Author: Trivess Moore, Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University

Ten years ago, a late-night cigarette started a fire that spread rapidly up 13 storeys on the Lacrosse apartment building in Melbourne. The November 24 fire caused more than A$5.7 million in damages, but thankfully no lives were lost. Investigators found Lacrosse was covered in flammable cladding. It’s a building defect that increases serious fire risk. Ten years on, has enough changed to reduce such defects, or is there more to do? Our research finds progress is being made, but the construction industry has a long way to go. For example, even the basic work of identifying which buildings have flammable cladding…