Safety chiefs have warned that clumsy cladding remediation work is leaving critical building fire-response systems unable to do their job.
Built environment body Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures, known as Cross UK, has issued a red safety alert regarding smoke vents.
The group said it had received “several reports” of automatic opening vents (AOVs) being rendered inoperable by building works, including those related to facade replacement.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her October Budget speech to announce more than £1bn for further cladding remediation as the response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy continues.
However, Cross UK found that attempts to make buildings more fire-resilient have sometimes inadvertently created new problems.
It pointed to “two events where AOVs, styled to look like windows, were rendered inoperable for months after a cladding remediation.
“In the first case, contractors improperly disconnected the AOVs from their electrical components. In the second, new cladding was screwed into the frame of the existing AOVs.”
Elsewhere, a subcontractor was told to apply render to a remediated facade in a way that would have prevented vents opening in the event of a fire.
“Persons responsible for fire safety should ensure that the fire risk assessment is reviewed to reflect changes to risk created by building work” said the alert.
Cross UK urged contractors to consider the potential for their work to impact fire safety, either by increasing the likelihood of a fire or by interfering with the operation of mitigation measures.
“An AOV might easily be rendered inoperable by a scaffold pole, temporary masking, the storage of materials or adjustments to cladding,” warned the body.
It called for identification and possible marking of all AOVs when work takes place on a building, as well as consideration of permanent signs on such vents.
“Improved training is recommended for all those in the construction industry who work onsite to raise awareness of the existence of AOVs and their fire safety function,” added the alert.
A report by the National Audit Office this month found that less than 60 per cent of the estimated 12,000 buildings over 11 metres high needing remediation had been identified by the government.
The government has been contacted for comment on the Cross UK alert.
