Beware of Fire Test Report Wording
To the uninitiated, who are faced with a very difficult and potentially expensive need to achieve a required standard of fire performance to comply with a specific Building Regulation, the offer of a simple ‘fix’ must be very appealing, says the Association. Take, for example, the ornate door in a heritage property or a decorative lath and plaster ceiling that require to be upgraded in terms of fire performance. In these types of situations the need to maintain the original structure of the substrate (certainly in the eyes of the building owner) is of paramount importance and the issue of fire safety, very much a secondary concern.
The process of fire testing is a vigorous and often very costly endeavour and common sense dictates that not all potential configurations, to which a product of system is to be used, can be realistically tested. In such situations a range of tests may be carried out in different configurations, which in turn leads to an extrapolation of data contained in an assessment report.
Such comprehensive reports should not be confused with what has become known as the ’indicative’ or ‘ad-hoc’ test. The ASFP, along with many Certification Bodies, are now very concerned at the growing indiscriminate use of such very limited test reports that may well appear to solve a difficult dilemma, but in reality give little more than the illusion of a solution that has no foundation practice.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with any product manufacturer undertaking ‘indicative’ or ‘ad hoc’ testing as a way of observing and assessing how its products or systems may perform in conjunction with the type of configuration to which it may be used. However, as the test laboratory will often state in its report, the information gained is for the test sponsors benefit only and as such should not be used to demonstrate performance against the standard to which it would normally be measured. Nor should it be taken as a means to assess such a product or system against any regulatory requirement. Often, such tests are not conducted under the accreditation process and requirements of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and may not have complied with the full requirements of the given Standard.
The ASFP supports third party product certification as the most appropriate way of demonstrating the performance of passive fire protection products in the market. Such certification is undertaken by independent bodies who verify the quality of the product. Third party product certification is the only way of providing architects, specifiers, enforcement authorities and building owners a high level of confidence that products are ‘fit for purpose’.
The ASFP is organising free of charge seminars in the passive fire protection zone at ‘International Firex’, scheduled to take place at the NEC, Birmingham, between 16th - 19th May 2011. To book your place visit www.asfp.org.uk or www.info4fire.com/internationalfirex
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