Demand for better education on fire glazing
4th April 2017

Glazing system supplier Wrightstyle has called for better education and enforcement in the industry in the wake of a recent fraud trial in Northern Ireland, saying that many people in the specification, supply and installation of fire-rated glazing systems do not have the appropriate technical skills.

That Ulster court case saw a glass company employee jailed in January for supplying ordinary laminated glass in place of fire-resistant glass to dozens of customers across Britain and Ireland including hospitals and primary schools Read Story.

The police officer in charge had said that “the potential loss of life in this case cannot be underestimated.”

Wrightstyle managing director, Tim Kempster, says that his feeling is one of sadness rather than outrage because many issues of fire safety are still badly understood by too many specifiers in the building industry.

He continued: “The Northern Ireland case was one of criminal fraud, but what about the less deliberate omissions in fire safety that could have the same catastrophic consequences in the event of a serious fire? 

“It’s an interlinked series of issues where we’ve tried to raise awareness, because some of the technical aspects of fire-rated glazing systems are complex – and too many designers, contractors and building control officers either don’t fully understand them or don’t want to understand them.”

As an example, the company cites a recent project where their customer ordered and installed a fire-rated fixed light and window, and then complained that it was leaking.

The Wrightstyle site engineer found that it had been incorrectly installed and, worse, they had put an aluminium vent into the fixed light – which was not fire rated and therefore rendering the whole certification worthless. 

He continued: “We regularly see other examples. For example, some designers come to us specifying a fire-rated curtain wall but with a non-fire rated door.  We obviously then educate them and would not produce nor quote for something non-compliant – but there are others out there who either don’t understand the implications or don’t care.

“The worst offenders, and there are a few, are glass and systems companies who will supply to anyone, but are seemingly unconcerned how the systems or materials are used or installed.  They, supposedly, are in the fire-resistant glazing market.  Isn’t that criminality?

“Too often, we have seen fire-rated glass put into a non-rated aluminium frame – completely useless.

“The answer must lie in better continuous professional training for specifiers and for better enforcement from, for example, building control officers – to ensure excellence of written records at every stage and that appropriate glazing systems have the correct certifications and are properly installed.”