Looking at a
Guardian article.
“The issue is that, under building regulations, only the surface of the cladding has to be fire-proofed to class 0, which is about surface spread,” says Tarling. “The stuff behind it doesn’t, and it’s this which has burned.”
Vitally.
“The issue is about compartmentalisation,” he says. “Whatever cladding system you use, you have to incorporate fire stops at the line of each floorplate and every party wall around a dwelling to prevent fire from spreading up the facade. The current regulations are robust enough, but they have to be properly followed, and the architects drawings properly executed on site.”
Worryingly
“We have been very concerned about the introduction of highly combustible products into buildings,” he says. “They are often being introduced on the back of the sustainability agenda, but it’s sometimes being done recklessly without due consideration to the consequences. It’s not uncommon for buildings to have blocks of polystyrene up to 30cm deep on the outside, which is an extraordinary quantity of combustible material to be sticking on to a building. There are often ventilation voids between the rainscreen cladding and the insulation to prevent damp, but this also increases the spread of flames.”
So, in short. It has to be fireproof from in front to stop outside fire. It has to have fire breaks inside, between floors, to stop a fire that has started from torching up the whole building as we saw. Contractors are fitting certified stuff then not putting in the security breaks properly.
To add misery to a bad situation, the correct fire prevention was not put on the gas lines inside the building.
So there are regulations in place. Followed slavishly they would have avoided this kind of fire. They are not being followed correctly and they are not being fully inspected.
I'd say new regulations are needed and that, above all, they need to be followed and inspected. For Everyone, especially the councils.