18 facing possible trial over Milan tower block fire

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 7 - Italian prosecutors said Wednesday they had wound up their investigations and 18 people are facing possible trial in a fire that destroyed an 18-storey block of flats in Milan on August 29, 2021.
    The legal representatives of the firms that built the Torre del Moro and installed highly flammable cladding on its facades are now facing possible indictments, legal sources said.
    Two fire officials who issued an anti-fire certification in 2011 are also among those facing indictments.
    The investigation, prosecutors said, "overall unveiled worrisome scenarios and at the same time instructive ones that should serve as a warning, on violations of the safety norms of products and evasive practices to get certifications and standards qualifications, adopted by producers, distributors, and at certification institutes." The flammable cladding panels on the Milan tower block had not been certified, fire fighters have said in a report to the probe into the incident.
    The 18-floor Torre del Moro quickly became a huge torch on August 29 last year but residents managed to get out in time.
    Fire team experts said in their report that the cladding was supplied by the Spanish Alucoil company to Zambonini, and Italian company that carried out the installation for builders Moro Costruzioni, in 2010 "before certification was issued by the interior ministry".
    The skyscraper became a torch in about three minutes, according to videos posted on social media by former residents.
    The Torre dei Moro tower block in Via Antonini caught fire almost immediately sending incandescent parts of the building falling to the ground, the videos viewed by prosecutors show.
    Experts have said the skyscraper had "security issues" including flammable cladding while residents, who fortunately all got out safely, said the fire alarm failed to go off.
    The building become a 'torch' due to a 'chimney effect', experts said.
    The 'Torre dli Moro' became a blackened ruin after a fire that consumed it all day on a Sunday. No one was hurt as the building was evacuated in time.
    The fire started on the 15th floor, perhaps due to a short circuit, the experts said.
    It then spread to the rest of the building due to a chimney effect in which a current of air raced down between the building and its cladding panels, turning the tower into a torch, they said.
    Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala initiated the probe to establish responsibility for the blaze.
    The northern city's fire brigade chief, Giuliano Santagata, said "I've never seen anything like it in Milan before".
    One of the evacuated residents said "we are 70 families without a home and we'll have to start again from scratch". Officials said it was lucky no one had been killed.
    Only a dog died in the fire.
    Among the residents of the tower block was singer-songwriter Mahmood, who won the Sanremo Song Festival and came second in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019.
    Veteran singer-songwriter and former X-Factor judge Morgan, who lives nearby, posted videos on Instagram saying "it was incredible, we were nearly set alight too".
    A 16th floor resident told prosecutors that the cladding "burned up as if it were cardboard".
    Prosecutors said a preliminary examination had revealed "critical issues" in the block's fire system.
    Experts reportedly said the cladding had been made of "inappropriate" and highly flammable material. (ANSA).