UK: All building cladding samples tested failed fire safety

Author: AP
Published:
The remains of Grenfell Tower stand in London, Saturday, June 17, 2017. Police Commander Stuart Cundy said Saturday it will take weeks if not longer to recover and identify all the dead in the public housing block that devastated by a fire early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Kristy Wigglesworth)

LONDON (AP) Britain’s government is urging local officials across the country to submit samples of tower block cladding “as a matter of urgency” after tests found that all cladding samples so far have failed fire safety tests.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said all 34 samples tested didn’t meet fire safety standards. The national testing was ordered after a June 14 fire engulfed Grenfell Tower in London, killing at least 79 people.

A public inquiry has been ordered to determine how the unsafe cladding was allowed to be fitted in the first place.

Officials at Camden Council in north London have evacuated hundreds of apartments in four tower blocks as a precaution after fire inspectors concluded that they were unsafe. They say about a dozen families still remaining in their apartments must leave.

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