Ahead of a Netflix series, Grenfell survivors share their stories with locals

Chris Ivey, producer of East of Liberty, hosted an event about the Grenfell Tower fire at the Harris Theater May 31, where attendees watched the trailer for the upcoming Netflix documentary Grenfell: Uncovered that delves into the fire’s aftermath. The fire killed 18 children and 54 adults and injured 70 others. It was the largest structural fire in London since World War II. Following the screening, survivors and advocates from the community talked about their experiences.

For those who have never heard of Arconic, you may have heard of their original parent company: Alcoa. In 2016, Alcoa split into two companies: Alcoa and Arconic. Four years later, Arconic split into two additional companies: Arconic Corp. and Howmet Aerospace Inc. (the latter of which has experienced its own recent controversies for its role in manufacturing F-35 fighter jets).

Two survivors of the fire, Nick Burton and Marcio Gomes, described Grenfell Tower as an affordable highrise apartment building made up of working-class and immigrant families. The tower was located in West Kensington, a neighborhood where immigrants and refugees often started their new lives after moving to England. The affordable housing units and diverse population were in juxtaposition to the nearby iconic Notting Hill neighborhood, which houses some of London’s wealthiest families.

Grenfell Tower caught fire due to a malfunctioning refrigerator on the fourth floor on June 14, 2017. The building had been recently renovated with cladding purchased through Arconic. According to BBC reporting, the cladding was made up of material called “Aluminium Composite Material, or ACM. It is made from polyethylene (PE), plastic sandwiched between two very thin sheets of aluminium.” The plastic caused the fire to spread at a faster rate, leaving residents and firefighters unprepared for the inferno that formed in minutes.

An inquiry into the blaze showed that Arconic knew of the hazards in the type of cladding they sold. The salespeople at Arconic spent time getting to know the London developers and marketing their cladding products for the tower. An official report sanctioned by the British government said [Arconic] “deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger of using the materials that were added to Grenfell Tower during a renovation, particularly on high-rise buildings.”

When residents called to report the fire, they were told to wait in their apartments for the firefighters. Many of the firefighters who rushed to the scene of the blaze were unaware of the effect the cladding was having on the speed and intensity of the blaze. The building only had one staircase, and the emergency exit lights didn’t work. Many of the firefighters who risked their lives have since left the job after suffering from the physical and mental trauma of the Grenfell Tower fire. According to the Mirror, at least a dozen of the firefighters have since been diagnosed with terminal cancers.

Arconic has claimed no responsibility for the fire. They were part of a larger group of corporations who settled with 900 Grenfell victims for $150 million. Arconic’s investors also sued the company and settled with them for $74 million after the Grenfell fire.

Meanwhile, the company has spent thousands on political lobbying, contributing $1,000 in the 2021-22 cycle and $1,500 in 2023-24 to U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-14). Reschenthaler — who co-hosted a radio show with Newsmax show host Carl Higbie — famously blamed multiculturalism for destroying the fabric of America in one episode. One of Higbie’s more well-known beliefs was that the federal government should create a registry of Muslim Americans. Arconic did not respond to inquiries for clarification regarding their political spending.

Grenfell Tower is not alone in having been covered with this type of highly flammable cladding. There was a building boom in London in 2017, with billions being poured into highrise buildings. For those who purchased apartments and condos in buildings covered in ACM, they are now unable to sell them. They are stuck in highly flammable apartments with the knowledge and fear that if and/or when a fire breaks out, they might not make it out alive.

Grenfell residents assumed that an inquiry with a report showing intentional corporate wrongdoing would lead to criminal charges, but eight years later, those who were implicated in the reports have not faced any. Residents have marched, advocated, and pleaded with authorities to no avail. As the years dragged on without a court date in sight, many wondered whether the lack of accountability was due to the fact that 80% of those who died were Muslim.

One attendee at the May 31 event, Leeretta Payne, said the story felt familiar. “I grew up in the neighborhood which was one of the poorest in the City of Pittsburgh. I remember sometimes buildings would catch on fire, just catch on fire all of a sudden. And I remember people would say it was drug users,” Payne recalled. “As I’m sitting here listening to your story, it sounds like to me that, you know, there’s an old saying that says, usually people of color, sometimes they’re the canary in the coal mine. It seems the developers or some people have refined their way of getting what they want.”

Grenfell: Uncovered will premiere on June 20, 2025, a week after the anniversary of the fire.

This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2025.