Another combination of cladding and insulation found to be a risk in the UK

The tests by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) of a wall cladding system consisting of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding with a polyethylene filler (category 3) with stone wool insulation means that more landlords and owners will need to take action.

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said that 111 buildings are currently known to have this combination of materials in their wall cladding systems, 90 of which are local authority or housing association owned or managed.

Cladding samples from all these buildings had already been tested and failed earlier combustibility tests conducted by BRE. Building owners were advised to take immediate action by implementing interim safety measures and working with their local fire and rescue service to complete a fire safety audit.

The owners of the building concerned have been told that they need to act on new advice to ensure the safety of residents. ‘The Government is working closely with all affected building owners to ensure the advice is being followed,’ said a DCLG spokesman.

Owners are being advised to get a fire safety audit done by their local fire service and consult a qualified engineer with relevant experience in fire safety, including fire testing of building products and systems, such as a chartered engineer registered with the Engineering Council by the Institution of Fire Engineers about removing and replacing cladding.

Last week the Government announced an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. It will examine the regulatory system around the design, construction and on-going management of buildings in relation to fire safety as well as related compliance and enforcement issues.

The Government’s fire testing programme continues and further test results will be published when they are available.

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