Reaction to Fire

Glass for Europe members have carried out some preliminary works on laminated glass and insulating glass units with regard to reaction to fire. We have concluded that the classification system as defined in EN 13501-1 (European Norm: Fire classification of construction products and building elements - Part 1: Classification using test data from reaction to fire tests) is not logical for these families of products. The best classification that can be obtained is Euroclass B and there may be inconsistencies with existing and expected national regulations. The main difficulty relates to the definitions of the Euroclasses in EN 13501-1.

A number of experts have argued that a “deemed to satisfy classification” is not the appropriate solution for laminated glass and insulating glass units. They have said they prefer a “classification without further testing”. However, Glass for Europe members believe that the second solution will not help to solve, among others, the following problems: 1) laminated glass and insulating glass units will be out of the European market although they comply with national requirements; and 2) there are no other products that can replace glass products used in banks, jewelleries and embassies. Therefore, we suggest a “deemed to satisfy” solution.