THE Fire Brigades Union called for a national review of evacuation procedures for tower blocks today in its closing statement for the first phase of the Grenfell Tower inquiry.

In a series of recommendations, the union urged a review of fire service procedures and training, to plan for residents of all high-rise buildings to be rescued or evacuated, in the event that the “stay put” policy becomes unworkable.

Firefighters were put in an “utterly impossible position” on the night of the Grenfell fire on June 14 last year, which killed 72 people, as the council-owned block had been “stripped of all its basic fire safety measures,” FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said.