Elements that Influence Fire Spread in a Building

Buildings are long-lasting infrastructures that are typically built to last more than 60 years. Many factors influence the building’s durability or efficiency; one of them is fire accidents, which can directly or indirectly affect the current structure or even the building’s existence. As a result of fires, building collapses, possible damages, and potential injuries are reported. Furthermore, fire deaths are widely recorded as a red flag for building safety. Despite many fire detection and prevention methods for buildings, building fires are still considered a significant danger to occupants. Fire incidents in buildings have risen dramatically in recent years, endangering human lives and causing economic and ecological harm.

What Should be Done?

Buildings must be built to provide an appropriate degree of fire protection while minimizing heat and smoke risks. The primary goal is to keep the risk of death or injury to building occupants and those who may become involved, such as the fire and rescue service, to an appropriate level. Protection of objects, ensuring the possibility of a building to continue to work after a fire and restoration is also kept in mind. It’s also important to note the danger to neighbouring properties and the potential for environmental pollution.

What is Typically Required to Start a Fire?

To start a fire, oxygen, fuel, and heat are needed. A fire will spread quickly if the heat source reaches a high enough temperature to cause combustion if there is enough fuel and oxygen in the surrounding area. Mostly the commercial and industrial buildings catch fire and get affected easily due to the heat release. It’s essential to think about what helps and doesn’t help a fire spread quickly in commercial and industrial buildings. This can include anything – from the materials used in construction and what is stored on the site to the items in your spaces, and whether or not you have installed fire retardant doors, facades, and more.

Knowing how a fire spreads in a commercial building is crucial to mitigating the harm that a fire can cause. Any combustible item must be stored safely, away from possible ignition sources. Also, the building materials used to build the unit, building, skyscrapers and more should have the capacity to resist fire. Aludecor, India’s leading aluminium composite panel manufacturer, has a wide range of fire-retardant ACP Sheets that helps #BeatTheFire and is beneficial in various ways.

• Low Flammability: Helps safe evacuation and saves life
• Smoke: Generates low smoke
• No molten droplets
• Negligible heat release.
• Delay in a flame spread, thus allowing 2 hours’ evacuation window.
• Use of mineral core comprising Magnesium Hydroxide that releases Water molecules which slows down the ignition.

Resistance to Fire doesn’t mean that any material is not going to catch fire. It will/may fully degenerate after the time declared by norms (i.e. 2 hours). It implies that materials will not add to the fire spread for the stipulated time as per the standard, just like Aludecor FR ACP panels.

The primary two checks made are:

• The fire should not spread from one floor to another.
• The rise of temperature on the unaffected side should not be more than 190-degree Celcius.

Choosing the range of FR ACPs, FireWall and FireWall A2, by Aludecor will help prevent your building from catching fire quickly. Aludecor FireWall has more than 71% mineral content, and FireWall A2 has 91% mineral are tried and tested non-halogenated FR ACPs that:

• Will not emit poisonous gases that are lethal. Smoke is a terrible mixture of CO and CO2 and is responsible for 80% of deaths in fire cases.
• Will not distort vision, making it easier for people to flee from the escape routes.
• Will not account for heat release into other materials that may catch fire.
• Instead of burning droplets, they will transform into harmless dust particles.
• When the building is sprayed with water from a fire hose, the facade will not fall off.

While choosing Aluminium Composite Panels for your buildings, make sure it has fire retardant properties that have been tested basis International Fire Safety Standards. Aludecor FireWall ACP sheets meet that requirement. Aludecor has surpassed one of the World’s highest fire safety standards, the NFPA 285 rating test, for its FireWall ACPs. Aludecor is the first Indian brand to receive the Factory Production Control Certification from Exova Warringtonfire (UK).

To know more about our product ranges, Click HERE or get in touch with us at our toll-free number 1800 102 0407.