Tuesday 19th of March 2024

a fire waiting to happen?...

cladding

An old building refurbished with aluminium cladding to hide the decrepit concrete. There are reports that the new cladding was not fireproof. Aluminium cladding has been used for a long time but some cladding are better than others. In one of my articles I invoked the new buildings designed with hubcaps. Build a box and cover it up with pretty stuff that looks either shiny or polished. Aluminium cladding is ideal for this kind of fudge: it's light and easy to install in channels bolted (or glued) to the building structure. It's not reliable when it's facing a lot of "traffic, including shopping trolleys. But on the outside of building, it's highly weather resistant, especially when it's anodise. It has no structural value and there are different grades in regard to fireproofing. 

Yet under intense heat, the aluminium will melt (and burn) leaving the plastic core exposed. Whatever plastic is used, from foam to hard plastics, there is a point at which it will ignite. Under certain conditions if there is rust around, rust, plastic, plaster, fuel (plastic or liquid) and aluminium can combine to make a deadly fiery and explosive thermite mix. 

It is my humble view that the collapse of the World Towers came from such mix of elements that led to explosive-like matter around the steel columns. One only needs one floor to collapse at a certain level for the whole edifice to crash, storey by storey. 

Even decrepit concrete has a much greater chance to resist such high fire. Steel will distort (shrink) beyond 750 degrees Celsius and create some unstable tensions when various columns are at different stage of heat.

The next question is how come in a major 2016 refurbishment, there had been no installation of sprinkler systems, nor fire alarms, nor fire exit plans. If the refurbishment was basically a beautification job, it was singularly a waste of time. 

Condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones in an unnecessary and possibly criminal fire.

 

Picture of aluminium cladding by Gus Leonisky at top. This cladding is made with thin aluminium sheets on both sides of a hard plastic core. Bending of the cladding is usually achieved by grooving the cladding and bending -- leaving only the external aluminium sheet to take the load of the lightweight cladding.

 

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The manufacturer of the panels used to clad the London tower block where at least 30 people died in a fire this week advised customers against using its polyethylene-cored tiles — the ones reportedly used at Grenfell Tower — in high-rise buildings.

Key points:
  • Panels reportedly used not suitable for high-rise buildings
  • Suitable panels would have cost a few dollars more each
  • British safety codes usually use principles rather than rules

 

Diagrams of Reynobond tiles from a brochure dated from 2016 shows how polyethylene (PE) core tiles are suitable only for buildings up to 10 metres in height.

"As soon as the building is higher than the firefighters' ladders, it has to be conceived with an incombustible material," the brochure said.

The brochure was issued by French-based Arconic Architectural Products which is responsible for the European marketing of systems produced by US company Arconic, which owns Reynobond.

The Guardian and the BBC have reported panels with a PE core were used in a refurbishment of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower that was completed just last year.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-17/8627790

 

compassion, compassion, compassion...

Grief is turning to outrage in the wake of London's deadly Grenfell Tower apartment block fire, with British Prime Minister Theresa May confronted by protesters and a crowd of angry locals storming the local town hall.

Key points:
  • Locals storm town hall accusing authorities of forcing low-income families into sub-standard housing
  • PM Theresa May struggles to overcome accusations she lacked compassion for victims
  • Outside insulation panels installed on Grenfell may have helped fire spread, experts say

 

Tensions were high two days after the overnight fire gutted the huge housing block, killing at least 30 people and leaving dozens missing and hundreds homeless.

Ms May, who was criticised a day earlier for not meeting with locals and survivors, visited the area again on Friday to meet with some locals inside a church.

But the Conservative leader still struggled to overcome accusations that she lacked compassion because she had failed to meet with victims on her first visit to the devastated site.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-17/protesters-target-theresa-may-as-g...

failure -- a poisoned gift to the poor...

IT'S A BIT SOON to speculate too much about the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire — and it would be doubly premature to talk about who knew what and when they might have known it. But in light of issues with the flammability of external cladding on apartments elsewhere, I think everyone has some idea of where this story is going.

Even before we have definitive answers, there’s a question already on everyone’s lips: How can something like this happen?

The world we live is in complex. The technological artefacts that are the defining icons of our age are no exception. Our phones, cars, apps, appliances, and dwellings are the culmination of engineering, design and manufacturing processes that involve thousands of decisions made by thousands of people. And usually, these wonders of the modern era work reasonably well for the bulk of people using them. Technological know-how is only part of success here — the values that these important decision-makers hold play an important role. Our safety and security rests, in no small part, on the skill, diligence and integrity of engineering and design professionals.

Failure, sadly, is always an option.

Modern engineering doesn’t usually go catastrophically wrong, but it does happen often enough that patterns emerge. These failures do not usually sit with one person and they often have a moral component. People don’t just fail to do the calculations correctly, they fail to do the right thing.

read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/grenfell-towe...

 

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hypocrisy of a right wing media smelling trouble...

 

The “revolution” is being televised – & we should ask why


by Catte


There is something strange about the media coverage of the Grenfell tragedy. The BBC is giving over acres of space to the pain and anger of the residents. The Guardian’s front page currently looks the The Canary, and in its Opinion section Jonathan Freedland, of all people, is saying Grenfell will “forever stand as a rebuke to the Right”.

He’s correct of course, but that’s not the point. The point is Freedland, the BBC and the Guardian are the “Right” now and have been for many years, in so much as they have been, until a week ago, staunch defenders of the rabid, fascistic and despoiling policies that have characterised the “liberal” agenda since Blair. They have approved illegal wars, mass murder, “austerity”, mass surveillance, the despoiling of the NHS, the deprivation of the weak and vulnerable. They believe the suffering of the poor and powerless is merely a necessary adjunct to social “progress.”

