VẬT LIỆU XÂY CẤT RẺ CỦA TRUNG CỘNG CHÁY NHANH NHƯ VẦY ĐÂY./-TCL

Expert builder: 'Of course it will happen here'

Apartment building panels 'more explosive than firestarters'.

Aletha Wilkinson - Yahoo7 Be on June 15, 2017, 4:18 pm

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The national president of the Builders' Collective of Australia has lashed out at State and Federal governments for sitting on their hands over what he says is "extreme" fire risk in apartment buildings around the country.

VIDEO Time lapse of the smoke billowing from Grenfell Tower. Source: 7 News

In the aftermath of the devastating fire that ripped through the 27-storey Grenfell building in west London, Phil Dwyer says it's not a matter of if, but when a similar incident will occur in one of our major cities.

The Grenfell inferno could be replicated in Australia, expert says. Source: Getty

"Of course it will happen here," Phil told Be.
"This cladding is more explosive than fire-starters. It's so volatile. The burn is incredible and the heat is just something else."
Phil said cheap cladding imported from China is dangerous – and rife across Australia's cities.
"In Melbourne, the Victorian Building Commission audited 170 apartment buildings and found that 51% of them were non-compliant with fire safety codes," Phil told Be.
"Apparently cost savings are more important than human lives."

If you live in an apartment, find out whether your building meets local codes. Source: Getty

If you live in an apartment, it's time to find out whether your building is up to code.
"People who live in apartments, especially in new or recently refurbished buildings, need to speak with their building manager to find out if there is cladding on the outside of the building and if so, what it is made of," Phil said.
"These cladding materials are a seemingly cost-effective way of beautifying a building, but they're not safe and they aren't compliant with the Building Code of Australia."
The materials used in the cladding, a polymer sandwiched between two thin layers of aluminium, is highly flammable.
"The reason the whole building burns at one time, this polymer doesn't just burn up. It gets molten and drips down, so it's burning in both directions at once. You can't control it."

Cheap exterior cladding is likely to have been a significant factor in the London blaze. Source: Getty

Three years after fire destroyed the exterior of an apartment building in Melbourne, Phil says there's been little to no movement on regulating the problem.
"The Federal and State governments each blame each other, and the blame game goes around and around," Phil said.
"There's lots of talk but nothing happens from a practical point of view.
"We need people power. If people know it's their safety that's at risk, they can mobilise and create action groups."