Aluminium facade systems specialist, Technal Middle East, has launched a campaign to create more awareness among UAE building contractors, consultants, and specifiers about fire safety for building facades.
According to Sam Robinson, general manager, Technal Middle East: We have developed a guideline to help the construction industry better understand how to ensure compliance with the relevant codes and standards for fire safety of external walls on high-rise buildings. Our guideline makes understanding the fire hazards of combustible external wall materials clearer. In particular, we focus on the EN-1364-4 fire resistance test required in the UAE. Fire resistance is determined through destructive fire testing and the EN 1364-4 fire test is one of the most stringent and hardest to get through.
To kickstart the campaign, Technal organised a seminar on the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code rules on façades. Over 100 professionals from the UAE construction industry attended the event. Following this, Technal will be reaching out to more companies to ensure compliance to UAE Fire and Life Safety Code.
Technal also recently launched a new non-fire-rated curtain wall assembly which has successfully undergone the EN-1364-4 fire resistance test required in the UAE.
EN-1364-4 is proven to be the most stringent test compared to other standards used currently. Fully tested up to REI 180 minutes, Technals curtain wall assembly design extends the rating of the compartment floor to the exterior curtain wall assembly up to three hours.