Latest News Tue, Apr 17, 2018 2:28 PM
A leaked report into the causes of last year’s Grenfell Tower fire by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) has alleged major problems in the building’s refurbishment in 2016.
Seventy-one residents died during the fire and the BRE report submitted to the Metropolitan Police's criminal investigation - carried in full by the Evening Standard - has highlighted five significant issues in the refurbishment work.
Grenfell Tower underwent an £8.6m refurbishment, completed in May 2016, which included recladding the building in panels of Arconic's Reynolux coated aluminium sheets with a Reynobond polyethylene (PE) core. Celotex supplied RS5000 insulation.
The refurbishment was carried out by Rydon Maintenance for Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and approved by Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea building control.
According to the Evening Standard, the BRE report has identified five significant breaches of building regulations that appear directly implicated in the loss of life:
1. The cavity barriers, which in the event of fire are meant to expand and seal the gap between the concrete surface of the building and the cladding insulation, were of “insufficient size specification” to be effective. Some cavity barriers were installed upside down or back to front, further retarding their effectiveness. The chosen cavity barriers were designed to close a gap of 25mm but the actual gap was up to 50mm. This failure provided a route for fire to spread.
2. The window frames were 150mm narrower than the gap between the concrete surfaces of the columns. Spaces were filled by a rubberised membrane, rigid foam insulation and uPVC lightweight plastic panels incapable of providing 30 minutes fire resistance, providing fuel for, rather than a barrier to, the fire.
3. The insulation used was combustible and provided a medium for fire spread up, across and within sections of the facade.
4. The aluminium composite material used in the facade had a highly combustible polyethylene core.
5. Many flats had no door closers on their front doors so as residents fled, doors remained opened, further encouraging fire to spread.
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