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After London Fire, Cladding on 600 High Rises Is Being Tested After London Fire, 7 More High-Rises Found With Combustible Material
(about 3 hours later)
LONDON — The authorities in Britain are scrambling to conduct safety tests on at least 600 high-rise buildings with exterior cladding, after London’s deadliest fire in decades. LONDON — At least seven buildings in Britain are clad in combustible material of a kind similar to the cladding that was used on the exterior of Grenfell Tower, the apartment building destroyed in London’s deadliest fire in decades, officials said on Thursday, as they scrambled to conduct safety checks on at least 600 other high-rise buildings.
Exterior cladding is thought to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a 24-story apartment block in West London, in about an hour, early on the morning of June 14, and killed at least 79 people. Exterior cladding is thought to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, which consumed the 24-story Grenfell Tower in West London in just one hour, early on the morning of June 14. The fire killed at least 79 people and left hundreds of survivors homeless.
Samples of cladding from residential buildings over 18 meters (about 60 feet) in height are being sent to a national laboratory to check whether they are combustible. Tests have already shown that at least three buildings are at risk. The cladding on the building — sheets of aluminum composite material, encasing a flammable polyethylene insulation — has been associated with high-rise fires in other countries and its use is restricted in the United States and elsewhere. It was permitted under British regulations, even though safety experts have long warned that the metal sheets could melt under intense heat, allowing a blaze to race through the combustible material between them.
The cladding panels used at Grenfell Tower were of an aluminum composite material. Critics of the material have warned for years that it can melt in a fire, after which a blaze could race through the flammable polyethylene insulation between the sheets. Over the weekend, the government ordered local authorities to review records on residential buildings that are more than 18 meters (about 60 feet) in height and are clad with “aluminum-type panels.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s announcement about the testing — made at the start of a parliamentary discussion — left lawmakers visibly surprised. “Shortly before I came to this chamber, I was informed that a number of tests have come back as combustible,” Prime Minister Theresa May told lawmakers on Thursday morning. “The relevant local authorities and local fire services have been informed, and as I speak, they are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe, and to inform affected residents.”
“Shortly before I came to this chamber, I was informed that a number of tests have come back as combustible,” Mrs. May told lawmakers. “The relevant local authorities and local fire services have been informed, and as I speak, they are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe, and to inform affected residents.” The announcement startled some members of Parliament, several of whom peppered Mrs. May with critical questions. Shortly after, Mrs. May’s aides told journalists that some 600 buildings in England contained combustible material “similar” to the kind used on Grenfell Tower.
Afterward, Mrs. May’s office told journalists that 600 buildings had panels “similar” to those used in Grenfell Tower. The office later amended that statement, saying that the number 600 referred to tall buildings with cladding, and that not all of them would have potentially combustible materials. As news spread, however, Mrs. May’s office issued a clarification — saying that the 600 referred to the total number of buildings that were being subjected to safety tests following the review.
Sajid Javid, the secretary for communities and local government, was expected to provide further details later on Thursday. By late afternoon, Mrs. May’s office said, officials concluded that seven buildings so far had been shown to contain combustible cladding. They emphasized that samples were being tested at a rate of 100 a day, and that the number of buildings at risk could grow.
The fire has focused attention on a variety of safety issues at Grenfell Tower and elsewhere. The cladding at Grenfell Tower was installed as part of a renovation that was completed in May 2016. The cladding’s manufacturer, Arconic, issued its first public statement on Thursday since the fire.
The building, completed in 1974, did not have sprinklers or a centralized alarm system, though that is not uncommon for a high rise of its age. Lawmakers have chastised the government for failing to encourage the retrofitting of older buildings with sprinklers, as was recommended in a report on a deadly fire in Southeast London in 2009. A policy urging residents to “stay put” until rescue workers arrived has also been questioned. “The loss of lives, injuries and destruction following the Grenfell Tower fire are devastating, and we would like to express our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by this tragedy,” the company said. “One of our products, Reynobond PE — an aluminum composite material — was used as one component in the overall cladding system of the tower. We will fully support the authorities as they investigate this tragedy.”
Perhaps no issue has received as much attention, however, as the cladding, which was installed at Grenfell Tower as part of a renovation that was completed in May 2016. The government did not identify the seven buildings with combustible cladding, but the London borough of Camden announced on Thursday that the same contractor and cladding supplier involved in the Grenfell Tower renovation had also worked on the refurbishment of another complex, the 717-unit Chalcots Estate in Swiss Cottage, in northwest London.
The building contractor and cladding supplier involved in the Grenfell Tower renovation also worked on the refurbishment of another complex, the 717-unit Chalcots Estate in Swiss Cottage, in Northwest London. The aluminum cladding panels “were not to the standard that we had commissioned,” the borough said in a statement, adding that it was considering legal action.
The borough of Camden, which owns that complex, announced on Thursday that the aluminum cladding panels “were not to the standard that we had commissioned.” It also said that it was considering legal action. Camden officials emphasized that the Chalcots Estate had “fire-resistant rock wool insulation” and “fire-resistant sealant between floors,” which had helped contain a fire in 2012, but said that they would “immediately begin preparing to remove” cladding panels from five towers in the complex.
Officials emphasized that Chalcots Estate had “fire-resistant rock wool insulation” and “fire-resistant sealant between floors,” which had helped contain a fire in 2012. Nonetheless, the borough said it would “immediately begin preparing to remove” cladding panels from five towers in the complex. Residents there were not comforted.
Justin Walker, 51, who has lived in the estate’s Blashford tower for 12 years, said the news had left him anxious. Justin Walker, 51, who has lived in the estate’s Blashford tower for 12 years, said the news had left him anxious. “It has caused sleepless nights,” he said.
