CANBERRA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- An Australian senator has said a deadly fire which gutted a 24-storey apartment tower and killed at least 12 in west London should be used as a "wake-up call" for Australia's building standards, after low-quality, flammable cladding was blamed for the severity of the deadly blaze.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called for an audit of Australian apartment blocks, claiming that non-compliant building materials could have been used as a cheap alternative, meaning Australian dwellings could face the same risk as the Grenfell Tower in London.
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Xenophon said the thought of an apartment fire which gets out of control due to non-compliant, flammable cladding and other poor quality materials was "disturbing."
"When you have firefighters saying 'this stuff makes our job almost impossible to do', that is very disturbing," Xenophon said.
"Firefighters say this external cladding is flammable, non-conforming; stuff that shouldn't be on buildings and poses an enormous risk on residents and to firefighters."
He later told the Nine Network that an audit to determine which buildings have been fitted with materials that are not up to "Australian standards" should be ordered to protect residents' safety.
"We just need to know what is being used on apartment buildings, including those being retrofitted are fire retardant and meet Australian standards," the Senator said.
"Some of this cladding is okay to use on a single-storey build, but not for multi-storey buildings and the problem is we just don't know the extent of it."
The Australian city of Melbourne has previously had a minor incident involving flammable cladding; in 2015, an apartment building engulfed in flames, with a report from the fire department declaring that cheaply-imported cladding was to blame for the severity of the blaze.
