Siding samples being tested after fatal high-rise fire

A view of part of the Burnham residential tower on the Chalcots Estate showing the bottom section of the building after cladding was removed, in the borough of Camden, north London, Thursday, June 22, 2017. Tests so far have found that at least three high-rise apartment buildings in the U.K. have flammable external panels like the ones believed to have contributed to a fire that killed 79 people in London, Britain’s government said Thursday. The local council in Camden, a borough of London, removed cladding from one of its buildings for further testing after tests they commissioned showed some of their panels were of the flammable variety — and not the ones they ordered. It was unclear whether the Camden example was one of the three mentioned by the government. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON (AP) — British authorities are studying samples of similar to that used on the west London apartment building that caught fire, killing at least 79 people.

Eleven buildings have now been identified as having combustible cladding such as that used on the Grenfell Tower. The cladding is being studied amid fears that the panels fueled the fire in the 24-story building that was engulfed in less than an hour.

Buildings in London, Manchester and Plymouth are among those where problem cladding has been identified.

Fears about cladding is not limited to apartment buildings, and at least one hotel chain is calling in experts to make certain it meets safety regulations. Premier Inn said Friday it had “concerns” about the material on some of its buildings, though it is different to the type used on Grenfell.

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