Review panel set up to investigate cladding issue, says SCDF

SINGAPORE - A review panel has been set up as part of an ongoing probe into how safe the external panels used on buildings here are in the event of a fire.

The panel will support the review of existing fire safety regulations relating to the use of aluminium composite panels as cladding, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a press release on Thursday (Feb 1).

Results of the review will be announced by the end of this year.

This is part of an extensive probe started by SCDF after a fire in May last year at an industrial building in Toh Guan Road, in which a woman was killed. The fire reportedly spread across multiple floors via the building's external cladding, which was made by American brand Alubond.

The 13-member review panel includes senior officials from the relevant authorities such as SCDF commissioner Eric Yap and Building and Construction Authority deputy CEO (building control) Chin Chi Leong.

Also on the panel are Nee Soon South MP Lee Bee Wah, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore School of Civil and Environmental Engineering's Professor Tan Kang Hai as well as industry representatives such as Singapore Contractors Association president Kenneth Loo and DP Architects director Mathieu Meur.

Mr Loo said it is early days yet, but "everybody is looking for improvement".

"As the panel consists of people from various sectors, everyone will bring their expertise to the table," he said.

The certification of aluminium composite panels came under scrutiny after the SCDF probe found panels that did not meet standards were installed on some buildings here.

Following the fatal fire in May last year, the SCDF found 35 other buildings, using cladding under the Alubond brand, which failed SCDF's fire-safety checks.

Building owners were given 60 days to remove the non-compliant cladding but 14 of these buildings have yet to remove the panels, according to the SCDF website. One of them is the Singapore Pools Building in Middle Road.

Some industry players like facade consultant Michael Chin from Arup, a consultancy firm, welcome the move to form a panel.

"It's a good thing whenever there's more scrutiny into this," he said. " The devil is in the details and we really need to get to the bottom of this - we need a lot more data than we currently have."

His concern, however, is whether the panel will consider having tests conducted here instead of overseas for certification. He said the facade detailing in Singapore is different from those overseas as a result of factors such as climate.

Others like consultant engineer Lee Seong Wee hope the panel will avoid groupthink and expand its scope of investigations.

"You need people who can challenge the official line. And also to take consideration of what is happening in the world (in terms of cladding) as well as go back all the way to examine projects built in the mid-1980s," he said.

In Parliament last month, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said there was no evidence so far to suspect the reliability of the certification process for these cladding materials.

He said all possibilities will be investigated, "including whether there could be manufacturing defects, and differences between samples and actual material".

Building cladding materials have also come under scrutiny in other countries. In June last year, a fire in the Grenfell Tower in Britain killed 71, with its external combustible cladding accelerating the spread of the blaze.