Alubond, a major Gulf manufacturer of building external cladding panels, has announced that it is voluntarily halting production to remove the controversial non-fire rated products from the marketplace amid a string of spectacular tall tower fires in the Gulf in recent years.
Ahead of the public release of the anticipated newly-revised UAE Fire and Life Safety Code, Aluband, one of the largest manufacturers of building cladding panels, said it will no longer produce cladding using a flammable plastic core.
Managing Director Shaji Ul Mulk said. “This is a decision where we need to take the lead.
Eventually the Code will ban the inferior panels anyway.” Shaji Ul Mulk confirmed his firm will also halt all exports of the inferior non-fire rated panels to 24 countries.
Another tall tower fire broke out again in mid March 2016 to spread rapidly both up and down the external faces the Ajman One residential complex. This came not long after the spectacular New Year’s Eve fire at Dubai’s Address Downtown Hotel, giving Dubai firefighters a very challenging task.
These latest fires once again raised concerns about the extensive use of flammable exterior cladding that are in place on many tall tower structures across the Gulf.
Alubond will now concentrate on producing fire-resistant aluminium panels known as A2 panels that do not fail even when exposed to temperatures reaching 332 degrees Celsius and are made of minerals with a far greater fire resistance capability.
Shaji Al Mulk said the new cladding panels are virtually fireproof because of their basic composition of a stone-like core and magnesium hydroxide which undergoes a chemical reaction when exposed to high temperature and becomes rock-like and impervious to fire.
Major General Expert Rashid Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence, speaking at the 6th Annual Fire Safety Technology Forum in April 2016 said the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code revisions were originally expected to be unveiled in late April but were delayed pending final changes to the document.
Top image courtesy of Reuters
About the Author
Neil Wallington is a former British Chief Fire Officer, a Past International President of the Institution of Fire Engineers, and a holder of the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. He is the author of 17 books on the work of the fire service, and acts as a consultant with extensive experience in the Gulf on a range of projects.
