Student block fire highlights fire safety problems

摘要

IN LATE November last year, the six storey Cube building in Bolton caught fire with fire spread occuring 'extremely rapidly'. It was later confirmed to have been clad in high pressure laminate (HPL). The Guardian reported that the fire, in which two people were injured, began on the fourth floor, the top floor was 'gutted' and the fourth and fifth floors were 'visibly damaged'. 'At its height', 200 firefighters from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and 40 appliances were required to fight the fire. More than 100 students were evacuated and eyewitnesses stated that the fire was 'crawl[ing] up the cladding like it was nothing'.