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GRENFELL TOWER FIRE

The cladding was not fireproof but just fire resistant and the mistake was that the building regulations did not spot the difference quickly enough.  The survivors are looking for someone to blame but this is not appropriate as it was a mistake by the authorities not the design engineers..

BUT more importantly what do we do about the other buildings that are at risk; to avoid another disaster?

Well, the fire fighters problem was that they could not get up above the fire and douse it or rescue the residence in the upper floors.

SO priority must be to remove the cladding on the tall tower blocks first and at the same time arrange for roof access for all residents in the case of fires.  Once the roof is a secure place then crane helicopters can be used to evacuate any residents that are unable to escape downwards due to the fire. 

In my book, the loss of life at Grenfell would have been minimal if the roof had been equipped with a secure area, i.e a fireproof [asbestos cement clad] container on its roof.
Parents
  • The fire safety case of all these building is based on each flat being a safe haven in the event of a fire in another flat.

    The cheapest and best solution is to make sure that this is a true assumption.

    The design change that undermined this assumption was the external cladding along with plastic window frames so three solutions present themselves:
    remove the cladding

    fire proof the windows

    ensure that fire cannot spread by this route, i.e. fit external fie breaks and / or sprinklers


    The more difficult issue is how, in our system of regulation where so many different organisations are involved, do we quickly formulate new regulations and who pays to retrofit where this is needed because of a failure of the earlier regulations.

Reply
  • The fire safety case of all these building is based on each flat being a safe haven in the event of a fire in another flat.

    The cheapest and best solution is to make sure that this is a true assumption.

    The design change that undermined this assumption was the external cladding along with plastic window frames so three solutions present themselves:
    remove the cladding

    fire proof the windows

    ensure that fire cannot spread by this route, i.e. fit external fie breaks and / or sprinklers


    The more difficult issue is how, in our system of regulation where so many different organisations are involved, do we quickly formulate new regulations and who pays to retrofit where this is needed because of a failure of the earlier regulations.

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