‘Shane Ewen’s book Before Grenfell contains irreplaceable historical context for understanding the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire. The book skewers the mistakes made by ministers and their advisors, who were supposed to set the rules to make our homes safe, but instead gave private profiteers a free hand. It is a well-researched and highly readable account of fire safety and deregulation over the last century. I strongly recommend the book to everyone serious about justice for Grenfell.’
— Matt Wrack, General Secretary, The Fire Brigades Union, UK
‘In following the threads of this story further back than anyone else, Ewen has produced a compelling, vital and shocking record of the long history which led us to Grenfell Tower.
His masterful work brings to light long forgotten stories and provides an urgent warning about what the future may hold. It is a crucial, urgent contribution to the current debate on fire safety, but also an excoriating story about our shared history and the long running failure of the British state to protect its most vulnerable citizens from fire. It should be read by anyone who cares about this story and many more yet to learn about it.’
— Peter Apps, Deputy Editor of Inside Housing and author of Show Me The Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen.
‘This is a high quality, painstakingly researched and factually accurate piece of scholarship. It has a clear historical approach that convincingly details the relevant trajectory of regulation and deregulation – and a whole lot more – that underpins the Grenfell disaster. I learned a lot from reading it. It will be a go-to guide to relevant legislation, received wisdom and debates about fire safety, science, building standards and regulation’.
— Stuart Hodkinson, Associate Professor in Critical Urban Geography, University of Leeds, UK.
‘Before Grenfell is a critical contribution to helping us understand why 72 were killed in a fire in the richest borough in London. Ewen’s book reveals the decades-long practices that culminated so tragically on the 14th June 2017’.
— Gill Kernick, Author of Catastrophe and Systemic Change: Learning from the Grenfell Tower Fire and Other Disasters.
‘It is a great and much-needed piece of work that I learnt so much from. In a general sense, it provides an important context for developments (or lack of) that I was aware of but did not fully understand the rationale for. More specifically, it also helps to explain why our human behaviour in dwelling fires research met with indifference from national bodies insofar as they reflected government policy prioritising commercial interests over public safety’.
— David Wales, Human Experience and Service Design Consultant and Research Manager for ‘Human Behaviour in Dwelling Fires’ study (2009–16).