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Cladding on 90 tower blocks fails latest fire safety test
The cladding on 90 tower blocks owned by social landlords has failed the government’s latest, more in-depth fire safety test.
The second test by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) was concentrated on aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding with a polyethylene filler and stone wool insulation. It checked whether flames spread up panels fixed to a nine-metre rig.
The government’s fire safety expert panel said the results from the test show this combination does not meet current building regulation guidance.
There are 111 buildings known to have this combination of wall cladding, including 90 tower blocks owned by councils and housing associations.
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In the wake of the new test failures, the government has issued fresh advice for owners of buildings with ACM, polyethylene and stone wool cladding.
It states: “Put in place a plan to review the cladding system and undertake remedial work, in particular to remove cladding”.
Rockwool, the manufacturer of the stone wool insulation, insisted that the product is non-combustible and that it meets “the highest standard of reaction to fire”.
Cladding samples from all the buildings failed the government’s first testing round when just the ACM cladding was tested.
The BRE is carrying out six tests in total, looking at different combinations of ACM cladding. Landlords with tower block cladding that is not ACM have questioned why their cladding samples are not being tested by the BRE under the government’s programme.
The government recently announced a review of building regulations in response to the large number of tower blocks failing fire safety tests.
