The 24-story apartment building was quickly engulfed in flames, and investigators have focused on decorative siding, known as cladding as the potential cause. Its polyethylene and aluminum composition may have hastened the spread of the fire.
Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormick of the Metropolitan Police, which is leading the investigation, said the fire started with an apartment refrigerator and was not deliberately set. She added that investigators will try to determine if the cladding was illegally installed. The material used in the cladding is banned in the United States and cannot be installed higher than 40 feet, the limit of most fire fighters' ladders, in some areas of Europe. The manufacturer, U.S.-based Arconic, advises that the material should not be used above 32 feet.
McCormick also said the building's insulation material is under analysis.
"Preliminary tests show the insulation samples collected from Grenfell Tower combusted soon after the tests started. The initial test on the cladding tiles also failed the safety tests," she said.
Britain enacted a corporate manslaughter law in 2007 and has seen 15 guilty verdicts and three acquittals since, with one case yet to go to trial. Fines ranging from $63,600 to $890,000 have been assessed. McCormick said that documents regarding Grenfell Tower have been seized from several businesses but no one has been questioned thus far.
[upi.com]
23/6/17
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L'incendie qui a ravagé la semaine dernière la tour Grenfell de Londres, tuant 79 personnes, est parti d'un réfrigérateur défaillant, a annoncé vendredi Fiona McCormack, commissaire de la police londonienne.
ReplyDeleteLe modèle de réfrigérateur, de marque Hotpoint, n'avait pas fait l'objet d'un rappel, a-t-elle précisé, citée par Reuters. Selon la Mme McCormack, le fabricant était en train de procéder à de nouveaux tests sur le modèle incriminé.
«Nous avons désormais une preuve d'expertise que le feu n'a pas été allumé volontairement», a-t-elle poursuivi.
Les enquêteurs ont par ailleurs établi que les isolants et les tuiles de revêtement utilisés dans la tour avaient échoué à tous les tests de protection incendie.....https://sptnkne.ws/eHzY