London Tower Block Inferno

[sasguru]

Much as people want to make this a party-political point - that's bollocks.
This is simply a result of a decline in British building standards from a high point in the 80s to the crud standards that prevail now.
To the extent that the cladding wasn't banned when it was a known fire risk.
I bet everything was signed off properly to the prevailing (low) standards.
I know at least 2 people who live in million pound + flats in London and who are unhappy with the building quality and fire escape amenities.
Developers are free to throw up tower blocks with the minimum of rules and the London skyline is being transformed by these dangerous eyesores.
Only a matter of time before there's another.

PS Only 17 dead? More like 100+.

[BrilloPad]

Much as people want to make this a party-political point - that's bollocks.

Agreed. However alot of thickos will blame the Tories.

[northernladyuk]

Agreed. However alot of thickos will blame the Tories.

Let's see how the inquiry turns out, before jumping to any conclusions.

[BrilloPad]

Let's see how the inquiry turns out, before jumping to any conclusions.

I fully expect the inquiry to say (in 800 pages, 5 years and costing x100 million) what sasguru said so concisely. And building regs to change. And for it to be a non party issue.

So will most on CUK.

However the thickos will see things differently.

[NotAllThere]

Its not just the Tories

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/380653...fell-tower-5k/

https://stv.tv/news/features/1391320...ch-back-years/

Grenfell Tower fire: Cladding used on block 'was banned in US' | The Independent

The cladding company has said

Our thoughts are with those affected by the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower in London. Our records show a Celotex product (RS5000) was purchased for use in refurbishing the building. Full technical information on all of our products is available here on our website. If required, we will assist with enquiries from the relevant authorities at the appropriate time. Due to the nature of this developing situation it would be inappropriate for us to comment or speculate further on this tragedy.
https://www.celotex.co.uk/

RS5000 - Class O fire performance. According to this appropriate for " hospitals, schools, old peoples’ homes, etc."

[The_Equalizer]

Agreed. However alot of thickos will blame the Tories.

Indeed. In fact the Corbyn army are in overdrive.

[ctdctd]

The cladding company has said



RS5000 - Class O fire performance. According to this appropriate for " hospitals, schools, old peoples’ homes, etc."

So Class O is as good as it gets?

Linky

"What is the difference between Class 1 and Class II ?

Both are classifications of the surface spread of flame test (BS 476 part 7). They refer to the degree of flame spread on an ignited panel 900mm x 230mm cut from a laminate. The panel is exposed at right angles to a radiant panel to reproduce the effect of a fire on an adjoining wall or ceiling. It is ignited at the hotter end and allowed to burn for 10 minutes. Flame spread is measured along a line 75mm from the base.

A Class 1 rating is given if the spread of flame is no greater than 165mm

A Class II rating is given if the spread of flame is no greater than 215mm in the first 1½ minutes and on overall spread of no more than 455mm.
What is Class 0 ?

Class 0 is a Building Regulations rating and not a British Standard Classification. To attain Class 0, a sample must meet Class 1 for spread of flame and also meet the fire propagation requirements of BS476 Part 6. (Hence we quote Class 1/0 as our product meets both criteria).
The Part 6 test was introduced because investigations into the growth of building fires showed that spread of flame was not the only significant factor. Fire propagation (or the amount of heat added to a fire by the energy output of burning materials) was also an important consideration."

[BlasterBates]

Looks to me like a cock-up. Builders always follow regulations, and they did, and they try and do it as cheap as possible whilst being inside the regulations. That is exactly what they're supposed to do. You can't expect the Engineer that selected the cladding to do some research and development, they simply ensure the material is within the regulations. This was a government cock up of not ensuring fire regulations are constantly reviewed.

Airlines are also profit driven but they all have to satisfy the regulations. Must admit on my first Ryan Air flight I was a bit worried until I noticed that their plane was a brand new Air Bus. I was expecting a second hand Aeroflot jet.

[northernladyuk]

The cladding company has said



RS5000 - Class O fire performance. According to this appropriate for " hospitals, schools, old peoples’ homes, etc."

Something on Class O fire performance here (Warning it is from that disgusting Corbynista rag The Telegraph)

Eight failures that left people of Grenfell Tower at mercy of the inferno

A litany of failings in building regulation and safety rules have left residents in tower blocks vulnerable for decades. Despite constant warnings from fire experts, nothing was done to improve fire-proofing standards, or even review the current situation. Here are the eight times that the victims of Grenfell Tower were let down.

A change in the law

Until 1986 all buildings in London fell under the London Building Acts which ensured that external walls must have at least one hour of fire resistance to prevent flames from spreading between flats or entering inside.

But under Margaret Thatcher’s government, those rules were replaced by the National Buildings Regulations and the crucial time stipulation was scrapped.

Instead, materials used on the outside of buildings now only had to meet ‘Class O’ regulations and show that they did not add to the heat or intensity of a fire. But crucially they did not have to be non-combustible.


For the past three decades fire safety experts have warned that the ‘Class O’ designation was based on small-scale tests conducted in laboratory conditions and did not properly evaluate cladding in a live fire.

A recent London Fire Brigade investigation into the fire at a tower block fire at Shepherd Court in West London in August 2016 found that external cladding had helped the fire to spread.

They found that when exposed to high flames the metal sheet of the cladding had melted away, setting the inner polystyrene foam on fire and allowing ‘flaming droplets’ to fall onto lower floors while helping flames to spread higher up. Fire chiefs wrote to every council in London to warn them of the dangers but no action was taken.

[northernladyuk]

Theresa May is a very odd PM. The Queen has managed to meet the residents. May looks ridiculous and heartless for not doing the same. What is going on?

Edit: possibly bad taste:

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politi...20170616129681