Uni cladding fire risk audit
DEAKIN University has ordered an urgent further audit of 29 high-rise buildings for unsafe cladding be conducted by the end of September.
A letter written to all staff and students, seen by the Geelong Advertiser, said 261 Deakin buildings across all four campuses had been independently audited for flammable cladding following London’s Grenfell Tower fire that killed more than 80 people in June.
This comes after an ABC Four Corners investigation revealed experts believe more than 5000 Victorian buildings contain non-compliant cladding, similar to that used on the Grenfell Tower.
The program revealed Aus- tralian suppliers of aluminium-composite cladding were aware panels with a PE core were highly flammable 10 years before the London fire.
Cladding materials on 29 university buildings, all three storeys or taller, will be further audited for safety.
Deakin chief operating officer Kean Selway told staff and students the audit would “confirm the safety of such materials” in light of international concerns of cladding on high rise buildings.
“Should there be any doubt whatsoever as a result of this testing, materials will be replaced,” Mr Selway said.
Barwon Health confirmed in June that polythene core aluminium cladding, similar to that used on Grenfell Tower, was used in the construction of the Geelong hospital’s new Baxter wing.
Mr Selway said the university made a decision “of due diligence” to conduct the independent audit. He said all buildings were found to be compliant with Australian Standards and Codes at the time of building, and meet current occupancy regulations.
“The audit confirmed the buildings’ compliance and that they all carry combined fire detection, warning and protection systems,” Mr Selway said.
“However, as the risk to a person’s safety is inherently greater in high-rise buildings, we are carrying out further materials testing of buildings of three stories or more as an extra precaution.”
The Victorian Building Authority said in June no Gee- long buildings had been checked for fire risk from external cladding. The newly established Victorian Cladding Taskforce will expand on the VBA’s Melbourne focused audit and examine high-risk buildings throughout the state. The audit is expected to initially focus on “high risk” buildings where people live or sleep.
Chief executive officer Stan Krpan said the specifics of audits were being developed by industry experts. “The taskforce is working with the building industry, stakeholders and practitioners to spread the word about community safety in high or medium rise buildings,” Mr Krpan said.
Mr Selway said the university had no reason to believe any buildings were unsafe.