BRE manager admits missing rigged Celotex fire test was ‘very basic error,’ Grenfell inquiry hears

By Tom Lowe2021-03-04T10:42:00

BRE staff failed to notice two fire-resisting boards added to test rig to ensure a pass

A manager at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) has admitted that not noticing that a fire test of an insulation product used on Grenfell Tower was rigged was a “very basic error”.

Former BRE project manager Tony Baker told the Grenfell Inquiry that he made a “fundamental omission” by missing the presence of two fire-resisting magnesium boards which were added to a May 2014 test of Celotex’s RS5000 insulation to increase the chances of a pass.

After the test passed, the extra magnesium oxide boards were not referenced in either the BRE’s official report of the test or Celotex’s marketing literature for the product.

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