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Government fire safety panel defends official cladding testing
The government’s independent fire safety panel has defended the official testing of cladding systems after alternative tests cast doubt on the results.
In a statement issued this morning the independent panel said the BS 8414 test – the official test to see how cladding systems resist fire – is a “robust test” and the panel “stands by” the advice it has previously given to the government on this type of testing.
The BS 8414 test requires a wall with a complete cladding system – including panels and insulation – fixed to it, is then set on fire to replicate a severe fire in a flat and see whether it then spreads up the outside wall.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) published cladding test results this week, carried out by the Fire Protection Association, which contradicted the government’s cladding test findings. The ABI said their tests were carried out under “more realistic” conditions because the cladding system included windows and burning plastic.
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According to the report on these tests, which has been provided to Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations, fire spread sideways along the cladding system more easily and the system collapsed more readily than in the government tests.
The report concluded: “There is certainly scope to question whether the pass result achieved for the [government] test configurations provides adequate assurance of performance for systems using the same materials.”
This advice included calling for building owners to take their own professional advice on their cladding systems and if panels are removed, the overall “integrity” of the cladding system needs to be maintained.
The panel also said the process in place for reviewing British Standards “is the correct one”.
