Fire Sector Summit
We already knew this after the Lakanal House fire, but chose to ignore it. We know the cladding was Reynobond –
two sheets of aluminium sandwiching a core of extruded thermoplastic made of polyethylene. We know polyethylene has a low melting point. We know that if it burns, it can burn fiercely, producing highly toxic fumes of oxides of nitrogen and carbon including hydrogen cyanide. We know similar cladding has caused at least eight major fires in the past. We know the insulation was Celotex RS 5000 made of PIR, a rigid foam which doesn’t burn easily – but when it does, it too gives off high levels of hydrogen cyanide. We know Siderise fire barriers were fitted, but
were overwhelmed. We know the regulations – specifically Approved Document B (ADB) – are difficult to follow and haven’t been updated for well over a decade. We know successive ministers have been
resistant to updating them. We know successive ministers have refused to require sprinklers – or even to encourage their use, let alone campaign in favour of them. I could name them all. Again, let’s recall that their indifference was despite the recommendations of the Lakanal House coroner. We know the Grenfell scheme must have
been officially approved by a building control process. In short, we know a lot. The inquiries may tell us more, but we already know there was a dereliction of responsibility. And we already know enough not to prevaricate any further.
As for the local council getting so much
blame, councils all around the country have used similar materials. And why shouldn’t they? They were officially inspected and officially approved. Then there is this nonsense that the cladding
was only there for the benefit of gentrified homes nearby. No it wasn’t. That was just a line in the proposal for PR purposes to make the building work more acceptable to neighbours. The reason for treating the outside of the building was a more noble one: to improve thermal insulation – just as every householder is being urged to do. The council was blamed for acting like a
rabbit caught in headlights. It has still failed to rehouse most of those displaced. But – and I have no flag to wave for Kensington and Chelsea Council – the truth is that hardly any other local authority could have done better. Some can’t even collect the bins each week. Money is tight and they’ve not got contingencies for disasters of this rarity or scale. No, the real culprits are higher up the food
chain. For heaven’s sake, how could successive governments and successive ministers be so complacent?
Sometimes politicians and their advisers get
fixated on tabloid terms like ‘red tape’ (I seem to remember Margaret Thatcher cut red tape that restrained the banks. What a good idea that turned out to be). Yes, by all means cut unnecessary regulation. But first check that it really is unnecessary. Good governance can never be reflexive, even if politics so often is.
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
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