It’s mid-morning on Thursday 8 June 2023. A fire blazes through a row of four terraced houses on Moss Hall Grove in North Finchley. The London Fire Brigade receives 42 calls about the fire. When 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters arrive at the scene, one of the houses has been destroyed. The fire has severely damaged the neighbouring properties. Eight people evacuated the houses. There were no reports of injuries. By 12:55, the fire brigade has brought the fire under control. They said the cause of the fire was undetermined.

This is the London Fire Brigade’s account of the fire that broke out in a row of low-rise, timber-framed homes. There is one crucial detail to be added: the four houses contained uPVC cladding.

After Barnet Council had concluded its investigation into the fire, via the commissioning of a report by the firm Capital Property and Construction, it announced it would remove the uPVC cladding from 153 of its homes. A further 434 privately-owned homes are also affected, seven of which are leasehold properties, and 426 of which are freehold properties, and were sold by the council under the Right to Buy Scheme.