Summary_reader response Draft #2


In the article ‘Eight failures that left people of Grenfell Tower at mercy of the inferno’, Knapton & Dixon (2017) claimed that the Grenfell Tower had numerous lapses in both ‘building regulation and safety rules’ which further augmented during the incident. Buildings in London followed the Building Acts until 1986 where external walls had at least one hour of fire resistance. ‘Class O’ regulation was introduced which removed the initial requirements regardless of being combustible. A specialist in fire protection remarked the gap between the claddings exacerbated the fire to upper levels. Although the materials used for the cladding met the UK standards, it contributed the fire to spread and made fire-fighting impractical. There was no explicit instruction on the fire risk assessment. There were no updated building regulations and also not enforce more than one escape route. According to sources, not all doors were fire-rated. Sprinklers are required to install up to 30 metres and made the taller buildings to omit on the upper levels. A specialist claimed that the firebreaks which were a requirement under Building Regulations 1991 were not doing its purpose during the fire.



According to the article, there were warnings made from the fire safety experts on the outdated building regulations. However, the numerous lapses found during the investigations showed the management of Grenfell Tower were pressured to commit the incompliances in building regulations. The building regulators should have improved their building regulations.



First of all, the building regulator duty is to identify and review older tower buildings like Grenfell Tower if its practical to implement the new regulations and if it is safe for future refurbishments. Grenfell Tower was built in accordance with the requirements met in the past. According to Knapton and Dixon (2017), one staircase and sprinklers installed up to a maximum of 30 meters high are required. In addition, Kentish (2017) claimed residents of Grenfell Tower inquired for sprinklers and more fire escapes but it was costly for the management of Grenfell Tower. The building regulators have to consider suitable building regulations for the older buildings and if Grenfell Tower is suitable to carry out additional refurbishment works.



Secondly, as an authority, the building regulator should approve of the materials supplied for buildings. Knapton and Dixon (2017) mentioned the cheaper and incombustible claddings for refurbishment work were fixed on Grenfell Tower in 2016. However, the claddings on Grenfell Tower was tested on a small-scale lab and did not showed its compatibility for tower buildings. According to Kirkpatrik, Hakim and Glanz (2017),  the claddings on the surface of Grenfell Tower would appear appealing to the surroundings. Therefore, the management of Grenfell Tower prioritise on beautifying its building instead of the safety features required. The building regulator should ensure the claddings for buildings has been through sufficient lab tests.



Lastly, the building regulator should consider the safety of the buildings before limiting the amount for any refurbishment works. According to Kentish (2017), the management of Grenfell Tower had to cut costs in materials because of the amount for refurbishment works provided for housing loans were capped at an amount of 11.4 million pounds. Initially, the planning stage of refurbishment works includes fire protection features. From this report, the root cause of the blaze starts from the lack of funding and support to the management of Grenfell Tower. The management of Grenfell Tower carry out the incompliances such as leaving out fire protection features in their refurbishment works.



Ultimately, Grenfell Tower blaze could spare more lives if building regulations were reviewed periodically and on a case to case basis. The building regulators should have improved their existing building regulations and take actions in banning the combustible claddings and educating the managements of tower buildings on the importance of building regulations.





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