The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
PM for national towers cladding inquiry
Fire: 95 samples fail fire safety tests so far
A “major national investigation” must take place into the decades-long use of potentially flammable cladding on high-rise towers across the country, Prime Minister Theresa May has said.
Mrs May’s call came as Cabinet was informed 95 samples of cladding from tower blocks in 32 English local authority areas have failed fire safety tests, amounting to 100% of all samples submitted by councils.
The PM’s official spokesman said the national investigation could be conducted as a second phase of the public inquiry already announced into the Grenfell Tower blaze, which claimed the lives of at least 79 people. The latest tally of fire safety checks was presented to Cabinet by communities and local government secretary Sajid Javid, who has issued an urgent call for all councils to send in samples of cladding from
Schools and hospitals may also do the same where they have concerns, with the Care Quality Commission having contacted more than 17,000 care homes, hospices and private tall buildings. hospitals to tell them to check fire safety procedures.
The figures emerged as a fire safety expert raised doubts over the combustibility tests being carried out on cladding samples by the Building Research Establishment.
David Metcalfe, head of the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology, a body which works with hundreds of contractors, architects and manufacturers, claimed samples are being tested “severely” in a way which may be inflating the scale of the crisis.
Regulations in force refer to insulation products and filler materials, but do not specifically state that cladding should be of limited combustibility, he said. The department for communities and local govern- ment responded by saying an independent panel of experts had approved the test, while the BRE did not comment.
The PM’s spokesman said evidence suggests the use of the suspect cladding stretches back at least into the last decade.
A western German city has decided to evacuate an
G11-storey apartment block because of concerns over exterior insulation similar to that of Grenfell Tower.
City authorities in Wuppertal said the fire risk at the building had been reassessed following the fire in London that killed at least 79 people, news agency dpa reported.