New Port apartments caught up in cladding crisis have a history of faults with fire detection systems, Port Adelaide Enfield Council says

Two Port Adelaide apartment blocks are deemed a “high risk” of fire danger – and their potentially combustible cladding is just one of the reasons why.

Few sprinklers, limited access for emergency crews and equipment faults have led to two Port Adelaide apartment blocks with potentially dangerous cladding to be deemed a “high risk” of danger.

The Advertiser exclusively revealed on Tuesday that residents in twin seven-storey New Port towers face a $1.6m bill to remove aluminium composite panels from the 13-year-old buildings.

Residents in 166-apartments have been given 12 months to strip the potentially combustible panels or face possible forced evacuation from the Tarni Court and Pilla Ave properties.

When The Advertiser asked why properties building was classified “high risk”, the Port Adelaide Enfield Council said the “vertical cladding” had potential to “spread fire quickly through the building”.

“As these buildings are not sprinklered (other than the basement carpark area), there is a potential for fire to spread into the apartments and the rest of the building,” a spokesman said.

“ACP wraps the exits to the buildings … which are the only exit into and out of the buildings – this not only poses a threat to residents in the event of a fire, but also prevents the fire brigade from getting access to the Fire Indicator Panel which plays a vital role in rescue operations.”

Residents in the two apartment buildings in New Port have been ordered to replace potentially flammable cladding. Picture: Morgan Sette/The Advertiser

The buildings are under 25m high and do not require sprinklers under the National Construction Code, council chief executive Mark Withers said.

“With the presence of the ACP cladding on the building as identified through the audit process around 2019, the sprinklers became a contributing factor to the overall risk rating of the building,” he said.

The council said the buildings had a history of faults with smoke and fire detectors and that there was limited access to the buildings for firefighters.

The Advertiser sought a response from the buildings’ presiding officers and strata manager.

The State Government-appointed development assessment commission approved plans for the building, which was a joint venture between Urban Construct and Multiplex.

Mr Withers said building rules consent – which is assessment of the plans against building standards such as fire safety – was granted by a private certifier.

“There is no evidence to suggest the private certifier did anything wrong given the cladding issue did not become evident until the high profile fires occurred whereupon ‘cladding combusting potential’ became evident,” he said.

Former Urban Construct director Todd Brown pictured in front of the future New Port apartment blocks.

The government selected appointed Urban Construct and Multiplex in 2004 for a $1.5bn redevelopment of public waterfront land.

Urban Construct’s directors James Rice and Todd Brown were contacted for comment about the use of cladding in the buildings.

As of December there were six SA buildings rated as “extreme” or “high” fire danger out of an initial 30 identified in October 2019 with aluminium cladding following an audit triggered by the deadly Grenfell Tower inferno in London.

The government has refused requests to fund any cladding repairs.

But Strata Community Association SA/NT president Joshua Baldwin said owners of high risk buildings deserved support.

“These people are mum and dad investors and property owners and they did not expect this to happen,” he said. “If the governments or councils want this (repair) to happen immediately then there needs to be an immediate solution from government to provide low-interest loans or no interest loans as has been done in New South Wales.”