THE first firefighter at the Grenfell blaze did not realise the tower had cladding when he arrived, he told the inquiry today.

Michael Dowden said during a second day of evidence at the inquiry into the disaster that he saw an “orange glow” coming from a kitchen window on the fourth floor which seemed “contained within the compartment.”

Most high-rise blocks in Britain are designed so any fires are contained within the flat of origin, making it safest for other residents to stay put, but cladding installed around Grenfell meant the whole building was quickly ablaze.

Asked whether he made any assumptions as to whether the cladding system complied with building regulations, Mr Dowden said: “Not at that moment in time, that is not for the dynamic stage for an incident commander.

“At that point I wasn’t aware it was cladding, I thought it was the external part of Grenfell Tower.

“I would have looked outside but I wouldn't have made any conscious note of what was on the outside.”

The “extremely dynamic” early stages of the fire made it difficult for fire crews to maintain constant contact with the control room, Mr Dowden said.

A communication channel was established at a designated fire engine until a command unit arrived later, but Mr Dowden was unable to speak to the control room from where he was stationed.

Mr Dowden said: “Apart from having a driver or person on that vehicle, we have no way of communicating with control.”