FEATURE FOCUS: SCHOOL MAINTENANCE & DESIGN
Bringing clarity to fire safety
We can start with basic definitions. Here’s what the Oxford English Dictionary has to say:
Non-combustible:Made of material that does not burn if exposed to fire.
Combustible: Able to catch fire and burn easily. But, how do these terms combustible and non-
combustible relate to building materials? The European Reaction to Fire classification
system (Euroclass) is the EU harmonised standard for assessing the qualities of building materials in the event of exposure to fire. This standard is a legal requirement for CE marked construction products and relevant for both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. As the name suggests, this classification system
assesses and rates the ‘reaction to fire’ performance of construction products, providing a clear and simple method for comparing the performance of products when exposed to fire. When products are tested according to the Euroclass system a range of factors are
T
his month, in our annual look at school maintenance and the issues which affect
schools and their estates, we hear from Tim Vincent, Head of Technical at ROCKWOOL Ltd, who looks ahead to the independent review of fire safety due this month, and outlines some of the factors which apply to the building materials used in schools and other educational establishments. Back in July 2017, the Government announced
an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. A review that will deliver an interim report before the end of the year, and a final report no later than Spring 2018. As we await these findings, it’s important and
helpful to establish clarity in language and definitions, specifically, the terms non- combustible and combustible and how these apply to building materials used in educational buildings.
investigated: ignitability, flame spread, heat release, smoke production and propensity for producing flaming droplets/particles. The Euroclass system is accepted by all European Union States (and is mandatory where there is a Harmonised Product Standard) and includes seven classification levels, from A1 to F. Understanding these Euroclass classifications is
vitally important. The Euroclass system states that products
achieving A1 classification are defined as non- combustible under these Regulations. Products achieving an A2 classification are recognised as products of limited combustibility, offering “no significant contribution to fire growth”. Products achieving a rating of B-F are deemed
to be combustible. Where a product has not been measured for fire safety under the Euroclass system then it will be classed as F, meaning no performance declared (NPD). So, in short, non-combustible equals non-
combustible.
Euroclass table 32
www.education-today.co.uk May 2018
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