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Hello and welcome to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry podcast with me, Kate Lamble.

This week, the inquiry wrapped up its investigation into how the lifts in Grenfell Tower

operated on the night of the fire. And we heard, an expert witness has found it was likely

firefighters were unable to take control of the lifts

and prevent residents from using them because they used the wrong type of key.

Roger Hawkins, who has over 50 years experience in the lift industry,

also found that works in 2003 should have brought the lifts up to a modern standard of fire safety.

Let's get started with the evidence then. The lifts at Grenfell Tower

are important because they were fitted with a switch which was meant to allow firefighters to take

control in the event of an emergency. When activated, it would actually stop the lifts wherever they were

going. Doors would remain closed. They're going to bring the lifts back down to the ground floor

where the doors are parked, the doors open,

and that will give control to the firemen, whoever's activated that switch.

Firefighters could then use the lift to travel more easily up the building,

helping them move equipment or assist with rescues.

But on the night of the fire, when firefighters put in a key and turned it,

they reported that nothing happened.

This meant firefighters were unable to use the lift for rescues. But importantly, it also meant

the lifts remained available for residents to try and use as normal. Nadia Jafari lived on the 11th

floor of Grenfell Tower. During her evidence back in 2018, she described how she called the lift

to get out of the building with her 82-year-old father. The lift stopped on the 10th floor

...