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September 2, 2021

Cladding questions arise in Milan’s 20-storey building blaze

Italian firefighters tackled hot spots Monday in a 20-storey apartment building in Milan that was destroyed by fire but said there were no indications that anyone was missing inside, as questions arose about the cladding that witnesses said rapidly fuelled the fire.

Some cases of smoke inhalation were reported from Sunday’s blaze, but no serious injuries or deaths.

The fire that sent up a huge plume of black smoke visible for kilometres (miles) recalled the deadly fire that swept through Grenfell Tower in London in 2017, killing 72 people. In that case, the cladding on the outside of that building was blamed for the speed at which the fire engulfed the block, and officials noted similar issues in the Milan fire.

“I have never seen a situation like this,” said firefighting official Giuliano Santagata. “Just look at the facade and you see that everything is completely burned, and therefore presume that it was made of flammable material.”

Santagata said the blaze was under control, although there were still outbreaks in some apartments that were being systematically put out.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said it was “unacceptable” that a building just over a decade old showed itself to be so vulnerable.

“What seems already clear from the start is that the external cladding of the building went up in flames far too quickly, in a dynamic that recalls the Grenfell Tower in London,” Sala said Monday.

Experts said the lack of victims was due both to firefighters’ speedy response and door-to-door searches as well as to building codes that included firewalls and an ample stairwell.

The fire spread quickly along a cladding that was shaped like a sail, which was both an aesthetic choice and served to screen the balconies.

After the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Italy drafted new rules, with input from firefighters, for claddings of buildings but they have not yet been formally adopted, said Angelo Lucchini, a professor of technical architecture at Milan’s Polytechnic University.

Keep reading on CTV News


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