Flammable panel risks exposed
Fire sparks global warning
THE deaths of 79 people in a London apartment tower have triggered emergency inspections, evacuations and soul searching among British officials who failed to prevent the tragedy.
But fire-safety experts say governments and builders around the world should take notice, because the fire at Grenfell Tower is just the latest in a string of deadly blazes that demonstrate how building regulations have failed to keep up with changing materials, and cuts in inspections and oversight mean problems are not spotted until it is too late.
The Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, California, made headlines in December, when 36 people were killed in a warehouse that had been illegally converted into living spaces and a music venue. In September, 33 people died in a fire at a packaging plant in Bangladesh.
“They are a collective example of how, either intentionally or accidentally, the fire prevention and protection system has been broken,” said Jim Pauley, president of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which develops fire codes used in the US and around the world.
The aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire shows that the faults that led to the disaster are not isolated.
The government is scrambling to test panels similar to those used at Grenfell Tower, and has found at least 75 buildings covered in similarly flammable material. Thousands of people have been evacuated from four high-rises in north London after inspectors found fire-safety problems. The city of Birmingham has decided to install sprinklers in all its public housing towers.
John Bonney, a former chief officer for the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, regrets that it took a disaster to trigger action. Seven years ago, Bonney vowed to improve conditions after two of his firefighters died in a blaze in a high-rise building in Southampton.
The Grenfell Tower fire on June 13 started in a refrigerator just after midnight. It quickly spread throughout the 24-storey tower. As firefighters arrived, flames were shooting up the outside of the building. “How is that even possible?” one firefighter asked.
Fire experts believe part of the answer may be the aluminium composite material recently attached to the outside of the building.
The material, two thin sheets of aluminium around a layer of insulation, has been used for decades.
Grenfell Tower, completed in 1974, did not have sprinklers.
Experts have warned about risks posed by the panels for years because some varieties use highly flammable plastic foam insulation.
Government statistics show that the number of firesafety inspections in England dropped by 25% from 2011 to last year. About 367 people died in fires across the UK last year, up 12% from two years earlier.
That came as Conservative-led governments reduced funding for fire departments by 30%, cutting 10 000 firefighting jobs across the country, according to the Fire Brigades Union.
The Confederation of Fire Protection Associations International issued a broad warning after the Grenfell Tower fire that says those who design and build structures should embrace fire protection as a fundamental consideration in their work, even in the absence of strong governmental oversight.
The group includes firesafety officials from 28 countries, including China, India and South Africa, as well as the US and most European nations. – ANA-AP