36 buildings may have non-

compliant combustible cladding;

police report lodged
SINGAPORE - A total of 36 buildings here, including an industrial
complex in Toh Guan Road where a fire broke out in May resulting in
one death, are using external cladding that may not adhere to safety
standards in the Fire Code.

Of these, 15 are confirmed to be using combustible cladding that

allow flames to spread quicker than they are supposed to.

They include the new Our Tampines Hub, parts of Singapore

Polytechnic and luxury condominiums The Peak@Cairnhill I and II.

Checks are ongoing for the rest.

Preliminary police investigations found that 41 buildings in

Singapore are using composite panels from American brand
Alubond, whose local sole distributor had mixed up panels of
differing standards at its warehouse. This means that the buildings
could be using on their external walls panels that have less stringent
flame spread standards.

Of these, five have passed Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

checks carried out over the past two weeks, 15 have failed while 21
are still not yet tested.

A police report has been lodged by the SCDF, according to a joint

media briefing by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and SCDF on
Thursday.
In a press statement, SCDF said that it has "assessed that all the
buildings are safe for occupancy, and is working closely with
building owners to rectify the improper use of composite panels on
their building within two months".

"All buildings are safe for occupancy": SCDF's Christopher Tan

"All buildings are safe for occupancy": SC

The Straits Times understands that the distributor, Chip Soon

Aluminium, has ceased supplying Alubond here. It was first brought
in from 2011.

The full list of buildings which are found to have failed the test, or
are untested but publicly accessible, have been published on
SCDF's website.

The Toh Guan fire, which occurred in May, preceded two major fires
in London's Grenfell Tower in June and Dubai's Torch Tower earlier
this month (Aug).

While the London fire brigade has yet to release its findings, reports
attributed the spread of the Grenfell and Dubai fires to the use of
combustible external cladding.

On Wednesday, ST found that the cladding panels at 30 Toh Guan

Road have been removed. This was carried out some time last
month, said tenants, adding that they were assured by the building
management that the building is safe for occupation.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the building owners

of 30 Toh Guan Road claimed that the cladding panels were
installed "in compliance with then-existing fire safey guidelines".

Said Mr Adrian Chui, chief executive officer and executive director

of ESR Funds Management: "As a precautionary measure, we have
decided to remove the cladding from 30 Toh Guan in consultation
with SCDF to ensure that business operations could resue as soon
as possible.

"We welcome any initiatives that would improve fire safety

standards in Singapore."

A coroner's inquiry will take place later this year to look into the
death of Madam Neo Siew Eng, 54, who worked on the fifth floor of
30 Toh Guan Road.

The case is the only one, out of 19,013 fires from January 2012 to
June 2017, to involve the external facade.

Only a small number of Housing Board flats use composite panels

for cladding of lift shaft exteriors. They have been assessed and
found to be compliant.