Inspectors said tower block cladding was safe last year
FIRE inspectors who have tested and failed tower block cladding in recent days told the government last year that high-rise building regulations were safe.
BRE Global is in charge of checking panels on hundreds of buildings after the Grenfell Tower blaze.
Every sample of cladding so far – on 95 buildings – has failed fire safety tests.
Combustible cladding fitted to the West London tower in 2015 is believed to have propelled the fire which killed at least 79. As concerns escalated, Theresa May yesterday ordered a ‘ major national investigation’ into use of flammable panels on tower blocks stretching over decades.
Last night it emerged that up to 30 NHS hospitals have high rise blocks with cladding or materials similar to Grenfell Tower.
The government yesterday ordered all schools above four storeys to be tested. BRE, an independent inspector working for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), reported in April 2016 that the regulations covering high rises were ‘adequate.’
Documents sent to the government concluded: ‘With the exception of one or two unfortunate cases, there is currently no evidence from BRE Global’s fire investigations for DCLG to suggest that current building regulation recommendations, to limit vertical fire spread up the exterior of high rise buildings, are failing in their purpose.’
But the documents, seen by Sky News, warn of an ‘increase in the volume of potential combustible materials being applied. A number of significant fires… have demonstrated the potential risks’. BRE declined to comment on the 2016 reports or explain the apparent discrepancy with its current test results.
The DCLG has hired the firm since at least 2007 to ‘investigate issues that may have implications for building regulations’.
The Prime Minister said: ‘What we have seen from the investiga- tions that have taken place of cladding material in tower blocks across the country is that 100 per cent of these materials are combustible. Something clearly has gone wrong over a number of years and we need to find out what, why and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned he cannot be sure if London hospitals are safe. The Care Quality Commission has told more than 17,000 care homes, hospices and private hospitals to check fire safety procedures.
Three towers in Newham, East London, and two in Sefton, Merseyside, are the latest to be identified as at risk.
Sixteen high-rise buildings in Manchester were found to be encased with combustible material yesterday. Cladding from two buildings in Cambridge, nine in Salford, one in Sheffield and two in Tower Hamlets, East London, also failed tests.