Fire aftermath: 60 high-rise towers fail fire safety tests

The list of high-rise apartment towers in Britain that have failed fire safety tests grew to 60, officials said Sunday, revealing the mounting challenge the government faces in the aftermath of London’s Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.

All of the buildings for which external cladding samples were so far submitted failed combustibility tests, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said. As of late Sunday, that includes 60 towers from 25 different areas of the country — double the figure given a day earlier.

The number of buildings at risk is likely to grow as owners and local officials provide more samples for safety tests.

The national testing was ordered after an inferno engulfed Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14. The tower’s cladding — panels widely used to insulate buildings and improve their appearance — was believed to have rapidly spread that blaze, which killed at least 79 people.