“Non-compliant cladding” has reared its ugly head after a massive blaze engulfed a London tower block overnight, bringing back memories of the Grenfell disaster, which killed 72 residents in 2017. More than 40 fire engines and 225 firefighters were called to the fire – which saw 100 residents evacuated and two taken to the hospital for further treatment.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the London Fire Brigade attended the site at 2.44 a.m. (GMT) and confirmed that parts of the scaffolding surrounding the building, the ground floor, and the roof were alight.
Wood Central understands that the tower block, known as The Spectrum Building, has “several fire safety issues known to London Fire Brigade” – with trades working to remove the ‘non-compliant cladding’ on the building – covered by scaffolding before the blaze.
Cladding is typically fitted outside highrise buildings to improve their insulation and appearance. But since the Grenfell tragedy seven years ago, campaigners have called for the Government to fix Britain’s building safety crisis by replacing unsafe cladding.
In response, Grenfell United, a group of survivors and bereaved families from the disaster, posted on X: “Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the fire in Dagenham this morning; we hope all residents are safe and adequately cared for by the authorities.”
The new blaze comes after Wood Central reported (back in March) fears of a new “Grenfell” crisis after a London council raised the alarm after discovering that hundreds of low-rise timber-frame council houses fitted with plastic cladding offer an extreme fire risk.
The potential new danger comes amid an ongoing cladding crisis, which has been found to affect tall apartment blocks with combustible panels and insulation in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
In March, the (former Sunak) government, social landlords, and private developers allocated close to £12 billion to fix the problems, with 4,000 buildings affected across the UK, according to the latest government figures. However, Wood Central reported earlier this year that just 20% of the towers impacted by the combustible cladding have been repaired, and an extra 20% of building repair works are underway.
Last year, Wood Central reported that the Grenfell disaster had been a roadblock to mass timber adoption across UK mid-rise and highrise buildings. However, after the UK’s leading insurance company Aviva expanded its coverage to include mass timber buildings, Alastair Ogle from Waugh Thielston Architects said the UK’s baseline understanding and knowledge about timber buildings had improved immeasurably:
“Aviva wants to embrace both: widening our underwriting appetite to insure commercial buildings using mass timber and using our risk management expertise to minimise associated risks,” according to Adam Winslow, CEO of UK & Ireland General Insurance for Aviva.
- To read more about the Dagenham crisis, visit the Daily Mail for rolling fire coverage.
