Fire, Materials and Design
The fire started around 7:30 pm in a small disused kiosk adjacent to the centre's mini-golf course, caused by boys who were smoking there. Eventually the burning kiosk slumped against the exterior of the building. This part of the building was clad in a material called Galbestos – profiled steel sheeting with asbestos felt on both sides coated with bitumen – which had limited fire-resistance qualities. This set fire to the interior sound-proofing material, which also had poor fire-resistance qualities, causing an explosion which ignited the highly flammable acrylic sheeting which covered the rest of the building. The fire spread quickly across the sheeting on the leisure centre walls and roof, and through vents which were not properly fireproofed. The acrylic melted, which allowed more oxygen to enter and dropped burning melted material, both starting other fires and injuring those trying to escape. The building's open-plan design included many unblocked internal spaces that acted as chimneys adding to the conflagration.
Read more about this topic: Summerland Disaster
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