When it comes to the issue of fire, how you interpret the validity of a fire test report or assessment certification could make the difference between whether the fire protection measure in question succeeds or fails in its objective, says Wilf Butcher.
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.
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.
‘Indicative’ tests
Such comprehensive reports should not be confused with what has become known as the ’indicative’ or ‘ad-hoc’ test. The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (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 (and 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.
So, what should you do when asked to consider a test report as justification to proceed?
First and foremost, ensure that you have been given the whole test report and not just the fire test data, as all of the conditions for the use of the fire test will be covered within the reports introduction.
Secondly, if the data given is based on a small scale test alone, ask to see other evidence of full scale testing in compliance with the appropriate test standard.
Finally, if you have any doubts as to the validity of the data given for the conditions under which it will be used, seek advice from the testing body that undertook the test, or request that the product manufacturer in question obtains a confirmatory letter from the testing body to this effect.
What if the test data presented is insufficient, but the solution offered is to increase the amount of fire protection to compensate?
More is less?
By definition, if there is no evidence, either practical or independently verified, to prove that an increased amount of a given fire protection will meet the criteria required; such a solution has no validity. Again, the test body that undertook the test should be consulted or the product manufacturer in question needs to obtain a confirmatory letter from the testing body to underwrite such an approach.
For further details on this subject, the ASFP has produced a Guidance Notice’ entitled ‘The use of ‘indicative’ or ‘ad-hoc’ testing – essential information’, which may be downloaded from the ASFP website at www.asfp.org.uk
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. The process of certification includes:
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’.
Wilf Butcher is chief executive of the ASFP, which is staging free of charge seminars in the passive fire protection zone at International Firex, 16-19 May 2011.
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