high rise fire safety News

Who Is to Blame for Deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire?

A public inquiry into the devastating 2017 London Grenfell Tower blaze concluded on Wednesday that a “culmination of decades of failure” by the government and the construction industry ultimately led to the disaster that killed 72 people. The report detailed …

UK Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Blames All Deaths on Incompetence and Greed

A public inquiry into the devastating 2017 London Grenfell Tower blaze that killed 72 people blamed the disaster on failings by the government, construction industry and, most of all, the firms involved in fitting the exterior with flammable cladding. The …

Fire Fears After UK’s Grenfell Disaster Set Back Wood Building, With Insurance as Factor

To get fire department approval for their six-story London office project made of strong engineered wood known as mass timber, Theo Michell and Richard Walker had to build a full-scale section of it in the UK, ship it to Poland …

UK Builders Face Ban Unless They Commit to Repairing Unsafe Cladding

Eleven property developers could be barred from the industry unless they sign a UK government contract to repair unsafe cladding on apartment blocks, according to Michael Gove, the secretary of state for housing. While 39 firms signed the commitment by …

Huge Fire Rips Through Skyscraper in Hong Kong Shopping District

A 42-story hotel being constructed in one of Hong Kong’s tourism districts went up in flames before firefighters brought the fire under control. The Kimpton Hong Kong, a 492-room luxury hotel to be operated by InterContinental Hotels Group Plc near …

High-Rise Fire in Maryland Kills One, Displaces 400 Residents

One person died and one is in critical condition after a fire early Saturday at a high-rise apartment building in a suburb of Washington, D.C., the Washington Post and other local media reported. The fire in downtown Silver Spring sent …

Orient Insurance Loses Bid to Recover Payout for Dubai Hotel Fire

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – An insurance company that was ordered to pay more than a billion dirhams in damages for a 2015 New Year’s Eve fire in Dubai has lost a civil lawsuit that it filed to try …

Britain Proposes Reforms for Insuring Apartment Blocks After Deadly Grenfell Tower Fire

Britain’s financial watchdog has proposed reforming how apartment blocks are insured after the deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell Tower fire in London led to rocketing premiums on policies. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday that since the …

UK Homebuilders Commit More Than £2B to Fix Fire Safety Issues

Developers responsible for building half of the new homes in the UK have committed more than 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) to help fix safety issues. So far 35 developers have made commitments to fix issues on buildings that are …

Major British Housebuilders Pledge to Remove Flammable Cladding

Four major British housebuilders have signed a government-backed safety pledge to remove flammable roof coverings from buildings which came into focus after the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London. The country’s second-largest and third-largest homebuilders, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, said …