Tower block fire - london

Soldato
Joined
25 Nov 2007
Posts
5,581
Location
London
OCUK experts have debunked that theory :D

No, all that nonsense they put on the exterior of the building to make it look better seems was not fireproof, seems like the fire spread from one place vertically along the outside of the building, and then into various flats.

^^^ literally all anyone needs to say.

416C0EBC00000578-4604296-image-m-8_1497468426294.jpg


416C0ED800000578-4604296-image-a-9_1497468438827.jpg
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2005
Posts
16,561
No, all that nonsense they put on the exterior of the building to make it look better seems was not fireproof, seems like the fire spread from one place vertically along the outside of the building, and then into various flats.

^^^ literally all anyone needs to say.

Fair enough, so basically it does not confirm to building regs? they really are talking tripe on the TV
 
Caporegime
Joined
23 Dec 2011
Posts
32,940
Location
Northern England
Fair enough, so basically it does not confirm to building regs? they really are talking tripe on the TV

It confirms to the regulations that were in place at the time. The refurbishment works also conform to current legislation. Just because you clad the outside of a building however doesn't mean you have to then start modifying other unconnected parts.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2005
Posts
16,561
It confirms to the regulations that were in place at the time. The refurbishment works also conform to current legislation. Just because you clad the outside of a building however doesn't mean you have to then start modifying other unconnected parts.

I'm with you, pretty much what they were saying on the news then.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
91,475
No, all that nonsense they put on the exterior of the building to make it look better seems was not fireproof

Not just about look better - supposedly better for retaining heat, etc. which supposedly was about "cutting cost to residents" but looks like it went into the pockets of whoever as the residents haven't seen any benefit by all accounts.
 
Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
26,132
It seems like there's a lack of understanding of the relationship between these sorts of modifications and the original building that aren't / are difficult to reflect in building codes. You can clad an old building in a way that is compliant with building regs, but you actually reduce the safety of the original structure to a level below the standards that it met ~40 years ago.
 
Associate
Joined
23 Dec 2012
Posts
657
No, all that nonsense they put on the exterior of the building to make it look better seems was not fireproof, seems like the fire spread from one place vertically along the outside of the building, and then into various flats.

^^^ literally all anyone needs to say.

The forensic architect said it was aluminium sandwiched with a fireproof core but that the gap could have acted like a chimney.

It seems like there's a lack of understanding of the relationship between these sorts of modifications and the original building that aren't / are difficult to reflect in building codes. You can clad an old building in a way that is compliant with building regs, but you actually reduce the safety of the original structure to a level below the standards that it met ~40 years ago.

But they must have pretty smart people working out the risks of that?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
26,132
But they must have pretty smart people working out the risks of that?

I'm not really sure how many contractors would mock up the side of a tower, fit a product to it and then set fire to it to see how it reacts, they'd leave it to the manufacturer of the cladding system to perform the tests and get the certifications, and (hopefully) install it to their specification.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2003
Posts
7,668
I get the chimney effects but I don't buy it as the main reason why the fire spread quickly. It's down to the material of cladding.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
Posts
45,731
Location
Co Durham
The reaction of the locals has been fantastic. People turning up with so much food and supplies that the centres are no longer able to take any more in.

Sometimes it seems like the general public responds better to situations like this than the government is capable of.

Except for the tools BF harnessing Muslims donating food.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Jun 2013
Posts
9,315
Actually they did exist and were used up until recently in modern history... I had no idea they had stopped using them until I just Googled them. It seems crazy in this day and age that they can't get large inflatable devices that break falls from large heights, especially, considering it greatly improves the odds of not breaking every bone in your body vs jumping directly onto concrete..

They are apparently quite difficult to use, even by a stuntman in controlled circumstances and modest heights. It's easy to miss them, and they deflate to catch a body. If two people tried to use them at the same time, they would both die, even if they could fall and hit a relatively small target. Probably impossible from the top of a burning tower block.
 
Back
Top Bottom