Loading Around 200 residents were evacuated in the early hours of the morning as fire fuelled by flammable cladding spread up the building's exterior. No one was injured in the blaze, but it led the government’s Victorian Building Authority to take action against Mr Thomas. The building authority can only pursue Mr Thomas – and levy hefty fines against him – if he is still registered as a fire engineer and building surveyor. In a bid to avoid fines for both this project and others he approved with flammable cladding, Mr Thomas has taken the unusual step of going to the Supreme Court to force the cancellation of his qualifications. The building authority is trying to block the move.

The 67-year-old said the Victorian Building Authority was pursuing him not because he was culpable, but to make him a scapegoat so it could be seen to be regulating the industry. A resident's view of the Neo 200 fire as it climbs the building's facade, fuelled by flammable cladding. Mr Thomas said the authority’s refusal to deregister him essentially meant he remained a fire engineer and building surveyor against his will. But Victorian Building Authority chief executive Sue Eddy said Mr Thomas’ bid to surrender his registrations was a deliberate attempt to avoid further scrutiny over the Neo 200 blaze. She said it would be unacceptable to allow Mr Thomas or others to “attempt to walk away from their rightful responsibilities by simply handing in their registration”.

“The Neo 200 building was the site of a serious cladding fire,” Ms Eddy said, promising her authority’s investigation would “identify those responsible and hold them to account”. Mr Thomas has produced documents in court showing the authority assessed the Neo 200 building in 2016 during in an initial audit after the Lacrosse fire. The documents show the authority declared Neo 200 safe to occupy, despite not visiting the site. But in the wake of London's deadly Grenfell tower blaze in 2017, another audit was done and the building was visited. This audit found the Neo 200 building had dangerous flammable cladding and was a "moderate risk". Cladding on the Lacrosse apartments in Docklands burns in the 2014 fire. Credit:Gregory Badrock