The " Aftermath " !

There have been few more horrifying pictures than that fire in Grenfell Towers in West London.  It certainly destroyed the myth that modern highrise was absolutely fireproof because " concrete structures don't burn " !  The cause of this fire is going to make interesting reading once the coroner's report wends its way through the courts.

What was exceptional was that a fairly simple fire in a lower level apartment managed to spread to the exterior of the building - and progress from there ever upward.  That wall of fire invaded floor after floor, burning inwards until the entire building was alight.  The smoke generated quickly made the fire stairs impassable.

Initial reports seem to indicate that a building " renovation " turned a previously fairly fire safe building into a fire trap.  To " modernise " the look of this building which was built in the 1970's the outer surfaces were treated with a fixon cladding.   This took the form of some type of styrene foam sandwiched between an inner and an outer skin of thin aluminium.

The appearance changed from smog darkened concrete to a nice, shiny aluminium  " look "  with the promise that the insulated core would delver the benefit of both heat and sound insulation.  For many years, similar cladding has been a popular method of renovating suburban homes and it is a common sight in Australia.

The cladding used on multi storey buildings is approved, subject to important quality specifications and one of these is that the core infill must not be flammable.  That restricts this core fill to a number of products which are much more expensive to produce than similar looking base polystyrene.

Once again that demon " price " enters the equation.   Manufacturers in world countries seek a market share of expanding markets and offering a cheaper product ensures entry.  Usually, this means quality is reduced and in the production of this cladding it seems that the infill does not meet the required standard - and it passes through Australian customs undetected.    We recently had another shortfall when miles of electrical cable was found to be prone to deterioration which could cause house fires.

That London fire served as a warning.  We have similar renovations here in Australia.   People living in these buildings have a right to know that they will be fixed - and that raises the question of who will pay the cost ?  More importantly, they can not remain unsafe while this cost issue is argued in the courts.

It would be almost impossible to get a good nights sleep in a building knowing it has the same fire potential as Grenfell Tower.