Bank link to Grenfell
Insulation in blaze tower block also used in HQ of Central Bank
THE Central Bank’s new €140million headquarters was built with materials used in the construction of the doomed Grenfell Tower, it has emerged.
The Irish Daily Mail can reveal that a brand of combustible insulation found in the charred shell of the high-rise in London was also used in the construction of the bank’s newly opened HQ at Dublin’s North Wall Quay.
Under test conditions, Kooltherm K15 insulation – which is made by Irish firm Kingspan – was found to be highly flammable.
The manufacturers insist the product is safe and fully compliant with fire regulations when installed correctly and not used alongside flammable cladding, such as the controversial Reynobond PE panels, which were used to clad Grenfell.
And the Central Bank said it was satisfied that the materials used in the construction of its headquarters, where more than 1,400 people work, complied with current fire regulations.
However, last night, there were calls for a major review of fire safety at the Central Bank’s eight-storey HQ – which only opened in February – after a test showed a section of its insulation catching fire when it was exposed to a naked flame.
Fire safety engineer CJ Walsh told this newspaper it was ‘pointless talking about cladding materials in isolation.’
Mr Walsh, who is an architect and an An Bord Pleanála consultant, added: ‘All issues regarding fire safety in buildings which have arisen since Grenfell need to be put on the table.
‘Nobody can say with certainty that the products specified during the construction of the Central Bank were the ones that were used in the final building. This is because we do not have an effective system of building control in this country.’
At present, the official Grenfell death toll is 33 – with 47 other people missing, presumed dead.
Witnesses to the June 14 blaze said the exterior cladding had ‘acted like a chimney’ and helped the flames rip through 14 floors of the 24-floor apartment block in less than eight minutes.
At least three different products, including Kooltherm K15, were used to clad the tower’s exterior. The other materials – Reynobond PE cladding and Celotex insulation – have been withdrawn from the market.
This week, Channel 4 News showed some Kooltherm K15 burst into flame when exposed to fire. The test was done to see how it would react in a blaze.
Last night, a spokesman for the Cavan-based Kingspan Group said they were satisfied Kooltherm K15 was compliant with fire-safety regulations here, when installed in the correct combination of products.
Referring to the Channel 4 fire tests, the spokesman added: ‘Kingspan believes large-scale testing of complete systems is the only robust approach to fire testing. Small-scale testing on individual products has the potential to mislead, alarm and misinform future policy.’
A Central Bank spokeswoman said the building at North Wall Quay has been certified as being compliant with fire regulations.
Architects of the Central Bank HQ, Henry J Lyons, last night declined to comment.