Grenfell report to call for wholesale fire safety changes

LONDON – The engineer examining building codes after the Grenfell tower fire that killed 71 people last year in London is calling for a wholesale change in fire safety regulations.

Judith Hackitt says a new regulatory framework is needed to strengthen the system, though she stopped short of calling for a ban on flammable cladding that is believed to have contributed to the blaze. Her report will be released Thursday.

She says in an interview with the BBC, “this is a broken system that needs to be fixed.”

The disaster raised questions about the rich-poor divide in Britain, in part because it took place at a publicly owned tower block in one of London’s richest areas. Many residents accused authorities of ignoring safety concerns raised months before the fire.