Concerns over Australian building fire safety after London tragedy

SBS World News Radio: Many people are asking how the fire in London's Grenfell Tower spread so quickly.

Concerns over Australian building fire safety after London tragedy

Concerns over Australian building fire safety after London tragedy

It's too soon to tell and official investigations are underway, but there's speculation the building's new cladding could have contributed.

And there are fears some Australian high-rises could also be compromised.

Australian skylines are dotted with high rise towers.

There are fears many of them could prove to be the death traps the Grenfell tower proved to be.

Engineer Stephen Kip coducts fire safety building audits.

"What I'm seeing when I audit buildings are uses of foam-based cladding materials, polystyrene, polyethelene and sometimes polyurethane, which are not compliant with the building code but which are used because they're cheap and energy-efficient."

Senator Nich Xenophon is calling for immediate action in Australia.

"We have to take this very seriously, we need to have an audit of all high rise buildings which have cladding, to ensure it's fire retardant and meets Australian standards. If it's not, it needs to be removed."

A 2014 fire at the Lacrosse apartments in Melbourne's Docklands, blamed on the cladding, spread through 13 floors in less than 11 minutes.

Nearly a thousand people were forced to flee.

Chris Stoltz from Engineers Australia, says only two years ago, a skyscraper fire in Dubai forced a tightening of rules there.

"The way to solve it is to make sure that the building companies that build these buildings, the developers who develop them and fund them, that they use properly certified engineers in their design, and have their buildings certified by a fire safety engineer."

With the high price of housing, apartment living is an increasingly popular option in Australia.

Building experts, like University of Melbourne's Giorgio Marfella, are warning buyers to ensure they complete all the necessary checks.

"They should ask for proof..."

A senate committee report investigating the use of non-conforming building materials is due in October.

 

 


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2 min read
Published 15 June 2017 7:00pm
Updated 15 June 2017 7:21pm

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