Those are good questions, I'll try and have a look for that myself. There is already a wiki page for Grenfell Tower Fire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire
Plans for renovation of the tower were publicised in 2012.[16] Overseen by Studio E Architects,[17] the £8.7 million refurbishment,[18] undertaken by Rydon Ltd, was completed in 2016.[19] As part of the project, in 2015–2016, the concrete structure received new windows and new aluminium composite rainscreen cladding. Two types were used: Arconic's Reynobond, which consists of two, coil-coated, aluminium sheets that are fusion bonded to both sides of a polyethylene core; and Reynolux aluminium sheets. Beneath these, and fixed to the outside of the walls of the flats, was Celotex RS5000 PIR thermal insulation
So, from that, plans in 2012, cladding done in 2015-16.
Later on, on that wiki page:
There have been concerns about the dangers of external cladding since the early 1990s, notably following a fire at flats in Knowsley Heights, Liverpool in 1991.[69] Several major fires in high-rise buildings that saw flames spreading up façades at a devastatingly rapid rate have involved flammable cladding, among them the 2007 fire at The Water Club in Atlantic City, USA, the 2009 Lakanal House fire in Camberwell, London, the 2009 Beijing Television Cultural Center fire, China, the 2010 Wooshin Golden Suites fire in Marine City, Busan, South Korea, the 2012 Mermoz Tower fire in Roubaix, France, the 2014 Lacrosse Tower fire in Melbourne, Australia, and the 2015 fires in Dubai at The Marina Torch and The Address Downtown Dubai
So from that, we can see 4 fires where the cladding was a factor, before the plans in 2012, and a couple more after the plans but before the cladding was put on.
I will try and find out when this type of cladding was banned for use on buildings above a certain height in Germany and the USA, but it seems to me there is enough stuff there, that fire safety experts would know about, so that we should have had similar regulations in place by the time the refurbishment was done.
