Fire took hold in the second of two blocks in The Cube student accommodation development on Bradshawgate on Friday evening (15 November). The fire was reported to have spread “extremely quickly” up the exterior of the building, according to officers on the scene.
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At its height, around 200 firefighters were tackling the blaze, with 40 fire engines, three aerial platforms and other specialist appliances in use.
GMFRS said in a statement yesterday that it inspected the building in 2017, following the Grenfell Tower disaster, and determined that it did not have ACM cladding. The larger of the two blocks at The Cube is classified as a high-rise building. The second building, which was involved in the fire, is under 18m and not classified as a high-rise building. Both have fire alarm systems and operate a simultaneous evacuation strategy.
The fire service said it requested for the 2017 fire risk assessment to be reviewed and the materials used in the external wall system to be identified and assessed.
GMFRS added: “This assessment was shared with GMFRS and in 2018, subsequent work was undertaken to both buildings by the building owners.
“Following the fire our investigation will consider the materials used within the external wall construction and what if any role these materials played in the development and spread of fire. This investigation will be complex and take some time. No further information about the external wall system will be released at this stage.”
Building manager Valeo Urban Student Life (USL), which stressed it did not play a role in the construction of the building, said in a statement: “Valeo USL is deeply sorry that the fire in the Cube building it operates in Bolton has displaced all of the 221 students that were resident in the building and is of course concerned about the distress and disruption that the blaze has caused to the lives of those students.”
