Non-compliant cladding has contributed to a fire which spread through 13 storeys of a Melbourne apartment building.
According to a report released by the city's Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) the fire at the Lacrosse apartment building in La Trobe Street, Docklands was caused by a cigarette on the eighth floor balcony.
The fire spread to the 21st floor within 10 minutes.
"The external cladding material on this building did not to the degree necessary avoid the spread of fire as required by the Building Code of Australia," the report said.
"Simultaneous internal fire ignition events over multiple floors are simply an unacceptable fire safety solution for a residential high-rise building, or any other occupiable building for that matter."
Although there were no fatalities, 400 residents were evacuated from the building as a result of the fire which took place in November 2014.
A spokesperson for the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) said the builder and surveyor of the Lacrosse apartment building will be investigated.
The VBA is also taking steps to identify whether non-compliant cladding has been used in other Victorian buildings.
Other contributing factors identified in the MFB report include: Emergency Warning and Intercommunication System (EWIS) was compromised; apartment smoke alarms were tampered with and; fire extinguishers were not accessible.
On a positive note, the report said it was fortunate the installed fire sprinkler system operated well above its designed capability preventing further internal spread.
"This was a rare and challenging fire incident for the MFB and one worthy of further investigation and enquiry into the contributory factors for the rapid fire spread," the report said.
"In the process of the investigation, the MFB gained valuable insight into the complexities associated with the adopted cladding material along with the performance of several fire safety measures.
"We anticipate that learning's gained through this process will provide improved insight and understanding to designers, engineers and certifiers, for greater fire safety in future developments."