Fire Door Journal: 7th November
Steve Goodburn, Business Development Director at Pyroguard, discusses how the latest advances in fire safety glass are enabling specifiers and contractors to meet fire safety regulations with fire doors.
“Increasingly, specifiers and contractors are looking for solutions that not only meet stringent fire safety standards and evolving building regulations but also support modern design expectations. One area seeing significant innovation is fire safety glass, where recent advances are allowing for greater design flexibility and reliability in performance.
Fire safety glass in fire doors
Fire doors are recognised as an essential component in retaining fire safety in buildings. With modern advances in fire safety glass, this means that fire doors can benefit from glazing, but without the need for wired glass that detracted from their aesthetics.
Modern fire safety glass consists of multiple panes of glass with fire-resistant interlayers, which allow the glass and overall door system to withstand extreme heat to support safe evacuation.
When exposed to high temperatures, these interlayers react, forming a protective barrier against flames, smoke and radiant heat. These interlayers can provide excellent fire resistance, alongside other properties, such as thermal efficiency, acoustic insulation and even attack resistance.
Made up of an innovative gel interlayer, Pyroguard Advance provides EW classifications with fire resistance of 30 or 60 minutes. This is the only cuttable fire safety glass manufactured in the UK to feature this innovative gel interlayer, providing the flexibility to be cut on site without compromising on fire performance. Not only is this range of fire safety glass fully tested and certified to European standards, but it can also be combined with laminated glass counterpanes in order to meet P1A anti-attack requirements, making it a suitable option for use in steel, timber and composite applications.
Intumescent seals may only be a small component of an overall door system, but they play an important role in fire door performance. Working with Pyroguard, Mann McGowan has recently developed a new compressible intumescent glazing seal, Pyroglaze Compression, which is suitable for use with a range of different door cores and bead types. Pyroglaze C enhances fire performance of the surrounding components; when exposed as the intumescent swells to completely seal gaps. In the case of door glazing, use of Pyroglaze C, reduces the risk of premature ignition of glazing beads on the protected face.
Pyroglaze C has been tested to EN 1634-1 in conjunction with Pyroguard Advance to 30 and 60 minutes. Made from graphite, Pyroglaze C is resistant to humidity and moisture, which means it maintains its integrity and performance even in challenging environmental conditions.
Changes to fire door testing
From September 2029, fire door systems tested to BS 476-22 will no longer meet UK Building Regulations. Instead, compliance will be with the European classification system, BS EN 13501-2.
This change forms part of a broader Government strategy to enhance building safety and performance, following the Hackitt Enquiry, highlighting the need for more rigorous and transparent testing of fire doors.
The move towards EN testing standards represents a significant change in how fire doors are assessed and specified within the industry. This change will affect how products are chosen, specified and certified. Developing and testing fire-rated products takes time, and it is therefore important to begin sourcing fully certified solutions that already meet EN classifications sooner rather than later.”
To find out more, visit: https://www.pyroguard.eu/
