London cladding link to 2014 Melbourne fire

LATEST: CLADDING that caused a 2014 Docklands fire’s rapid spread is also believed to have fuelled the London fire. The highly flammable cladding is found in more than half of Melbourne’s apartment towers.

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CLADDING believed to have fuelled the London fire is similar to that found partly responsible for a 2014 Docklands apartment fire.

And an audit last year found more than half of Melbourne’s surveyed buildings contained highly flammable cladding.

Concerns have been raised over the Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) rainscreen overclad that an online document shows was used at the Grenfell Tower, where at least 12 people have been confirmed dead overnight.

The same material was found by the MFB to have contributed to the spread of a fire at the 23-storey Lacrosse building in Docklands on November 25, 2014.

The 2014 Docklands fire.

Yesterday’s London fire. AFP Photo

A fire investigator examines the scene at the 2014 Docklands fire. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Debris falls from the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in London. Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

An online document from Harley Facades Ltd shows the London tower was installed with “over-cladding with ACM cassette rainscreen” in a £8.6 million renovation ($14.5m AUD).

The cladding is made with aluminium sheets and a polyethylene fibre core.

The material was also installed at the Docklands high rise that went up in flames with the fire travelling up the side of the building in 11 minutes and forcing more than 300 residents to flee.

An investigation was launched into the blaze and found the use of the Alucobest brand cladding at Docklands did not meet compliance standards and breached combustibility requirements.

The fire damaged apartment complex 'Lacrosse' in Docklands. Picture: Steve Tanner

Residents evacuated after the Docklands fire. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The Victorian Building Authority launched an audit after the Docklands blaze and last year found that more than half of Melbourne’s towers included flammable cladding.

The building watchdog investigated at least 170 buildings in inner Melbourne.

Senator Nick Xenophon also announced a Senate Inquiry into the safety and legality of building materials imported into Australia, which is due to hand down a report in October.

After the London tower fire, Senator Xenophon called for an urgent audit of Australian buildings suspected of using non-compliant material.

“This is a critical wake-up call,” he told The Australian .

“This is a much more serious version of Lacrosse.”

Evidence before the Senate Inquiry included that the Lacrosse blaze could have claimed “hundreds of lives”.

Builders Collective of Australia president Phil Dwyer warned anyone looking to purchase a Melbourne apartment against any building that had combustible cladding.

“Don’t buy it, don’t take the risk,” he told 3AW’s Ross and John.

“It’s just not worth it.

“This product is so flammable, it’s like a firecracker or like a flare.

“It basically explodes and the heat is enormous.”

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