CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS GROUP THE IMPORTANCE OF FIRE PROTECTION

Construction Products Group’s Patricia Gabriel outlines the basics of fire protection testing and certification to ensure building safety

When it comes to specifying Passive Fire Protection (PFP) products and solutions, it is mandatory to include the fire resistance rating – the period in which these products perform their protective role and can contain a fire. Different fire ratings will be required, depending on local fire regulations, building types, fire strategy, and so on. A product will only be awarded a classification, and therefore assigned a fire rating, if it passes rigorous fire testing.

This article will outline the basics of fire protection testing and certification, as well as the necessary documents to ensure the appropriate level of building safety.

European Standard (hEN) or European Assessment Document (EAD) and enables these products to circulate freely in all countries of the European Economic Area.

Indeed, fire stopping products are not covered by hEN, so this is the decision for the manufacturer whether to obtain CE marking to prove that the product meets all the safety, health and environmental requirements within the EU. Each fire stopping product is evaluated according to the following stages:

FIRE TESTING TO ESTIMATE FIRE PERFORMANCE

PREPARATION OF TEST REPORTS AND EXTENDED FIELD OF APPLICATION (EXAP) REPORTS INCLUDING RAW RESULTS TO CHARACTERISE FIRE PERFORMANCE AFTER SERIES OF TESTS

CLASSIFICATION REPORT

EUROPEAN TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT (ETA)

Test reports

Do certification and CE marking guarantee product quality?

Certification process is a procedure performed by a third party, the certification body, to assure that a certified body claims a system, service, product, or a person meets the requirements specified in a standard or reference document. Being a voluntary act, certification is an important competitive tool for a company. Though, an existing certificate does not guarantee that products and services are necessarily meeting the quality offered by a company, since it meets the specified and compliance requirements.

Here, it is important to distinguish voluntary certification from CE marking. The latter is an independent trusted assessment, mandatory for products covered by the harmonised

Used for fire resistant products, these reports characterise fire resistance of a building element and include raw results only. Reports describe everything that happened during the specific fire test and provide the temperature evolution of every seal, which afterwards can be expressed as a fire rating. Nullifire fire stopping products are tested in accordance with European Test Standards, typically EN 1366­3 for service penetrations, and EN 1366­4 for linear joints. Test reports cannot be used to justify fire resistance performances of a product, according to a fire safety regulation.

EXAPs and Assessment Reports

Being linked to Test Reports, Assessment Reports describe the modification and fire performance of the building elements and construction system. The reference standard for penetration seal here is EN 15882­3 and EN 15882­4 for linear seal.

Classification Reports

Based on one or multiple fire tests, these reports validate the fire performance of products and building materials. Classification reports are issued by a third­party accredited organisation