Yahoo – AFP,
June 26, 2017
London (AFP) - The US supplier of the cladding which encased London's Grenfell Tower before it was destroyed by a devastating fire announced Monday it was stopping sales of the material for high-rise buildings.
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| The June 14 inferno at Grenfell Tower, a residential block in west London, left 79 people presumed dead after the fire spread rapidly up its 24 storeys (AFP Photo/Niklas HALLE'N) |
London (AFP) - The US supplier of the cladding which encased London's Grenfell Tower before it was destroyed by a devastating fire announced Monday it was stopping sales of the material for high-rise buildings.
"Arconic
is discontinuing global sales of Reynobond PE for use in high-rise
applications," a company spokesman told AFP.
The firm
put the decision down to "issues that have arisen in the wake of the
Grenfell Tower tragedy" and differences in building regulations around the
world.
The June 14
inferno left 79 people presumed dead after the fire spread rapidly up the
24-storey residential block in west London.
As
emergency services continue to search through the ashes of the gutted building,
suspicion has fallen on the recently installed cladding with allegations it may
have contributed to the ferocity of the blaze.
The Arconic
spokesman said the company "will continue to fully support the authorities
as they investigate this tragedy".
Sales of
the Reynobond PE cladding for use in low-rise buildings will continue.
An
estimated 600 tower blocks in England believed to have similar cladding to that
used at Grenfell are currently going through tests.
Samples
taken from 75 high-rises tested so far have all failed safety tests,
communities minister Sajid Javid said on Monday.
"We
have witnessed a catastrophic failure," he told MPs, lamenting the slow
speed at which samples were being submitted for tests.
Buildings
which have already undergone safety checks include four tower blocks in north
London which were evacuated on Saturday, with Javid saying inspectors
discovered 1,000 fire doors were missing.
The
minister also warned unsafe cladding "may not be a problem unique to
social housing or tall buildings".
All
hospitals have been asked to conduct additional checks and 15 government
buildings "require further investigation", he said without giving
further details.
Child
identified by teeth
As work
continues to prevent a repeat of the Grenfell Tower blaze, a London coroner's
court heard how a five-year-old victim choked to death on fumes as he tried to
escape.
The boy had
to be identified by dental records after his body was found on the 13th floor,
five levels lower than his home as he family tried to flee.
"It
can't really be explained in enough detail how complex an investigation this is
in terms of identification and in terms of recovery of bodies on a dangerous
site that my team are not allowed to enter because the building is being shored
up," Westminster coroner Fiona Wilcox told the court.
So far 18
people have been identified including Khadija Saye, a 24-year-old photographer
who had exhibited at the Venice Biennale and lived on the 20th floor.
Saye was
discovered on a hallway in the ninth floor and is believed to have died from
fumes and burns.
Her mother
Mary Mendy, 52, was identified by dental records after being found on the 13th
storey. Her sister Betty Jackson said she will "be missed for a
lifetime".
"My
beloved sister, words can never describe the pain of losing you. I can't believe
you are gone," she said in a statement published through London's
Metropolitan Police.
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