A BBC TV report which stated that use of PVCu rather than timber windows is increasing fire risk in council blocks in London was misleading, according to the BRE and one of the local authorities mentioned.
In his report, BBC London investigative reporter Kurt Barling said that councils across London had opted for PVCu windows for 212,000 dwellings as installation was cheaper than timber windows. But, he said, the material “causes a greater fire risk”.
To back up his argument he pointed to the fact that timber windows had been replaced with PVCu at Lakanal House in Camberwell, where six people were killed in a blaze in July, and an apartment block which burned down in Croydon in 2007. A resident of the latter was quoted as saying that flames had “dripped through” his plastic windows.
Mr Barling also cited tests by the BRE comparing the fire performance of wooden and plastic window frames which, he said, found that the former gave “nine minutes more resistance”.
But Croydon Council spokesperson Danny Brierley said that the BBC report was “incorrect” in implying a link between the 2007 fire in its block of flats, which was started by a child playing with matches, with the fact that it used PVCu windows.
“The inquiry concluded that the fire spread had a number of causes,” he said. “It was found that some windows had been poorly installed, but it is misleading to imply that the window frame material was implicated. We are now asking for a correction.”
He added that no conclusions could be drawn about the Lakanal House blaze either as the inquiry was not due to finish for two years.
The BRE said that the tests referred to in the report were not a direct comparison of the fire performance of timber and PVCu windows, but looked at the effectiveness of different types of window frame constructions and cavity closures at mitigating entry of fire into timber frame. It said the report “misrepresented the results”.
To see the BBC report go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8401597.stm.
