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Fire hits factory of Grenfell cladding firm

6 Nov 17 The company that makes the cladding panels that contributed to the ferocity of the fire at Grenfell Tower earlier this year has itself now had a fire at its factory in Exeter.

Eight appliances attended the fire at Arconic's Exeter foundry
Eight appliances attended the fire at Arconic's Exeter foundry

At 1.30am on the morning of Saturday 4th November, Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service received two calls from on-site staff at the Arconic factory on Kestrel Way, Exeter, reporting that alarms had activated. There was a fire in the casting plant within the foundry section of the factory. Four appliances were deployed. They were not enough. Another four were very soon summoned.

By 2.50am it was confirmed that the fire had been extinguished. Approximately 10m x 20m of the furnace area was damaged by fire and 40m x 40m damaged by smoke

The fire service said that the fire had started accidentally and there were no casualties.

Arconic makes the Reynobond PE panels, which were used in the cladding system of Grenfell Tower in west London, where an estimated 80 people were killed in a fire in June. Subsequent tests have revealed Reynobond PE panels to be unsuitable for such applications.

According to the DevonLive website, Arconic’s Exeter plant casts precision parts for the aerospace industry.

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