Technical briefing: Mitigating fire risk when retrofitting tower blocks

Residential tower blocks are being clad with hi-grade external wall insulation systems to save CO2 emissions and reduce the fuel bills of residents. Lets not do this at the expense of fire safety.

Energy efficiency, but not at the expense of fire safety Residential tower blocks built in the 1960’s and 1970’s are some of the least energy efficient building stock in the UK. To help rectify this problem the government has rightly ensured these buildings are targeted with full packages of high grade thermal insulation measures to make them cheaper and more comfortable places to live. However, as the levels of insulation are increased to reduce energy bills and CO2 emissions it makes up an ever larger percentage of the buildings potential fire load. In this Technical Briefing we investigate...

External wall insulation timeline Retrofitting a typical residential tower block with external wall insulation typically takes 20 weeks*. During this time, there is a period of 11 weeks when part of the insulation layer is exposed and if combustible, has the potential to propagate the spread of fire should it come under attack. Project stage Insulation status Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply insulation Apply steel frame Apply base coat to insulation Apply base coat Apply base coat Apply top coat and strike...

What the law says Mitigating against the fire risk posed by combustible building products during construction is enschrined in UK statute law. CDM (2007) regulations regarding fire safety during construction states: Reducing the amount of combustible material Where combustible or flammable materials have to be used, select the least flammable alternatives. Where the structure itself is flammable special considerations may be necessary to reduce the combustible material likely to be involved. Who’s responsible for fire safety in the built environment? The RR(FS)O (2005) states: Regulatory Reform...

Choosing noncombustible insulation By choosing non-combustible stone wool insulation you can be assured that the very core of the systems you clad to residential tower blocks will not propagate the spread of fire. ROCKWOOL doesn’t burn, in fact it doesn’t even start to melt until it reaches temperatures over 1000°C. What’s more, it gives off next to no toxic smoke - the real threat to life in most building fires.

Designing out fire risk Designing out the risk is of fire is easy – following the three simple steps below will ensure you mitigate the potential risk the insulation system may have posed right from the design stages of your project 1) nsure you choose E non-combustible building materials where possible 2) nsure building products are E used for their intended enduse 3) Ensure materials are installed correctly, by a competent person, and in accordance with manufacturer guidelines ROCKWOOL® insulation turns any wall into a firewall that can slow the spread of fire from room to room

Rockwool Limited 26-28 Hammersmith Grove London W6 7HA Tel: 0871 222 1780 [email protected] www.rockwool.co.uk