Grenfell firefighter blasts flammable cladding as he names who was to blame for blaze

Grenfell firefighter Dave Badillo says it’s an “absolute disgrace” that eight years after the tragedy, buildings across the UK are still covered in flammable cladding and has called on the government to “get it off”.

As new documentary : Uncovered lays bare the full horror of the 2017 tower block fire, Dave says that “another Grenfell” is entirely possible, despite new measures including sprinklers, alarms and fire wardens being introduced in some places.

“I think the government getting cladding off buildings - that’s the big one,” he said. “Get it off. Get it off now. It’s unbelievable how long it’s taking. It’s mind-blowing. Eight years on, we’re still visiting these places as a fire brigade and checking that the fire wardens are there and know how to evacuate these places because they’re still covered in this highly flammable, deadly material.”

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Along with his colleagues Dave, one of the first firefighters on the ground that night, had received no training in tackling cladding fires and no training for evacuating a high rise building. The London Fire Brigade’s ‘stay put’ tactic - since revoked for cladding fires - proved fatal for 72 people because of the speed in which the fire engulfed the building from the outside,

But it was discovered afterwards that the LFB had a power-point presentation which explained why cladding fires, which involve burning plastic, needed to be treated very differently. The problem was it had not been shown to any firefighters.

“I was absolutely shocked when I saw that in the inquiry,” Dave says. “I still don’t know why that happened. The people who needed that information, that knowledge, were the people who were going to be at that fire first of all.”

Dave remains traumatised after failing to find and rescue 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez whose sister had alerted him that she was alone on the 20th floor in flat 176. He later found out she was the niece of some friends he’d previously worked with, which he says took his pain to “a whole new level”.

The lift stopped working when he got to floor 15 and he needed to return to the ground to get his breathing apparatus because of the acrid smoke. When he did reach flat 176, it was filled with smoke and empty, and he hoped she had made it down herself but later discovered she had gone up to the 23rd floor with nine others, who all perished. He was criticised for not helping to save the family of five in flat 175, whose door he passed by in his search for Jessica, which he has long agonised over, and has had years of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I don't think I'll ever be the same person I was before the Grenfell fire but that’s OK. And whatever trauma and heartbreak I’ve been through, it will never compare to that suffered by the bereaved and the survivors. I didn't lose any loved ones, and I didn't lose my home or all my lifelong possessions.”

He feels a big part of the blame lies with ’s government at the time, which had launched a big push for deregulation. The mission effectively stopped new fire safety regulations from being implemented, despite a firm recommendation by the Coroner following a fire in a housing block in South London in 2009. “The state created this mess, their push for deregulation turned the UK into literally a dumping ground for inferior and dangerous materials and people are still living in fear in their own homes, eight years on from Grenfell,” Dave sighed. “It’s an absolute disgrace.”

He says the companies involved - particularly Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex which were found by the inquiry to have shown "systematic dishonesty" - should all be boycotted for their lack of corporate responsibility over Grenfell. “They’re just going about their business, they’re still sponsoring sports companies, they’re still selling their stuff, making profits. Going about like nothing has happened. Let’s be honest, all the big corporations care about is money, and profit. They denied wrongdoing, they passed the blame. So let’s stop buying products from these people.”

He hopes that when the conclude their criminal investigation, expected next year, the courts are involved. “Eight years on there’s still been no charges at all. I hope they find something. With all that evidence, it looks like they’ve committed some kind of crime. They’ve had a hand in the deaths of 72 people and people have to go to prison for this.”

Dave says he took part in the documentary because he wants action over the many, many failings that led to Grenfell. “I want people to know the firefighters on the ground, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the community in their fight for justice.”

Director Olaide Sadiq hopes the film will spark an outcry among viewers after they learn the full facts behind the multiple injustices suffered by Grenfell survivors and the bereaved families of the victims.

She said even scoring “a tiny bit” of the impact that drama had, would be a huge achievement. Olaide says viewers will be “surprised and shocked” at what they see over the 90-minutes. “When you can see just how avoidable it was, there is obviously a massive hole in terms of accountability - and a massive call for justice,” she explained. “It's not comfortable watch, it's harrowing. We'd love it to be something that can really galvanize people.”

.- Grenfell: Uncovered, Netflix, Friday 20 June