It might be easy to assume that commercially available exterior wall building materials have all met high standards for fire propagation testing. After all, lives may depend on it.
Sadly, recent experience around the world tells us otherwise. The recent fatal high-rise fire in London provides a tragic reminder that many older buildings do not meet current standards. Investigators concluded that the cladding and insulation used on the Grenfell Tower failed fire safety tests, and that 120 other buildings with similar cladding also failed the tests.
A recent article in the National Fire Safety Association (NFPA) Xchange blog recounted the story of a 2015 fire in Dubai, where flames spread quickly up the side of a 63-story building on New Year’s Eve. The exterior cladding was found to be made of a combustible material. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. In response, the Dubai government announced it would institute more restrictive regulations for exterior cladding.
These and similar stories around the world highlight why it is so important to ensure that exterior wall assemblies have been properly tested against rigorous test standards for fire propagation. The NFPA 285 test standard provides such a rigorous assessment. Here’s what makes it superior to other, less stringent test methods:
- It tests exterior wall components in combination with each other. NFPA 285 tests an actual wall assembly specimen incorporating multiple elements, including the cladding, air barrier and insulation. This is crucial, as the combination of components can greatly affect how the wall performs when presented with the high heat and flame specified in the test.
- It includes a window opening in the test specimen. This unique feature of NFPA 285 is extremely important, as penetrations such as windows can greatly impact flame propagation along and within an exterior wall.
- There are decades worth of test data. Manufacturers of exterior wall materials, including GCP Applied Technologies, have been testing their products per the NFPA 285 standard for years. The result is a vast database of information about how various combinations of wall components perform when challenged by fire. This insight and expertise are extremely valuable resources to architects and builders considering what materials to use in their projects.
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Testing wall assemblies to the NFPA 285 standard represents a significant investment—up to tens of thousands of dollars per test. But the information it provides is crucially important—to the manufacturers, to architects and building owners, and to the building occupants. Ensuring that all exterior wall components have been tested according to NFPA 285 is important. Lives depend on it.
Do you need help in specifying an air barrier to help you achieve NFPA 285 compliance?
GCP offers impermeable and permeable air barriers that can fit any project, Contact our sales team now to understand more.
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- Air & Vapor Barriers