Air Apartments residents warned not to have BBQs on balconies due to possible cladding risks

Residents of swanky Air Apartments on Greenhill Rd have been warned not to smoke or have barbecues on their balconies because of the potential fire risk from cladding.

Burnside council has warned residents of Adelaide’s luxury Air Apartments not to use naked flames on balconies because the dangers of flammable cladding was identified in a fire audit.

Chairman of the residents committee Michael Rabbitt said the building – on Greenhill Rd opposite the parklands at Eastwood – was “safe” but Burnside Council’s fire safety committee wanted more protection.

It was recommended that residents remove barbecues, heaters and candles from their balconies and no longer smoke on them until more was known about the potential risk.

Mr Rabbitt is the owner of a rental property at Air and is also an Unley councillor.

“The building is very safe with a whole package of sprinkler systems and generators and pressurised fire stairs,” he said.

“This an added precaution until we work out what to do with the cladding.”

People will be disappointed they can’t have a BBQ on the balcony but most residents are fine.”

Air Apartments building by The Pickard Group on Greenhill Road, Eastwood.

Cladding problems were identified in London’s 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, where 72 people died.

A number of Adelaide buildings were identified as using similar cladding several years ago, including the “low risk” Air structure with recommendations to take action.

In the most dangerous building, the cladding has been stripped and replaced.

Last month it was revealed potentially flammable cladding on one of Adelaide’s tallest and most recognisable buildings – the Grenfell Centre office tower on Grenfell St – was being replaced after a government-led audit of city buildings.

In April, two Port Adelaide apartment blocks were identified as being at “high risk” of fire due to their cladding, and residents were told they could be evacuated if owners failed to remove the dangerous material.

Port Adelaide Enfield Council gave the 166-apartment owners in the neighbouring seven-storey buildings near Port Adelaide a 12-month deadline to strip external cladding from the buildings which have been classed as “high risk” of fire.