After London fire, 600 tower blocks must be tested for flammable cladding

Record ID: 896541

  • Title: After London fire, 600 tower blocks must be tested for flammable cladding
  • Date: 22nd June 2017
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) CHARRED STRUCTURE OF GRENFELL TOWER
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2017 22:22
  • Keywords: fire cladding Grenfell London building combustible residents council
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA0026MD3M87
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The government is urgently conducting safety checks on an estimated 600 high-rise buildings in England which have exterior cladding panels after at least 79 people are believed to have died when fire consumed a London tower block last week, officials said on Thursday (June 22).
    Workmen were seen removing cladding of a building in north London on Thursday that has been confirmed to have similar material that used in Grenfell. Residents of the building express their worry to be living in a structure that is not deemed safe.
    Cladding, added during a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, may have played a part in the June 14 disaster when flames sped through the 24-storey residential building, trapping people inside, residents have said.
    Cladding panels are often added to the exterior of buildings to insulate them and, particularly in the case of ageing tower blocks, to improve their external appearance. The panels vary in terms of their fire resistance depending on their intended use.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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