Jet, I did read that somewhere after the Sharjah fire. Apparently some new law was passed last month banning a lot of these claddings- not sure if it will apply to existing buildings though.
Whether or not it was the cause of this one, anyone found to have thrown a cig butt and caused (any) fire should be chucked in jail pronto, it's stupid and there is no excuse since most buildings have clear rules on it. Have a friend who lives in building with balconies, she says she regularly has burning cig butts flying down so can no longer hang washing or sit out for any length of time. Since she can't pinpoint the exact flat it is coming from, there is sadly nothing she can do about it - except move. Stupid tw#ts that think it's ok. Imagine if people died from a tossed cigarette. I'm sure in Aus people have gone to jail for starting fires, even unintentionally.