LONDON (AP) — London's fire commissioner is defending her brigade's response to the June 2017 inferno that killed 72 people at the Grenfell Tower apartment block after an official inquiry said more lives could have been saved if firefighters had acted quicker.

Commissioner Dany Cotton said Wednesday that firefighters faced an "unprecedented" situation in the overnight tower fire. She promised to consider recommendations of the inquiry led by Martin Moore-Bick but defended the department's actions.

Responding to the inquiry, she says "we are disappointed at some of the criticism of individual staff members, who were placed in completely unprecedented circumstances and faced the most unimaginable conditions while trying to save the lives of others."

The report says fewer people would have died if the building had been evacuated more quickly.