Lloyds Register Approval for Cafco International
15/04/2005
Resistance to blast overpressures, of varying intensity, is becoming an increasingly important matter for building designers. It has also evolved in to a very important issue for Alfreton based passive fire protection material manufacturer Cafco International.
For a passive fire protection (PFP) material to perform its intended role in the event of a fire, it must remain in situ for the designed fire resistance period, irrespective of the nature and cause of the conflagration.
To ensure that the company’s materials are able to meet all eventualities in this respect, Cafco International recently commissioned tests, carried out at the Advantica test facility in Cumbria, to establish the ability of various Cafco PFP systems to withstand blast overpressures of varying intensities. Many of the fire resistance tests were conducted to the most sever hydrocarbon standards and the results clearly show the ability of Cafco’s products to withstand the kind of events witnessed at the World Trade Centre in 2001; specifically, a blast followed by a high intensity fire.
Whilst the Advantica tests were successful, the company decided to go that little bit further and has subsequently had both the test data and the test program independently reviewed by Lloyds Register. Following the independent assessment, Lloyds Register has issued certificates of compliance which accepts that the tests for blast overpressure and subsequent fire resistance were a true and accurate record of the performance of the Cafco systems tested.
This now means that in addition to those buildings requiring ‘standard’ fire protection, Cafco International has a wealth of independently validated data that can assist when specifying systems for structures, such as high rise structures and high profile buildings that require a high level of protection from fire and blast.
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