Grenfell Inquiry: Kingspan withdraw fire-test reports

Cavan insulation manufacturer Kingspan has withdrawn a fire-test report for one of its products, after admitting “shortcomings” in testing.

The widely used Kooltherm K15 has been available on the market for the last 15 years.

It's been reported that the Kingscourt-headquartered firm wrote to the Building Research Establishment (BRE), which carried out testing on the product.

The revelation came during a Grenfell Tower Inquiry session last week, November 4, where it was confirmed that the test carried out was “not representative” of the K15 product, which has been sold by Kingspan from 2006 onwards.

The current phase of the Grenfell inquiry, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is examining the manufacturing, safety, testing and marketing of the cladding products used.

Lawyers for bereaved families and survivors of the London's Grenfell fire, where 72 people died, claim the firm changed the composition of the product in 2006, and that this new product suffered “poor performance in fire”.

When the new composited K15 product was retested in 2007, the test was described in internal Kingspan documents as “a raging inferno”, the inquiry heard.

Richard Millett QC, counsel to the inquiry, said this had been a line of investigation pursued by the inquiry for two years.

He added that it “raises very serious questions” about why it was not withdrawn sooner by Kingspan.

“As recently as October 29, Kingspan solicitors wrote to the inquiry attaching a letter directly from Kingspan to the BRE saying that they were now withdrawing a number of their BS8414 test reports,” Mr Millett said.

He added that Kingspan’s letter to the BRE said the K15 tested in 2005 was “essentially a different product” to what was being sold by the firm after 2006.

Mr Millett was followed by Stephanie Barwise QC, who appeared on behalf of the bereaved and survivors. She accused Kingspan of “unrepentant arrogance” since the fire.

She said the 2005 test was carried out using “old technology” whereas subsequent tests were carried out using new technology.

Kingspan is one of three companies, along with Celotex and Arconic, whose insulation was used on Grenfell tower, which was refurbished at a cost of almost £10 million between 2012 and 2016. Each product had to pass a test and obtain certification that it was safe.

The three companies strongly dispute the claims against them.

K15 formed a small part of the insulation used in the rainscreen cladding system on the walls of Grenfell Tower, with the majority the ‘RS5000’ product made by rival firm Celotex.

Kingspan maintains it only learned after the blaze that Kooltherm had been used on the project and that it came from a distributor that supplied contractors working on Grenfell’s refurbishment, not from the company itself.

Appearing for Kingspan, Geraint Webb QC, said the company had discovered “important shortcomings” in its “processes and procedures” for three tests, one in 2005 and two in 2014.

He added that further testing in 2015, 2016, and since the fire also, supported and validated the performance claims made historically in respect of those three earlier tests. The company was therefore “confident” that at the time of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment, the perceived “shortcomings” did not impact the safety of any cladding system incorporating K15 product.

Nonetheless, he offered a “full apology” for the discrepancies.

The inquiry continues.

Kingspan notes on its website: ‘Although Kingspan Insulation is confident that K15 was, and is, safe for use within compliant cladding systems, these historical shortcomings should not have happened and we offer a full sincere apology for them, and an assurance that we have made substantial changes to ensure they cannot be repeated.’

It also states: ‘Kingspan Insulation will continue to support the Inquiry’s important work to understand what happened at Grenfell, and to prevent any future tragedies of this nature.’