SOURCING FIRE SAFETY AND MEMBRANE SPECIFICATIONS
SOURCING FIRE SAFETY AND MEMBRANE SPECIFICATIONS
Pamela Howat, Senior Technical Advisor at Proctor Group, explores fire classifications and what specifiers need to know.
When the Building Regulations were changed in 2018 to require non-combustible or limited combustibility materials in the external walls of relevant buildings, membranes were exempt. Even so, manufacturers have developed A2-rated membranes. Regulation 7(3)’s exemption of membranes means it is acceptable to specify a product classified as B-s3,d0 for the external wall of a relevant building.
Despite this, some specifiers aim for an A1 or A2 rating throughout the wall build-up. Membrane manufacturers have therefore developed products that offer better fire performance, and membranes that achieve a reaction to fire classification of A2-s1,d0.