LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) – The government is urgently conducting safety checks on an estimated 600 high-rise buildings in England which have exterior cladding panels after at least 79 people are believed to have died when fire consumed a London tower block last week, officials said on Thursday (June 22).
Workmen were seen removing cladding of a building in north London on Thursday that has been confirmed to have similar material used in Grenfell.
Residents of the building expressed worry they lived in a structure that is not deemed safe.
Cladding, added during a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, may have played a part in the June 14 disaster when flames sped through the 24-storey residential building, trapping people inside, residents have said.
Cladding panels are often added to the exterior of buildings to insulate them and, particularly in the case of ageing tower blocks, to improve their external appearance.
The panels vary in terms of their fire resistance depending on their intended use.