So, what is going on here?

Maybe the “liberal” media is seeing the light and realising the years of deprivation have gone too far? Maybe the Guardian suddenly really supports social justice and the welfare state? Maybe Grenfell will be a catalyst for real change, ignite the dormant sense of decency in our champagne “socialists” and left-of-centre opinion-makers. 

Well, maybe. But it doesn’t seem like a good bet does it?

Maybe the media are bandwagon-jumping. Following the story, not creating it because the social tide is currently too strong to ignore?

This is a bit more plausible, but the BBC and the rest of the tame media can easily ignore a crowd of ten thousand marching through central London when it wants to. They do similar things all the time. If they didn’t want us to know about this upsurge of anger wouldn’t they simply  not talk about it, just as they didn’t talk about the mass anti-war demos and didn’t cover the anti-austerity demos, and (mostly) didn’t cover the huge crowds Corbyn was collecting?

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Answer: Counting pennies. Bad news sell papers... no morality in this change of heart...

no more panels...

The company that supplied the cladding used on London's Grenfell Tower — which was destroyed by fire earlier this month, killing 79 people — says it will stop global sales of plastic-filled aluminium panels.

Key points:
  • Arconic shares fall 11.3 per cent
  • UK authorities say panels in Grenfell Tower were in breach of building regulations
  • Arconic could face lawsuits in UK and US

 

Shares of Arconic Inc, formerly a part of Alcoa, fell as much as 11.3 per cent after it was revealed it had supplied the cladding knowing it would be used at Grenfell Tower, despite warning in its brochures those specific panels were a fire risk for tall buildings.

Lawyers said Arconic could face lawsuits on both sides of the Atlantic over its role in the fire, including claims brought by victims and their families, although the extent of the company's legal liabilities is not clear.

Arconic did not immediately reply to a request for comment on potential legal action.

Announcing the end of sales of the panels for tall buildings, Arconic cited "inconsistencies in building codes around the world" and code compliance issues that have arisen concerning use of cladding systems as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/aronic-ends-panel-sales-after-gren...

 

Faulty and lax building codes are at the source of this problem. see hubcaps...

they knew the product was highly flammable...

More than a decade before the deadly Grenfell tower fire in London, Australian suppliers of aluminium composite cladding knew the product they were selling with a polyethylene (PE) core was highly flammable.

Key points:
  • Cheaper PE-core cladding installed in Australian buildings despite more fire-resistant cladding's availability
  • Preliminary audit identified 1,011 buildings in NSW that require investigation
  • Supplier says "hundreds of thousands of square metres" of cladding could have been used before 2000

 

Despite more fire-resistant cladding being widely available in Europe and the USA, the cheaper PE core cladding continued to be installed on medium and high-rise buildings in Australia until 2013.

A Four Corners investigation has revealed that some international manufacturers and their Australian suppliers were aware of the risks associated with using PE cladding on high-rise buildings, but they continued to import it because Australia's lax and ambiguous building standards allowed it.

Australia — in the grip of a once-in-a- generation building boom — now has a large legacy of buildings swathed in the potentially deadly material.

The number of affected properties is unknown but could be in the thousands, with a preliminary audit in NSW alone identifying 1,011 buildings that require investigation.

There could be thousands of home owners who are living in unsafe apartment buildings who face multimillion-dollar bills to fix their buildings.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-04/australian-high-rises-swathed-in-f...

 

anger about cladding...

Matt Wrack told the meeting that “very powerful forces are lobbying against a ban, and they have the ear of the government”. These companies are part of a multi-billion pound building, construction and property industry.

Wrack said that before Grenfell no tests were conducted on combustible cladding, which has also been used on hundreds of blocks across Britain, but since the fire dozens of tests have all failed fire safety requirements.

He said the FBU is also calling for a thorough review of fire and building regulations, which have been decimated in the past 20 years, and cuts to fire brigade services.

Ten fire stations and 600 firefighter posts were cut in the capital during Boris Johnson’s term as London Mayor, and 2015-2016 saw a 15% rise in fire deaths in London.

On the day of the tragedy, firefighters had to call for assistance from neighbouring brigades, yet even then had to work in the tower for 12 hours or more with no chance of being relieved.

The FBU has complained to the inquiry about its choice of expert witnesses, who include the same Chief Fire Officers who supported service cuts and de-regulation.

 

Read more:

https://off-guardian.org/2018/10/01/warnings-of-protests-at-grenfell-tow...

 

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anger about cladding...

Matt Wrack told the meeting that “very powerful forces are lobbying against a ban, and they have the ear of the government”. These companies are part of a multi-billion pound building, construction and property industry.

Wrack said that before Grenfell no tests were conducted on combustible cladding, which has also been used on hundreds of blocks across Britain, but since the fire dozens of tests have all failed fire safety requirements.

He said the FBU is also calling for a thorough review of fire and building regulations, which have been decimated in the past 20 years, and cuts to fire brigade services.

Ten fire stations and 600 firefighter posts were cut in the capital during Boris Johnson’s term as London Mayor, and 2015-2016 saw a 15% rise in fire deaths in London.

On the day of the tragedy, firefighters had to call for assistance from neighbouring brigades, yet even then had to work in the tower for 12 hours or more with no chance of being relieved.

The FBU has complained to the inquiry about its choice of expert witnesses, who include the same Chief Fire Officers who supported service cuts and de-regulation.

 

Read more:

https://off-guardian.org/2018/10/01/warnings-of-protests-at-grenfell-tow...

 

Read from top.