'Over-greening' of buildings increases fire risk
ENERGY conservation has led to increased fire hazards. After the fire at Grenfell Tower in London and the subsequent failure of fire spread tests by its (and so far 150 other towers') insulating cladding, some observations applicable to Guernsey may be made. Many buildings in the UK which had been clad with materials that had a zero fire spread rating have now had samples tested by the Building Research Establishment and have failed. It is therefore now clear that either the testing and certification originally given to these buildings was inadequate for such building applications or the testing now being carried out by the BRE is overly stringent.
Because the tragic test in a real life situation at Grenfell Tower clearly shows that the original zero flame spread rating awarded these panels was incorrect for a real fire situation, the use of such foam insulation cladding which was considered safe for outside use on a building cannot, without further testing, any longer be considered safe.
Our own small Cour du Parc tower block with 50 flats is, I believe, insulated with phenolic foam external insulation with decorative panels outermost. Although this may have been given a zero fire spread rating and therefore justifiably been given all the building approvals then needed, I believe that a sample of outside insulation cladding panels used in any local buildings should now be submitted to the BRE for their retesting in view of the lessons now being learned from the Grenfell Tower disaster.
The widespread use of phenolic and other foam insulation panels in buildings driven by a, possibly mistaken, belief in global warming (or climate change, as it is known in 'newspeak') and the consequential 'over-greening' of buildings has always caused me concern. New buildings, in the struggle to meet ever higher 'greening' requirements, often contain considerable amounts of foam insulation products. While these products may not in themselves support combustion (hence their zero rating) they often will burn if a separate fire source from, for example, inflammable house contents affects them.
Modern small buildings are nearly hermetically sealed for the same greening, energy-conserving, reasons and lack of ventilation can slow and reduce the dilution rate should a fire produce toxic gasses. Cour du Parc fortunately has easier occupier egress, fire brigade access and has smoke and fume extraction to reduce or eliminate any toxic gas build-up risk.
When phenolic, and other, foam combusts it releases, among other gases, large amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. Both of these gasses are frighteningly toxic and just two or three deep breaths at concentration of as little as 5% can render a person unconscious and, shortly thereafter, dead.
I believe the use, safety and indeed the justification for the use of so much foam insulation and energy conserving systems in Guernsey buildings needs re-examination by our building control department and our politicians, especially now that we are shortly to be unbound from Europe's often insane* green laws. They should start by asking why we need levels of insulation that would only make sense in the far north of Scotland where winter temperatures make our island winters seem tropical.
NICK MACPHAIL,
Mas des Sables,
Grandes Rocques,
Castel, GY5 7XQ.
*for example: having to pay generating companies not to produce power in times of increased 'green generation' when there is low demand.
Editor's footnote: A spokesman for States of Guernsey Building Control responds: The building regulations exist to ensure the health, safety and welfare of people in and about buildings. A key element in achieving this objective is to ensure the fire safety of buildings, primarily by maintaining a safe means of escape. Periods of fire resistance, early detection and warning systems, secondary lighting, ventilation and compartmentation are just a few of the active and passive measures that are designed into a building in order to ensure occupants can safely evacuate a building that is on fire.
It is worth noting that the 'stay put' policy employed at Grenfell Tower is not recognised locally and buildings are always designed with full immediate evacuation as standard. Any concerned homeowners should first and foremost ensure that they have fitted and working smoke detectors and should a fire be detected that they immediately evacuate the building.
As with many building materials, some insulating foam products are flammable. It is the situations where the product is used that must be considered carefully and, where appropriate, mitigation measures adopted. For example, timber frame construction by its nature is a system that uses predominantly combustible material, so why then would you build a house in this way? However, once complete and clad on the inside with plaster board and rendered externally, timber in construction is considered acceptable.
I can assure your correspondent that the States of Guernsey Building Control is in contact with UK local government representatives and has been receiving regular updates on the latest instructions being issued with respect to product testing.
In addition it has been actively identifying cladding systems used locally and if any are found to be on the 'at risk' list, then a further assessment of the effect that an event would have on the means of escape will be undertaken.
On a slightly different issue, while the building regulations are primarily concerned with the life safety aspects of a building's use, they have no consideration to property protection. Should any property owners be concerned in this regard, they are advised to contact their building insurers and/or a general building surveyor to seek further guidance.
