Session 1: Fire safety of Building Façades
Speakers:
- Roy Weghorst, representing NEN, Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute.
- Octavian Lalu, Senior Fire Safety Scientist at BRE (United Kingdom).
- Johan Anderson, Senior Researcher at RISE Research Institutes (Sweden).
- Giombattista Traina, Director of Reaction to Fire Lab at Istituto Giordano (Italy).
- Pablo Garmendia, TECNALIA Fire Reaction Laboratory Specialist Technician.
- Salvador Suñol, Laboratory Manager at Applus Laboratories.
The panellists, experienced professionals in engineering and fire testing, discussed the limitations of small-scale reaction-to-fire testing for materials and the increasing importance of large-scale testing methods, especially for façade systems, to assess external fire spread conditions.
Small-scale tests, such as SBI, are frequently used in fire classification systems such as Euroclasses. However, these tests are not always representative of real fire scenarios, especially in the case of façade systems and external spread.
The roundtable concluded with a call for improved communication and collaboration between laboratories, fire engineers and regulators. By working together, the industry can create more effective fire safety strategies for façade systems that take into account the full range of fire scenarios and material behaviours, which will ultimately make buildings safer for everyone.