In 2017, the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in central London directed the attention of policy makers and that of the broader public towards the use of flammable materials in buildings such as high-rise apartment blocks. This led to ongoing investigations into how Australian buildings stack up in this area of public safety.
In fact, Australia had its earlier warnings with the Melbourne Dockland's Lacrosse apartment building fire in Victoria marking the risks associated with external cladding.
Improving the fire safety of lightweight materials in structures and fire protection systems is now the main focus of a new Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre. Funded with $4.27 million through the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres scheme, the new facility officially opened at the University of New South Wales in July.
In line with the objectives of the ARC funding scheme, the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies will carry out research and also train the next generation of researchers.
ARC chief executive officer Professor Sue Thomas said at the launch that the centre’s research “will have the potential to transform Australia's industry in manufacturing, application and export of advanced flame retardant materials”.
Under the leadership of Professor Guan Yeoh, the centre’s research agenda will include enhancing fire resistance of building materials, creating eco-friendly durable flame retardant materials, and developing advanced fire models for urban and built environments.
“We are trying to prevent a situation leading to a disaster,” Professor Yeoh said in a video on the centre’s website.
“My goal is always to instil the aspect that prevention is always better than intervention.”
Potential products in the making include a simple spray that could be applied on existing buildings. “The proposal of a coating that we are going to develop is far more cost effective than trying to take down the cladding and install an new cladding,” Professor Yeoh said.
Initial tests have been promising, raising the prospect that the coating could be on the market within 12 months.
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