Live fire demonstration reveals true combustibility of ‘Fire Safe’ insulation

A live fire demonstration organised by Rockwool – the leading manufacturer of non-combustible stone wool insulation solutions – has revealed that, despite often being labelled ‘fire safe’, most forms of plastic foam-based insulations are highly combustible. Held in Wembley, London, the live fire demonstrations formed part of Rockwool’s drive to inform and educate the industry on the real fire performance of different types of insulation materials.

Managing director of Rockwool, Hans Schreuder, explained: “Every year in the UK, fire costs industry more than £2.5 billion. At Rockwool, we have a strong commitment to helping industry improve the fire safety of the built environment by countering misleading claims and tackling head-on the lack of understanding about the fire safety of different insulation materials.

"This work has become even more important following the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which has made meeting fire safety regulations the responsibility of all parties involved in the design and build process, as well as building owners. Rockwool sees it as an obligation to raise awareness of the risks of not getting fire safety right to building owners to enable them to avoid unwittingly exposing themselves to risk and liability. The live fire demonstrations have been developed to challenge the many misconceptions about ‘fire safe’ insulation in a completely indisputable way. Importantly, they have provided compelling evidence of the true fire performance of different insulation materials and exposed some so-called ‘fire safe’ products as highly combustible.”

For more information and essential guidance on the fire safety performance of different insulation materials, visit the Rockwool website, where you can download a clip of a live fire demonstration and access current fire legislation.