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The State Government has confirmed cladding on Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital is combustible, tests have revealed.
The core of the aluminium material could be a fire risk, initial results from the University of Queensland show.
Entire panels from different sections of the hospital, equating to 80 square metres — or 20 king-sized beds — has been sent to Melbourne for extreme testing under real fire conditions.
Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick said it did not necessarily mean the cladding was in danger of catching alight, but more testing was necessary.
The results are expected next month.
"I also want to reassure you that the hospital remains safe," he said.
"The extra measures we put in place on the advice of the [Queensland Fire and Emergency Services] last month were based on taking an abundance of caution in relation to this issue."
But Mr Dick said the Government was considering three options:
- Removing and replacing cladding
- Treating existing cladding to make it suitably fire resistance
- Installing extra fire safety and suppression measures.
The potentially flammable material was installed on the outside of 24,000 square metres of the hospital at Buranda, on Brisbane's southside, in 1998.
The cladding was tested to check whether it was non-conforming and could be similar to the material found on the London Grenfell Tower, where at least 80 people died after a sudden inferno.
"We've acted proactively previously and we continue to do so," Mr Dick said.
"That's why as a government we're now working on options for further action in relation to the cladding including removal.
"I want to assure the community though, patients and staff at the PA Hospital that if the expert assessment identifies that the cladding needs to be removed it will be, there's no doubt about that."
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, fires, building-and-construction, healthcare-facilities, woolloongabba-4102, qld, brisbane-4000
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