Fire Protection
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO FIRE REGULATIONS
The Building
Regulations deal comprehensively with the
subject of fire performance. However, the
following notes may be useful to the specifier
in the selection of the most suitable materials.
The relevant sections of the regulations may
be summarised as follows:
1 Any external cladding which is situated
within 1m from any point on the relevant
boundary, or nominal boundary, or any
building exceeding 18m in height shall have
a ‘Class O’ surface.
2 A class O surface is construed as either:
i. The material is non-combustible when
tested to BS 476 Part 4 (Combustibility).
Or
ii. The surface shall have indices of
performance not exceeding 12 and (i), not
exceeding 6 when tested to BS 476 Part 6
(Fire Propagation). In addition it is essential
that the material must obtain a Class 1
rating when tested in accordance with
BS 476(b): Part 7, surface spread of flame.
3 Any external cladding which is situated 1m
or more from the boundary and is below a
height of 18m from the ground may have a
surface which, when tested to BS 476 Part 6
(Fire Propagation) has an index of
performance, (I), not exceeding 20.
LPS 1181 EXPLAINED
LPS 1181 is a fire test used as part of LPCB approval and is intended to show that
combustible linings, sandwich panels and
composite panels will not make a significant
contribution to fire growth. This is covered in
clause 2.2 of the LPC Design Guide for the
Fire Protection of Buildings.
This represents the earlier stage of a fire
before the room or compartment is fully
involved in the fire.
Sandwich panels that have passed this test are
currently given the Grade B designation in the
LPCB List of Approved Fire and Security
Products and Services (
The test comprises building an open-ended
enclosure (approximately the size of a domestic
garage) from the sandwich panels with a timber
crib located in one corner. It tests not only the
panels, but also the jointing methods and
supporting system as well.
LPCB Approval requires the manufacturer to be quality assured by LPC, however, this assessment stops at the factory gates. To provide an LPC approved construction the ‘as built’ details on site must exactly comply with the tested system.
Systems approved to LPS 1181 Grade A for external use must also be tested for fire resistance. The value shown on the certificate indicates the fire resistance performance in terms of insulation and integrity, as follows:
LPS 1181 Ext-A15-15 (15 minutes insulation and integrity)
LPS 1181 Ext-A15-30 (30 minutes insulation and integrity)
LPS 1181 Ext-A15-60 (60 minutes insulation and integrity).
LPS 1208 EXPLAINED
LPS 1208 is the standard for evaluating the
fire resistance of an element of construction with
specific application to compartment walls and
floors. Fire resistance is related to the postflashover
stage of a fire. This is the part of the
fire where all the contents in the room in which
the fire originates are fully involved and are
burning.
The basic objective is to maintain the structural
integrity of the building and to prevent the
spread of fire into other compartments.
Furnaces are used to test elements of
construction for fire resistance.
The basic criteria used for panels is integrity
(no gaps that allow fire and smoke to get
though) and insulation (combustible materials
on the non-fire side cannot become ignited).
Test reports give the result as follows:
Integrity: 240 minutes
Insulation: 15 minutes.
CORUS FIRE STATEMENT
Fire Rating
Corus Colorcoat Celestia®, Colorcoat Prisma®
and Colorcoat HPS200® meet the Class 0
requirements of The Building Regulations for
the UK, 2000 as well as the M1 requirements
of NF P 92-507 for France and the B1
requirements of DIN4102-1 for Germany.
European standards for resistance and reaction
to fire will progressively supersede national
standards. The implementation of the European
standards will vary from one country to another.
