Fire Protection Association expands fire research testing capabilities

In addition to offering tests for British Standards and sprinkler head testing, the FPA delivers a wide range of fire research tests, reconstructions and simulations to address emerging risks and enhance industry standards. Recently, the FPA has expanded its capacity for this work to meet the needs of Government and regulatory bodies, manufacturers, insurers, Trade Associations, academics, Fire and Rescue Services and the fire safety engineering community.

George Edwardes, technical director at the FPA who heads up the Research Department, commented: “Research and experimental fire testing will play a critical role in enabling ‘Net Zero’ construction. We’re pleased to have further expanded our capabilities with our dedicated research team who can support the needs of the industry in shaping fire safety strategies, improving building resilience and informing regulatory and insurance practices.”

The FPA’s new fire research testing facility is capable of withstanding 8 MW fires, with integrated suppressing fire systems and overpressure vents for handling any fires that become unsafe. The facility is connected to a smoke extraction system that removes harmful gases, filtering and cleaning them to protect the environment.

A drainage system surrounds the floor, connected to an oil separator for removing any wastewater, oil and aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), etc.

These features enable the facility to be used for applications where high intensity fires demand a sterile and easily controlled environment.

Milestone research projects

The FPA’s research projects are primarily conducted through its annually funded RISCAuthority research scheme, which comprises a group of UK insurers that actively support several Working Groups to develop Best Practice guidance for the protection of people, property, businesses and the environment.

Two of the most recent milestone projects include ‘Green and Living Walls as External Cladding – A Joint Guide to Managing Risk’ and ‘RISC 501: Fire Test and Assessment Method for External Cladding Systems’.

With green and living walls becoming a familiar feature of the built environment, this research into the implications that the provision of living walls may have for the resilience of a building, and the continuity of business or provision of services that are provided from it, resulted in the publication of a joint industry guide.

The guide was produced collaboratively between key living wall providers and UK insurers and endorsed and supported by several organisations, among them Vertical Meadow, Viritopia, the ABI, Biotecture, Growing Revolution and Scotscape.

Combustible cladding systems are approved on high-rise buildings in the UK by the performance-based route to compliance, using the BS 8414 test method and BR 135 assessment criteria. However, a number of limitations have been identified with this route in relation to the appropriateness of the fuel source, test construction, construction detailing, assessment criteria and the availability of test results.

Following an extensive research project involving the University of Central Lancashire, external consultants and insurers, the FPA developed a new fire safety assessment test to address these limitations, duly going beyond the basic life safety standards with the aim of ensuring resilient systems that can effectively prevent vertical spread.

Future of the built environment

With its additional research testing capability, the FPA is committed to a number of research initiatives throughout 2025 and beyond to continue to improve building resilience by:

*enabling the wider use of timber in construction by developing strategies to maintain and improve fire safety

*reducing the heat loss from buildings through the fire-safe installation of insulation in new and retrofitted construction projects

*enabling the widespread deployment of photovoltaic panels by designing installations that maintain fire safety

*enabling the transition from masonry to steel by improving the fire safety of traditional and lightweight steel-framed buildings

*facilitating the inclusion of green and living walls into city settings in a fire-safe form to promote biodiversity, ameliorate urban heat islands and reduce building energy use

*creating a generic database of reaction-to-fire behaviour of those combustible construction products which could make a significant contribution to a fire

*using these results to develop the methodology to devise a fire safety classification for individual buildings, going above and beyond the regulatory requirements, and to integrate this rating scheme into Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems to the point of providing a working demonstrator to show the ‘art of the possible’

*undertaking horizon scanning to identify new and emerging threats

*Further information concerning the FPA’s fire research testing is available online at www.thefpa.co.uk/fire-testing/research-testing

**To learn more about the key findings from the FPA’s latest research projects and future research initiatives, register for the forthcoming hour-long webinar to be hosted by George Edwardes on 8 May (‘The Critical Role of Research and Experimental Fire Testing in Shaping the Future of Fire Safety’)