As the death toll in a London, England high rise climbs to at least 79, more evidence suggests the building’s combustible cladding helped fuel the rapidly spreading blaze on June 14. Police there say insulation and tiles recovered from the building have failed fire safety tests.
The City of Saskatoon says some types of combustible cladding is permitted in construction projects in the city under certain conditions.
“Combustible cladding may be permitted by the building code, provided that it meets the minimum requirements in the code. It depends on the size, height and occupancy of the building,” Kara Fagnou, Saskatoon’s director of building standards, said.
The city follows a federal building code provided by the National Research Council and states combustible cladding may be used if the building is no more than three storeys high or the building has sprinklers throughout. The wall assembly must also pass a fire test.
Builders say it's up to architects and the city's approval process to determine what types of cladding they can use.
“If we thought there was a problem, we'd certainly question that, but understanding that through the design and permit process, these things are checked and double checked,” Tom Kurjata, a project manager in Saskatoon for V.C.M. Constructions, said.
In London, police said Friday they may never be able to recover all the bodies from last week’s fire and they are considering manslaughter charges.
