Cladding questions arise in Milan's 20-story building blaze

Italian firefighters are tackling remaining hot spots in a 20-story apartment building in Milan that was destroyed by fire, but say there were no indications that anyone is missing inside

MILAN -- Italian firefighters tackled hot spots Monday in a 20-story apartment building in Milan that was destroyed by fire but said there were no indications that anyone was missing inside, as questions arose about the cladding that witnesses said rapidly fueled the fire. Some cases of smoke inhalation were reported from Sunday's blaze, but no serious injuries or deaths. The fire that sent up a huge plume of black smoke visible for kilometers (miles) recalled the deadly fire that swept through Grenfell Tower in London in 2017, killing 72 people. In that case, the cladding on the outside of that building was blamed for the speed at which the fire engulfed the block, and officials noted similar issues in the Milan fire. “I have never seen a situation like this,'' said firefighting official Giuliano Santagata. ”Just look at the facade and you see that everything is completely burned, and therefore presume that it was made of flammable material."