Grenfell’s unusual design led blaze to spread, say investigators
FIRE investigators believe the unusual design of Grenfell Tower created a chimney effect that led to the fire engulfing the building in minutes.
A well-placed source has told the Telegraph that cladding placed over “triangular”-shaped concrete columns may have created a void that sucked up the flames.
A total of 10 columns run up the sides of the building with a further column at each corner.
Videos of the blaze clearly show the flames spreading upwards far faster than they spread sideways.
Investigators are looking at whether fire breaks were built in to the newlyclad columns.
Grenfell Tower was fitted with combustible cladding and flammable insulation. The insulation was fitted between the original concrete pillars and the external aluminium cladding with a plastic flammable core used for rain protection.
The source said: “The investigation is not just looking at the materials but the design of Grenfell Tower. The triangular shape created by the cladding has created a void and the flames have shot up the side.
“The greater the gap, the more it acts like a chimney. It is one line of the investigation.”
Grenfell Tower was built in 1974 and the concrete pillars that ran up its side are unusual. This may offer some comfort to residents in other tower blocks that also have cladding. If the unusual design was central to the speed of the inferno, residents in other tower blocks may feel more reassured.
Police said on Friday they had seized documents and materials from a number of organisations although nobody has yet been questioned. A leading fire investigator has said the probe into the causes could take up to two years.
Peter Mansi, who was the fire brigade chief investigator into the 2009 Lakanal House fire in south London in which six people died, said the Grenfell Tower inquiry was far more complex.
The Lakanal inquiry included reconstructing room layouts and hallways to determine how the fire spread.