Building insurers condemn Grenfell fire tests as “utterly inadequate”

Government-backed tests used to certify cladding systems containing combustible plastics have been condemned as “utterly inadequate” by building insurers.
The Association of British Insurers claims to have created a more realistic test which shows fires in real buildings can burn 100C hotter with flames spreading up to four times further than in official tests.
The Fire Protection Association (FPA) carried out the research which was commissioned in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. The fire spread up an external cladding system and tragically killed 71 people.
According to the research, some of the factors “overlooked” in official testing of combustible plastics include test fires not being hot enough and cladding not including gaps and openings.
They claim 20% of the fuel in a real fire comes from plastics, which they found burns 100C hotter than the all-wood fire used in the official cladding test.
In a test of insulation and cladding that was not sealed the FPA recorded flames six metres above the fire they had lit, while a fire under the same material in a sealed cladding system went out after spreading 1.5 metres.
The findings have been sent to Dame Judith Hackitt who is in the final stages of a government-commissioned review of building regulations.
In a formal submission the ABI says her review “should make recommendations that ensure the use of combustible materials is not permitted, especially in key vulnerable parts of buildings”.
Jonathan O’Neill, managing director of the FPA, said the British Standards Institution (BSI), which oversees testing standards, should look again at the cladding fire test.
“We urge BSI to urgently reconvene the group responsible for this standard to consider the results of this research and to make changes to the standard as required,” he said.
BSI has confirmed it will review the new research.
“If the [standards] committee view is that the changes are supported by the evidence and are technically feasible, they will work together to amend the standard,” they said.
The government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which commissioned seven of the official fire tests after the Grenfell Tower disaster to assess which cladding systems were safe for tower blocks and which need to be removed or modified, said: “We are committed to constantly improving safety standards.”