ECOBuilder-Specifiers Journal spring2018

Fire Safety and Building Regulations
Industrial Textiles & Plastics
The tragic events of 2017 focused the attention of the nation on
fire prevention and control in UK buildings. Fire safety testing and
evaluation of building materials is ongoing, and UK Building
Regulations are under review. With new, more stringent standards
inevitable, what do today’s specifiers need know about flame
retardant construction materials?
Who, and what, is to blame for
the fire tragedy that claimed the
lives of seventy-one people? The
Grenfell Tower Inquiry is ongoing,
but it will be many months before
conclusions are announced. In
the meantime, the government
published Building a Safer Future –
Independent Review of Building
Regulations and Fire Safety:
Interim Report in December. In
the report, Dame Judith Hackitt
said, “It has become clear that
the whole system of regulation,
covering what is written down
and the way in which it is enacted
in practice, is not fit for purpose,
leaving room for those who want
to take shortcuts to do so.”
Among the key findings of her
interim report are that current
regulations and guidance are too
complex and unclear, and that
the system of product testing,
marketing and quality assurance is
not clear. Those who commission,
design and build a project must
all take responsibility for ensuring
that buildings are fit for purpose,
and that “cutting corners” is not
acceptable.
As Grenfell has demonstrated,
this is especially critical for flame
retardant building materials. Dame
Judith concluded that products
must be properly tested and
certified, and that the marketing
of these materials must be clear
and easy to interpret. Those who
manufacture the materials used
10 12 ECOBUILDER - THE SPECIFIER 2018 SPRING 2018
in construction must also take responsibility
for ensuring that what
they provide to the industry is
produced to the highest standards
and that product specifications are
confirmed by independent testing
and accreditation.
The challenge, for both manufacturers
and specifiers, is
understanding and interpreting
flame retardant standards, as well
as the testing procedures and
protocols used to determine the
flammability of a material.
British and international building
standards specify flame retardant
materials for specific installations
and structures. Flame retardant
additives are incorporated in the
materials or added as a coating
to make them flame retardant;
it is the formulation, quality and
amount of these additives, and
the equipment used to produce
them that determine which flame
retardant tests the material will
pass and what standards to which
they will comply.
A flame retardant material is one
that self-extinguishes; it does not
mean that it is flame proof. Flame
retardant materials are resistant to
catching fire, reduce flammability,
and inhibit, suppress or delay the
production of flames. Flame proof
materials are ones that are not
liable to catch fire or be damaged
by fire and are not readily ignited
or burned by flames.
Current building regulations in
England regarding fire safety
matters within and around buildings
are specified in Approved
Document B (Fire Safety) Volume 1
(dwelling houses) and Volume 2
(buildings other than dwelling
houses). The documents specify the
minimum standards for all materials
used in the construction, with
specific installation requirements.
(The full document is available
online at www.gov.uk.)
The required standard in Britain
is BS 476 (fire tests on building
materials and structures) Parts 6
and 7. Part 6 (method test for fire
propagation for products) tests the
amount of heat given off during
a 20-minute test, with measurements
being taken frequently to
produce an Index result. Part 7
(method of test to determine the
classification of the spread of flame
of products) measures how far and
how fast the flame spreads from
the point of ignition over the test
time. Materials are rated Class 1
(best) to Class 4 (worst), depending
on the spread and speed of the
flame. To achieve a Class 1 rating in
BS 476 Part 7, the flame must not
spread more than 165mm from
the point of ignition over a test
time of 10 minutes.
EN ISO 13501-1 was introduced
in 2002 to harmonize the classification
of the reaction to fire for
building materials. This is also an
accepted standard in the UK for