Video: Fire tears through Glasgow tower block with firefighters battling blaze o

[William 29]

Anyone heard any more about this?


http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/video-fire-tears-through-glasgow-5756455

[Heath]

Yes.

What are you looking for?

Heath

[wee brian]

what was the mechanism of fire spread?

[Heath]

Having been out and looked i am 'best guessing' what has happened (we await the offical report findings just now):

1. Fire (suspected wilful fire raising) started on an enclosed balcony.
2. PVC panel on the balcony burn't away/melted behind which there is a balcony cut away where a downpipe previously ran(removed during external cladding works).
3. No fire stopping behind the PVC panel has resulted in buring/melted PVC dripping down and falling onto a small concrete 'step' behind the PVC panel on a balcony below where this has gathered and set the PVC panel on fire and burn't through to affect this balcony.
4. The first balcony PVC panel or the second PVC balcony panel affected has then done the same to the third balcony affected.

This appears to be how there was downward movement of the fire and how it 'skipped' floors.

Summerising very lucky every balcony below the balcony of fire origin was not affected.

Heath

[wee brian]

interesting - falling brands/droplets.

[William 29]

Interesting.....seems to have a flavour to Lakanal then re external panel replacement and fire spread??

[Heath]

The existing balcony cut away and the external cladding work created a void passing between each balcony that wasn?t fire stopped. The void was then hidden from view by the PVC panel put in place.

Route cause (in my opinion) was that the balconies were enclosed (opening windows) and made to look nice for tenants, inadvertently giving them no doubt what they then perceived as an additional wind/water proof room. You can imagine what you now see stored/being used in these areas...

Heath

[wee brian]

They've started calling them "winter gardens". I've heard of a few jobs where people have argued that they arent part of the flat and therefore dont need compartmentation - doh!