IP
Europe (February 2002)
Location: IP Europe, Co Wexford
Building description
Link unit between two manufacturing units, which manufacture a wide range of
rapping films i.e. silage bale rapping and shrink rapping for packaging.
The
link unit was constructed of a steel portal frame with horizontal cold
rolled rail and purlins. 40mm standard urethane cored panels were used
on the
roof and walls. The curved eaves consisted of flat internal lining sheet,
insulation and 35mm RW profile single skin.
The link unit, which was
used for processing work, was connected on one side to a manufacturing
building constructed with 40mm polyurethane cored panel,
approximately 10 years old. The second manufacturing unit on the other
side was an older building approximately 20 years old constructed using
26mm thick
polyurethane cored panels (see Picture 1)
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| Picture 1. |
Fire
At about 12.30am as a result of a machine going on fire in the link unit, the
fire brigade were called. They were already at a domestic fire so they did
not arrive on the premises until 40 minutes later by which time the fire
was fully established. At approx. 3.30am the fire was under control. Pictures
2 and 3 illustrate the fire damage where the link unit adjoined to the main
manufacturing units.
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| Picture 2. |
Picture 3. |
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Extremely high fire load due
to the amount of plastics in the area, therefore the
level of fire damage within the structure was high |
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|
Fire did not penetrate or spread to the
adjoining buildings |
|
|
All structural and secondary steel has twisted
and warped |
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|
The fire was kept in so well that the adjoining
roof did not suffer any damage to the external skin |
|
|
Both types of panel, which were supplied
some 10 and 20 years ago, performed extremely well with no
fire spread through the core |
|
|
A partition wall had been constructed from
panels between the link unit and the main building. Although
not designed as a firewall the panels acted effectively as
a barrier to the fire. (Picture 4) |
|
 |
| Picture 4. |
Conclusion
The insulated panels manufactured with standard polyurethane cores performed
exceptionally well despite a high fire load and a fully developed fire.
Back to top.
Also in this section:
Fire performance
of insulated panels | Guide
to fire safety | Fire
tests |
Findings
of fire research on major fires |
