[Aktungbby]

Given the inter-corporate nature of the scandal, shoddiness of cladding, governmental lack of oversight, and potential 'scapegoat' ( Ray Bailey) I dub the whole fiasco....with 34 more buildings throughout the realm "Claddingate". It makes Oakland, CA's recent Ghostship warehouse fire (36 dead) appear minimal by comparison. On June 5, 2017, Almena and Ghost Ship creative director Max Harris were arrested and charged with felony involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fire. They face 39 years in prison if convicted. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/ Bail for the two non-owner scapegoats was set at over 1.000.000 apiece....But the city of Oakland is also seriously culpable for non-enforcement of safety standards.

Oakland officials have repeatedly denied that fire and building officials were aware of the danger," the Los Angeles Times writes although "public records released by the city in February show the building had been subject to at least 10 code enforcement complaints

As a youngster in the 70's, I was an alarm agent and later fire-inspector for clients in the Bay area; responsible for inspections at hospitals, shopping malls, and care facilities for the severely handicapped. Inspection of heat sensors, water-flow sprinkler systems, and smoke equipment fell to me.... the burden of realizing that if you miss a piece of equipment...some person will not escape grows on you-even in rat infested crawlspaces and cobwebbed attics. Case in point: on a routine yearly inspection of my high-rise building im 1999> with a fire marshal to certify: I as court bailiff/security officer on my first inspection; and my very astute building engineer opened the hallway phone-line closet on my third floor where the line conduit ran vertically 'twixt the thirty floors of the building's concrete floors- 3+ years new with a sophisticated pressurized fire escape system. Not overly familiar with the building; but having read the voluminous fire-escape/evac procedures for the building, I immediately noted the 3" phoneline pipe had a 1/4 " gap all-round the opening in the flooring and ceiling...!!! I innocently asked the engineer if it ''were possible to drop a dime from the top floor all the way to the basement through the gap?'' As in a 300' vertical submarine, the 30 'compartments' were thus not air-tight; the pressurized fire stairs would never function properly in a real smokey fire! The engineer and the fire marshal realized that, for three previous years, they had looked but not seen-the fire-marshal: "Good god! And I've been looking at this for three years!" - the problem was resolved that day with relatively simple inexpensive firberglass heat resistant sealant on all floors- and all those gorgeous secretaries in their stiletto heels could henceforth bug-out through the now more effective fire exits-I got a submarine sandwich from the well-stilettoed building manager for my astute observation! I am under no illusion that my case was unusual......