“It has caused sleepless nights,” he said. “I’ve been assured by the council that the cladding will be removed as soon as humanly possible, but they don’t know exactly when will that be.” Amal Salah, 45, a care worker who lives in the nearby Dorney tower with her husband and four children, said that residents frequently discussed the cladding. “Whenever we meet downstairs, it is all we talk about,” she said. “We only have one exit route besides the elevators, which you can’t use in a fire. We only have the main staircase. So we just hope that nothing will happen.”
Amal Salah, 45, a care worker who lives in the nearby Dorney tower with her husband and four children, said that residents frequently discussed the cladding. Shohre Hosseany, 43, an immigrant from Iran who has lived in London for five years, three of them in the nearby Taplow tower, said she had “cried a lot” for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. She said she worried that if a fire broke out, she would be unable to escape from her 12th-floor home.
“Whenever we meet downstairs, it is all we talk about,” she said. “We only have one exit route besides the elevators, which you can’t use in a fire. We only have the main staircase. So we just hope that nothing will happen.” “I have arthritis and pains in my back, so if this happened here, I would die,” she said.
Shohre Hosseany, 43, an immigrant from Iran who has lived in London for five years, three of them in the nearby Taplow tower, said she had “cried a lot” for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. She said she worried that if a fire broke out in her building — she lives on the 12th floor — she would be unable to escape. “I have arthritis and pains in my back, so if this happened here I would die,” she said. Nerves were frayed even in high-rise towers that were not known to have the suspect cladding. At the Rivers Apartments in Tottenham, in North London, the property manager, Newlon Housing Trust, told residents that it was carrying out “an immediate review of the exterior cladding.”
Mrs. May urged building owners to have their structures tested immediately. “We can test over 100 buildings a day, and the results come within hours,” she said. “I urge any landlord who owns a building of this kind to send samples for testing as soon as possible. Any results will be communicated immediately to local authorities and local fire services.” “Strangely enough, I’m not scared,” said one homeowner, Luke Sutherland, 33. “If they do need to replace the cladding, they need to give us compensation because we cannot stay here until they replace it.”
Mrs. May emphasized that landlords had “a legal obligation to provide safe buildings,” and said that owners would be asked to provide alternative accommodation if they could not fulfill this duty. “We cannot and will not ask people to live in unsafe homes,” she said. Notably, Mrs. May did not repeat an assertion over the weekend by two of her ministers, including Philip Hammond, chancellor of the Exchequer, that the kind of cladding used on the tower was illegal under British regulations.
Notably, Mrs. May did not repeat an assertion by two of her ministers, including Philip Hammond, chancellor of the Exchequer, that the kind of cladding used on the tower was illegal under British regulations.
If the cladding were illegal, that would deflect responsibility for the disaster away from the government and toward the tower’s owners and building contractors, but a close examination of the regulations does not support the ministers’ assertions.If the cladding were illegal, that would deflect responsibility for the disaster away from the government and toward the tower’s owners and building contractors, but a close examination of the regulations does not support the ministers’ assertions.
On Sunday, Mrs. May’s government took control of the emergency response, sidelining officials from the local council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the building. On Wednesday, the government said it would acquire 68 units in a luxury complex to permanently house displaced families. The fire has created a political crisis for Mrs. May’s government, which on Sunday took control of the emergency response, sidelining officials from the local council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the building and was heavily criticized for a lethargic response to the catastrophe. The council’s chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, was forced out on Thursday.
The council’s chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, announced his resignation on Thursday, saying he had been asked to leave by Mr. Javid. The council had been heavily criticized as being slow to provide emergency aid to the survivors. Mrs. May said on Thursday that she would appoint within days a judge to lead an independent public inquiry into the fire. The Metropolitan Police has opened a criminal investigation.
Mrs. May said she would appoint within days a judge to lead an independent public inquiry into the fire. The Metropolitan Police has also opened a criminal investigation.
Grenfell Tower contained about 120 apartments, but Mrs. May said on Thursday that 151 homes had been destroyed, because the fire had spread beyond the tower.Grenfell Tower contained about 120 apartments, but Mrs. May said on Thursday that 151 homes had been destroyed, because the fire had spread beyond the tower.
Mrs. May’s statements did not mollify her critics, including Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, who said that the residents’ longstanding concerns about fire safety had fallen on deaf ears. The blaze turned the tower, in the North Kensington neighborhood, into a block of ash. Residents of other tall buildings in the area said the latest news had only deepened their worries.
“Working-class people’s voices are ignored, their concerns dismissed, by those in power,” he said. “The Grenfell Tower residents and North Kensington community deserve answers, and thousands of people living in tower blocks around the country need urgent reassurance.” “We’ve barely been able to sleep since the fire,” said Lindsey Harper, who lives in an eight-story building in North Kensington. “My father is in a wheelchair and we live on the fifth floor of our building. The lift rarely works. If there was a fire, there is only one tiny staircase to escape. How would we get him out?”
A resident group at Grenfell Tower had warned for years about fire hazards in the building, and complained that the Kensington council had ignored their warnings.
“Working-class people’s voices are ignored, their concerns dismissed, by those in power,” said Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party. “The Grenfell Tower residents and North Kensington community deserve answers, and thousands of people living in tower blocks around the country need urgent reassurance.”
He said that local councils had reduced fire inspections because of budget cuts, and that combustible cladding needed to be removed from all buildings where it has been installed, whatever the cost.He said that local councils had reduced fire inspections because of budget cuts, and that combustible cladding needed to be removed from all buildings where it has been installed, whatever the cost.