● An audit conducted by Victorian Building Authority (VBA) in Melbourne following the fire found widespread use of 'non-compliant external wall cladding materials.5 ● The VBA has also taken disciplinary actions against practitioners involved in the fire including against the builder, fire safety engineers and relevant building surveyor which are continuing.6 ● Determining who is at fault and who is liable for the cost of remediation is going to remain a vexing issue not just for the Lacrosse building, but for many body corporates into the future who have PE core ACP cladding on their buildings.7 ● The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) told the Committee that8: - Owners of the Lacrosse tower are claiming more than $15 million in damages from the builder saying combustible cladding installed on the apartment complex by the construction company was responsible for the spread of the blaze. - Work has already cost $6.5 million including almost $700,000 to dry out the building.
- It is estimated it will cost another $9 million to remove and replace the remaining unburnt cladding to comply with a council order
THE GRENFELL TOWER The Grenfell tower fire this year involved the same type of cladding catching alight and engulfing the entire 24 storey residential building in flames. London police have confirmed that 80 people died or missing presumed dead following the fire9. The interim Report noted that: ● The Grenfell Tower had completed a major refurbishment in 2016 which included new exterior cladding, replacement windows, new heating systems and remodelling of the bottom four floors.10 ● The response by the UK Government to the Grenfell Fire has been wide ranging and which has included: - An independent review of building regulations and fire safety announced on 28 July 2017 - An Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the fire.11 - The removal by a nearby London council of combustible cladding from some of its tower blocks.12
AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT As detailed in the Interim Report; the Grenfell Tower fire has highlighted the need to hasten the momentum for regulatory reforms which were set in motion following the Lacrosse building fire in 2014.13 Evidence was given during the Inquiry that: • There has been an apparent lack of movement by regulators' since the Lacrosse fire in 201414 • There have been 19 fires involving cladding worldwide since 200515 • There has been some remedial action in various jurisdictions worldwide ranging from the removal of cladding and changes to evacuation policy to changes to fire service doctrine16 • the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy was not only preventable but foreseeable17 • prior to the 2014 Lacrosse building fire, there were at least seven international fire events involving external facades constructed of highly combustible PE core ACP panels.18