The fatal flaws
87 UK tower blocks facing enforcement orders over fire safety precautions failures Calls for urgent probe into similar cladding on 30,000 more buildings
AN URGENT overhaul of the rules on external cladding on high-rises was called for in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Investigations into the tragedy are likely to focus on the “combustibility” of the panels and the quality of workmanship involved in their installation.
It’s feared the cladding may have been a factor in how quickly the blaze engulfed the high-rise.
Calls for a review grew as it emerged the same cladding was used on as many as 30,000 other buildings in Britain.
It was also revealed that 87 tower blocks in the UK are under enforcement orders for failures in fire safety precautions.
Former fire minister Mike Penning called for an immediate review, saying: “We need to expedite this as far as possible. This cladding is used extensively in the UK and abroad.”
Concerns about external cladding and fires date back to at least 1999, when a pensioner died in a flats blaze in Irvine.
MPs launched an inquiry after wheelchair-bound William Linton died and four other people were hospitalised in a fire that ripped through nine floors of Garnock Court.
William, who was in his 80s, had previously escaped a fire in the same 14-storey building.
The environment, transport and regional affairs committee launched an inquiry after the Irvine tragedy.
The committee’s report in 2000 recommended that all external cladding systems should be required “either to be entirely non-combustible or proven not to pose an unacceptable risk”.
Gerald McLean, associate director at specialist architects Probyn Miers, said yesterday:
The cladding is used extensively in the UK and abroad MIKE PENNING
“These panels have been involved in fires over the years.
“In the Middle East and China, panels continue to be used that would not be allowed here. “Here, we allow a range of panels that are fairly safe if they are used properly. The problems in the UK tend to be problems of workmanship.”
Harley Facades, the company who fitted the panels to Grenfell Tower, said in a statement: “At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.”
Construction firm Rydon, who completed a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower last year, insisted the work “met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards”.
Cladding is used to upgrade heat and sound insulation and to make buildings look better.
A 2014 planning document said changes to Grenfell Tower would mean “a significant improvement to the environmental performance of the building and to its physical appearance”.
There are other fire safety issues that could be causes for concern in high-rises.
New tower blocks over 30m high are required to have sprinkler systems but there are an estimated 4000 older tower blocks in the UK without them.
Most council-owned tower blocks don’t have them, despite calls for them to be retrofitted made by coroners.
Just one in eight councils said they had put sprinklers into flats in just 18 out of 2925 blocks.
London has the most enforcement notices – 51 – for failures in fire precautions.
The management company responsible for Grenfell Tower were hit with an enforcement notice from fire chiefs following a blaze at a neighbouring high-rise block.
Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation were ordered to provide self-closing devices “on all flat front doors and to improve fire safety in the escape staircases”.
The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, who own Grenfell Tower, said any design fails will be uncovered at the public inquiry.