Cladding to be tested to meet Fire and Life Safety Code
Tamweel to replace cladding with fire-proof panels once repairs start on burnt out tower
The exterior cladding on Tamweel Tower will be replaced with fire proof cladding, the developer said.
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Cladding installed on high-rise towers will soon have to be comprehensively tested as part of mandatory regulations introduced into the federal Fire and Life Safety Code in the wake of the Tamweel Tower blaze a week ago.
“I understand that the new code will be more stringent and widen the number of applicable standards. Tests from here on will be more aggressive,” said Andy Dean, general manager of Exova Certification and Inspection, in an interview with The National, an Abu Dhabi based newspaper.
“Codes are continuously updated because building requirements change and knowledge and performance of materials change so the codes are a moving target,” he added.
Dean is amongst a number of experts asked by Dubai Civil Defence to review new additions to the Code, which was released in July 2011 and has been adopted across the country.
Meanwhile, Tamweel, the developer behind the tower that went up in flames in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, said on Sunday that it would replace the exterior cladding panels on the building with fire-proof panels.
According to local media reports, Tamweel held a private meeting with apartment owners of the 34 storey tower and confirmed that it would replace the cladding materials.
However, it was not immediately clear when the building repairs, which could take between eight months to a year, would begin.
