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posted by janrinok on Monday May 28 2018, @10:15AM   Printer-friendly
from the there-is-a-price-to-pay dept.

The World Socialist Web Site reports

As the official Grenfell Tower Inquiry opened, Panorama special Grenfell: Who Is To Blame, with reporting by Richard Bilton of the BBC, offers a devastating indictment of the corporate forces responsible for the June 14, 2017 inferno that claimed 72 lives.

Grenfell Tower was covered in flammable cladding and insulation materials that had never been tested together. Bilton's investigation draws out how companies were denying their responsibility for testing, jeopardising the safety of many thousands living in social and privately-owned housing tower blocks.

Bilton accuses manufacturer Celotex of having "knowingly misled buyers" about the safety and testing history of the insulation material. The formula for the Celotex product that received the safety certificate was different and safer than the product used at Grenfell Tower.

[...] Bilton's starting point is the 2014 refurbishment--which covered Grenfell Tower in highly flammable material--as he seeks to identify those responsible. Architect Andrzej Kuszell's design had created the gaps that allowed the fire to spread. Even given the relaxation of building regulations, says Bilton, it was Kuszell's job to make his plans safe and he failed.

Lead construction company Rydon was paid £8.7 million to refurbish Grenfell Tower between 2014 and 2016, winning the contract by undercutting rival bids. Central to this was cutting costs by using cheaper materials. They failed to fill the gaps at the side of the windows, allowing the fire to spread.

Bilton states that it was Rydon's suggestion to swap non-combustible materials for cheaper, flammable, substitutes. Fire expert Arnold Tarling, describing the fire as "totally avoidable", said the company had opted to use a "highly flammable material that is also highly toxic when burned". This was "utterly wicked", he said.

As the building was to use a new combination of cladding and insulation materials, says Bilton, Rydon were legally responsible for conducting safety tests, and "we don't think they did".

[...] The cladding and insulation materials had never been tested together. The makers of both products knew they were being combined at Grenfell Tower, but did not warn of risks.

Panorama tested both the cladding and the insulation. When the cladding gets hot its plastic centre melts and burns, immediately igniting the highly flammable insulation. Bilton sums it up, "The more you look at what was on Grenfell Tower, the more horrifying it becomes."

When the programme showed footage of fire tests being conducted on the insulation material used at Grenfell, Bilton has to explain that this was the actual rate of fire spread: "It's not sped up." Later we see footage of Grenfell shot by firefighters and their shock at the rapid spread of the fire.

Professor Richard Hull, Professor of Chemistry and Fire Science at the University of Central Lancashire, notes that the fire began on the fourth floor and spread up 24 floors in just 15 minutes.

[...] The rate of fire spread was compounded by the toxic smoke released. This contained hydrogen cyanide, which is 20 times more toxic than carbon monoxide.

Previous: Towering Inferno in London; At least 12 Dead, Dozens More to Hospital
UK: All Building Cladding Samples Tested Failed Fire Safety!


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2018, @03:11PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2018, @03:11PM (#685163)

    ...perhaps we could be spared of the shit he posts.

    You have my permission to ignore his next post, and maybe we could be spared your 'critique', as he is right on about moronic neighbors being much more dangerous than a faulty appliance, on the average. Or maybe your place has never been burned out by the asshole on the floor below falling asleep with a lit cigarette in bed.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2018, @03:18PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2018, @03:18PM (#685164)

    Or maybe your place has never been burned out by the asshole on the floor below falling asleep with a lit cigarette in bed.

    Just from curiosity, how many times your place has been burned down "by the asshole on the floor below"?
    Does it happen frequent in your part of the world?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2018, @11:35PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 28 2018, @11:35PM (#685342)

      Just from curiosity, how many times your place has been burned down "by the asshole on the floor below"?

      >0... Yeah, that shit still happens. If that isn't enough for you, then I shall answer with a question. How many times has your place been burned down by short circuiting appliances* and cheap flammable siding, Hmmm?

      *I'll cut you some slack if you live the UK. You don't fucking need 220v!