Owners of buildings covered in highly flammable materials are being ordered to move smoke alarms closer to danger zones as a stop-gap measure to prevent deadly fires from spreading.

The order comes as Melbourne City Council's chief building surveyor warned one building's owners that cladding had made their tower "a danger to the life, safety or health of any member of the public or of any person using the building".

As the fallout continues from this month’s fire at Spencer Street’s Neo200 apartments, scores of buildings identified as being covered in combustible material remain unchanged – with little or no plan to remove the cladding.

Among those highlighted to The Age is Southbank's Quay West tower. A 23-storey residential and serviced apartment tower constructed by a Lendlease subsidiary in 1990, the building is made mostly of concrete.