Just to save 5,000 pounds, the whole building turned to ashes

On June 16, a contract that a construction contractor submitted to the London City Council for approval to refurbish the Grenfell building was revealed and shocked with the detail that they used cheaper building coating materials, saving 5,000 pounds (about 150 million VND).

Grenfell Tower before (left) and after fireproof plastic panels and flammable paint (inset). Photo: Daily Mail.

Many British people were outraged when they saw this contract because in order to reduce the cost of repairs, people used flammable paint, which caused the entire building to quickly catch fire in the recent fire. According to the contract just revealed, the total cost of refurbishing the Glenfell building is 8.6 million pounds, of which the cost of covering the building with plastic panels costs 2.5 million pounds.

The building’s exterior plastic cladding consists of a plastic insulation sheet and an external paint coating. The contractor’s proposal to the City Council would see the use of a standard paint coating, rather than a fire-resistant coating that costs £2 per square metre less. This would save £5,000 on the 2,000 square metre facade of Grenfell Tower.

A sales representative for US firm Reynobond told The Times that the cladding and PE core used on Grenfell Tower have been banned from high-rise buildings in the US. FR is fire-resistant, but PE can burn. PE panels meet UK standards but are banned in Germany and the US. The cladding was responsible for fires at the Mermoz Tower Roubaix in France in 2012 and the 34-Tamweel Tower in Dubai that same year. It is believed that the cladding contributed to similar fires around the world.

Liberal Democrat MPs on 16 June called for the removal of flammable cladding and paints like those used at Grenfell Tower and for their use to be banned across the UK. Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said: “These tragic deaths were not prevented just to save £5,000. The government must urgently bring UK fire safety standards into line with international standards. It appears that people’s homes have been turned into death traps because they were cheaply fitted. This is completely unacceptable and must never happen again.”

The entire renovation was funded by taxpayers. However, their petitions to the city council were ignored. The British press tracked down the contractor, Rydon, and claimed that the company had gotten a lucrative contract by cutting prices to make it easier to win the bid.

According to an investigation by the Daily Mirror, flammable cladding like the one used on Grenfell Tower, dubbed “murder cladding”, is widely used in the UK. It is estimated that up to 30,000 buildings across the UK use the material, including 87 high-rises. Architect and fire expert Sam Webb said: “It clearly does not meet London’s building regulations and if it does, someone should be jailed.”

According to TPO