PANEL PURGE

London fire sparks state hunt for killer cladding

TASMANIA’S buildings are to be inspected to determine whether any have highly combustible cladding similar to that responsible for London’s catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire.

The Hobart City Council says it is aware of a small number of buildings in the state capital that contain similar potentially dangerous aluminium composite exterior cladding panels.

Aluminium composite cladding has been blamed for the rapid, disastrous spread of a small kitchen fire in the 24storey Grenfell Tower building in London last month.

The death toll from that blaze stands at 34 with the final count expected to be about 80. Similar cladding panels also were implicated in Melbourne’s Lacrosse building fire in 2014.

A Department of Justice spokesman said a statewide audit after the Melbourne fire found there were no noncomplaint buildings, but a new investigation had been launched following the Grenfell blaze.

He told the Mercury the Justice Department’s consumer building and occupational services division (CBOS) would conduct the audit throughout the state over coming months.

If any buildings are found to contain the potentially deadly panels, then indi- viduals or a bodies corporate could be fined under the Building Act.

Hobart City Council’s director of city planning, Neil Noye, will tell a City Planning Committee meeting tonight that there are buildings in the city containing the panels.

“I am advised that there are a small number of buildings within the city that have used aluminium composite panels,” Mr Noye said.

“Although not all ACPs are necessarily a fire hazard, as it depends on the core of the panel, and to determine their combustibility test certificates for each manufacturer are required,” Mr Noye said.

“It is understood some building owners have recently undertaken independent audits of their buildings to clarify the combustibility of their panels.”

Last week, building heavyweights and government officials from across Australia came together to tighten up regulations regarding substandard building products from interstate and overseas.

Mr Noye said the council had no ability to ban the use of any product in developments unless it could be proved they did not comply with the national construction code.

“Ultimately a building surveyor needs to be satisfied the building materials used satisfy the standards outline within the NCC,” he said.

“The council has no ability to restrict certain building materials unless they can be demonstrated as not complying with the NCC.”