Horrific Fire Engulfs London Apartment Tower

[Brian Peacock]

As I understanding it, a contributor factor was also the spaces between the cladding and the building which led to a chimney effect.

[Alan B]

As I understanding it, a contributor factor was also the spaces between the cladding and the building which led to a chimney effect.

Agreed. But if you examine the photo, the panels seem to be installed under window sills and similar extrusions that would in effect act as a fire-break and prevent the chimney effect.
The supporting vertical beam in the photo (there's probably a technical name for it) was probably where the chimney effect started, spreading the conflagration laterally. Even more .

I think we will have wait for the results of the investigation, assuming that it will not be, er, 'politically' influenced...

[Alan B]

Independent

Experts will now look at how different varieties of cladding insulation with different types of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels react in a fire, including unmodified polyethylene, fire retardant polyethylene, and non-combustible mineral, a DCLG spokesperson said.
The tests will now involve building a 30ft (9m) high demonstration wall with a complete cladding system and subjecting it to conditions which replicate "a severe fire".

It appears that all these fire safety failures are because they are testing the polyurethane filler as a 'stand-alone' item instead of testing the whole panel assembly in a building structure mock-up.
In the picture above the Aluminium panels can be seen covering further insulating material (the blue stuff). Previously, reports have seem to have suggested that it is the filling between the Aluminium plates that was tested and failed. No mention was made, it seems, of any other insulating material in the construction.
Edit
Oh, yeah. Just a thought, in the above picture, where's the 'fire-break'?

[mistermack]

I think it's pretty obvious that any panels fitted in the future will be made with non-combustible insulation.
I can't see how they could possibly get anything else past the scrutiny of press, residents and local politicians, even if they wanted to.

As an interim measure, I would still choose to replace the panels above the windows with non-combustible panels, if the money wasn't there for complete replacement. It would probably prevent a repeat of the fire.

And if you combined that with a change to the instructions to residents in case of a fire, to get out immediately, rather than stay put, I doubt if there would ever be the same loss of life again.

And have ultra-loud fire alarms on each landing, set off by either a warden, or significant smoke in the stairs, either one.

[Feck]

I think they turned a High-rise into a "Wood-gas" stove If you build a combined insulated chimney and air intake around a fire source It burns like crazy, hot gases that maybe would deprived of oxygen in another configuration are funneled upwards and fed with plenty of oxygen from below it is AFAIK almost irrelevant what precautions you take inside the building ,although some, like proper fire breaks between floors might have helped a bit .

[pErvinalia]

A proper fire stairwell, although obviously hard(er) to install on existing buildings, would have seen probably no loss of life or close enough.

[Scot Dutchy]

The stairwell was full of gas pipes as gas was being installed. How crazy is that?

[mistermack]

The stairwell was full of gas pipes as gas was being installed. How crazy is that?

Crazy. That copper is worth a lot of money.