First pic of the tiny Hotpoint fridge freezer cable that ‘sparked devastating Grenfell Tower blaze’
The deadly fire on June 14 last year was probably caused by overheating in the wiring of a Hotpoint fridge freezer in flat 16
THE Grenfell Tower fire was probably started by overheating in the wiring of a Hotpoint fridge freezer, an expert has said.
Dr John Duncan Glover showed the inquiry a picture of the tiny wire connector thought to have overheated and started the deadly inferno, which caused the deaths of 72 people.
Investigators recovered the evidence from a small relay compressor compartment at the bottom rear of the fridge freezer in the kitchen of Flat 16.
The inquiry was told they also found three inches of damaged wire in one of the bedrooms of the same flat.
Dr Glover, principal engineer at Failure Electricial, highlighted the "poor crimp connection", which did not keep the wires tightly gripped as it was supposed to.
He said spaces seen in images taken from CT scans suggested it had not been "properly crimped".
"I found voids in all 80 cross-sections indicating the crimp was not nice and tight,"; he said.
In a report prepared for the inquiry Dr Glover concluded: "A probable cause of the fire is a poor crimp connection for... an overheated wire connector within the compressor relay compartment for the fridge freezer (Hotpoint Model FF175BP) from Flat 16."
He said: "The overheating connector in my opinion was the first event that started burning the insulation on the wires that led to a short circuit."
Dr Glover added: "The overheating of the crimp starts the fire. It overheats, it glows, it ignites."
A week after the deadly fire, the Metropolitan Police said it believed it had started in a fridge-freezer.
Whirlpool, which makes Hotpoint machines, said its investigation found the model of fridge freezer showed no evidence of any fault and complied with all safety requirements.
“We would like to reassure owners of these products that they are safe and they can continue to use them as normal,” the company said in a statement.
“All fridges, freezers, and fridge freezers across all our UK brands are manufactured with solid metal or aluminium laminate flame-retardant back panels.”
Dr Glover said refrigerators manufactured in the US must have a metal back casing, but in the UK and Europe it can be plastic.
He explained: “That metallic backing would help to contain an internal fire, keep it inside the refrigerator, for a long time.
“Instead of the plastic casing on the rear, which is combustible, contributing to the fire, you have a steel casing which is not.”
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Some 71 people, including a stillborn baby, died in the devastating June 14 fire, and another resident died the following January in what was the country's deadliest domestic fire since World War Two.
The public inquiry continues.
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