Fire research – case histories

EPIC and EPIC member companies have conducted a series of studies into actual fires in which PUR and PIR cored panels had become involved. This is the third part of our analysis into the performance of urethane panels in fire and complements the findings of EPIC’s major fire test programme and The EPIC research into major fires over £500,000.

The case histories analyse the performance of polyurethane insulated panels in actual building fires, with particular emphasis on fire spread and contribution to the fire. They clearly illustrate that PIR and PUR panels perform well in real fires and should be viewed in the same way as any other cladding material or system.

Case history 1 – IP Europe
This is a good example that shows that fire does not spread between the faces of a PUR sandwich panel. Two buildings and a link corridor were involved. The link corridor or room was used as part of the production process and the fire took place in this area.

The panels on the older building, Unit 2, were manufactured with type B3 PUR and on building Unit 1 were of a formulation equivalent to B2 PUR.There was a high fire load because of the amount of plastic materials in the area.The fire burned unchecked for 40 minutes before the fire services arrived.

The fire did not spread to the 2 adjoining buildings.The fire did not penetrate the PUR panels acting as a partition between the link and Unit 1. Read more...

Case history 2– Shanles Pine
PUR panels were used for the roof including the roof area over the spraying room. The fire occurred in the spraying room. The panels contained the fire within the spraying room area. The fire did not spread within the panels to the adjacent rooms. Read more...

Case history 3– Erdington
PUR panels were exposed to a severe internal fire in a storeroom - high fire load. The panels received direct flame impingement up to a height of 6 metres. The panels did not propagate the fire and there was no evidence of the PUR having ignited even though the steel purlins were distorted. Read more...

Case history 4– Gala
PUR panels were used for the upper part of the walls and part of the roof of the building.

The panels were badly damaged in the area close to the fire - a very severe fire – but the damage decreased quickly as the distance from the fire increased. The report by the fire services and the fire consultants states that the PUR panels played no role in the fire spread or in the propagation of the fire. The damage would have been the same whatever the materials used for the walls and roof. Read more...

Case history 5– Wharfdale Hospital
PIR cored panel of specific relevance to LPC and FM certificated products. It is also of interest because it is an example where flames ran up the side of a 3-storey building.

The fire started in stored materials – plastics and paints – on the ground floor of the 3-storey building. The external cladding had not been completed as the building was still under construction. Flames from a significant fire played up the external face of the building, affecting the panels on the first and second floors.

The external skin was discoloured and distorted. The core did not ignite. There was no fire spread within the core. The core did not significantly contribute to the products of combustion.

It should also be noted that tests using the proposed European façade fire test on a 6m wall have shown that ordinary PUR panels also perform well in a similar situation. Read more...

For insurance issues, approved fire tests, and certificated panels – see 'Insurance issues and certification' section – click here.

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