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Revealed: type of cladding present on Hackney fire block
The cladding used on the outside of the building in Clapton which caught fire this week was made from western red cedar, Inside Housing can reveal.
The timber used to make the cladding is mostly grown in North America, and is described by suppliers as having a long life span compared to other soft woods.
It was attached to Limehouse Lodge in Clapton with brackets made from ThermoWood, the same material used on the Barking block partly destroyed by a blaze in June.
ThermoWood was present on the balconies and cladding of the six-storey Samuel Garside House.
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Firefighters were called to the building in Hackney late on Monday night after reports that it was ablaze, and spent hours tackling the fire.
The balconies from the ground to the fifth floor were destroyed in the incident, and part of a flat on the fifth floor was damaged, along with part of the roof.
People living in the block said they had asked about the state of the cladding after the fire at Grenfell Tower, and had been told it had been “treated” to make it more fire resistant.
Taylor Wimpey, the building’s developer, confirmed that the building is less than 18 metres high, meaning it is not subject to the government’s ban on combustible materials. It could not confirm the fire rating of the cladding itself or the ThermoWood. The balconies were made from a wooden deck and a galvanised steel frame, it said.
A spokesperson for the developer said: “The safety of residents is our number one priority and we will support them while investigations are underway. We are in contact with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire and will be closely working with them as they carry out their investigation.”
A spokesperson for RMG, which manages the block, said: “We are working with all of the emergency services to investigate the cause of the fire and have secured temporary accommodation for those residents affected by the incident and who required it.”
