just before 1 a.m. A neighbor was frantically alerting others on the fourth floor of Grenfell Tower about a fire in his apartment. “My fridge blew up,” the man shouted.

Residents of Grenfell Tower had complained for years that the 24-story public housing block invited catastrophe. It lacked fire alarms, sprinklers and a fire escape. It had only a single staircase. And there were concerns about a new aluminum facade that was supposed to improve the building — but was now whisking the flames skyward.

The facade, Mr. Adam said, “burned like a fire that you pour