Not wishing to be pedantic but flammable and inflammable mean the same thing - such materials are capable of catching fire; flame ******ants are added to slow down the rate of burn and that depends on the properties of the ******ant and the application of the materials it protects. Buy cheap, burn faster. What we all saw was the equivalent of someone 'drawing' their old coal fire by creating a draught over combustible materials. All it needed was a firelighter. This was engineered in the cause of aesthetic energy saving, done on the cheap by a cash-strapped ALMO, but, and I have no doubt in my mind, totally compliant. This raises many hard questions that are only just beginning to be brought up in the public arena, but anyone involved in construction will be shaking their heads quietly.
We'll find out in due course if the wrong stuff was used, or there was a fault with it, but it was supposed to be the highest spec available... Design specifications seen by the Press Association suggest the renovation work carried out at Grenfell Tower included a 50mm "ventilated cavity" next to 150mm of Celotex FR5000 insulation. This insulation, according to Celotex, has a Class 0 rating under UK building regulations, meaning it has the highest rating for preventing the spread of flames and prevents the spread of heat.
I found it a bit strange, one the BBC this morning they said that the cladding was fire ******ant, but once it does catch fire it burns rapidly. Maybe it is coated with a ******ant, and once that is breached then what is underneath is very inflammable.
17 now confirmed dead. I'd always assumed (obviously wrongly), that tower blocks had the same systems as hotels, where there's a fire hose on each floor.
I will be extremely surprised if the products used are non-compliant with building regs; but unsurprised to be shown that the products are susceptible to installation applications and 'unforseen events'. TWT, as I know there is much more to come and the ramifications are very serious for the industry and social housing sector.
I'm not sure it will reach triple figures, the Telegraph have compiled a list of everyone they believe is missing and there's 26 of them (there's actually 31 names on the list, but that was before the official death toll rose from 12 to 17).
One of the big problems with tower blocks is The sole stairwell essentially becomes a chimney, smoke rises obviously A modern sprinker system would have been incredibly effective at lowering the intensity of the heat and flames Loud fire alarms in the public areas of the building A fire extinguisher at the fire start point could have ended it right there And regardless of whether the cladding was extremely flammable, which i doubt, it is still more prone to fire than the original concrete facade These horrific post war tower blocks should not be in use in 2017 But alas it's far too early to know exactly why it spread so fast etc The experts will figure it out
Just look at the remaining facade and the fall of ash, rather than panels, this product was flammable; the degree of how flammable it was is best judged by the outcome rather than a specification sheet. Modern buildings are equally susceptible to this happening. The structure of the building had nothing to do with the outcome, the recent refurbishment is what should be critically investigated. Building Regulations, materials regulations and permitted application is where the real scrutiny belongs.
That's exactly how insulation burns. It flashes, resists up to a point then all goes up in seconds. Trust me I know
17 dead...17 too many. RIP to them all and thoughts to all the family + friends of the deceased and injured I pray I do not need any more roses
