At our village fete on Sunday there was a fire crew and a fire engine for the children to crawl over. I had a most interesting chat with the fireman-in-charge. He had obviously followed the events at Grenfell Tower with intense interest and dismay. His view was (as is now generally accepted) that the original fire crew had got the fire inside the flat under control within eight minutes. But because the windows had been open in the warm weather, and a neighbour of the resident whose flat it was had said his door was open and she could see the flames from the corridor, it seems the fire had got outside the flat and from there was impossible to quench.

He said that most tower-block fires don't spread to the outside of the building. But this relies on the flat's windows and door being shut and well-insulated from the exterior, and as is evident to all, the cladding does not conduct flames in any way, or provide 'chimneys' for it to travel upwards.

This chap was very self-effacing, but I felt a tremendous admiration for him. He and his family must know he risks his life daily to keep the public safe.