Recent amendments to the National Construction Code (NCC 2022) have changed the safety standards of Australian buildings for the better. The changes impact the design and construction of new builds, as well as the retrofitting of existing ones.
Brad Irwin, sales manager at international glazing supplier Schott, discusses what these changes mean for Australia’s fire safety regulations.
“The heightened emphasis on fire protection in the NCC is a result of several recent major overseas disasters, including Grenfell Tower in London, which highlighted older buildings’ issues in certification and compliance testing,” Brad begins. “In Australia, many of the required glazing standards, which had been updated in 2014, have now been rolled into the NCC 2022.”
Fire doors are one of the key points of impact of these regulatory changes. “Previously fire doors constructed with inset vision panels, were limited to glass sizes of 60cm x 10cm,” says Brad. “Changes to the NCC and increased testing capabilities, will see market availability of dramatically larger vision panels in timber fire doors and fully glazed, framed fire door systems.”
“The increased typical glazed fire door sizes enabled by the changed legislation, offer protection from fire, radiant heat, smoke, and toxic gases while increasing clear sightlines, improving the chances of safe evacuation.
“Although overall fire door requirements remain relatively unchanged, advances in developed and tested glass products have seen fire doors with full size vision panels achieve a full 120 minutes of integrity and 30 minutes of insulation or FRL -/120/30,” Brad says. “Also, upgrades to existing window systems must be fully compatible with the new NCC 2022 standards.”
Fire rated glazing standards for internal windows or glazed partitions, have also improved. “Previously, fire-rated glazing in commercial buildings had a deemed to satisfy approach, reliant on local certifiers or fire engineer’s opinion,” he says. “Now, fire rated glazing must provide a full FRL performance of 120 minutes of insulation and integrity or FRL -/120/120.”
Schott has wholeheartedly embraced these new standards in its own products. “We are working closely with our processing partner, developing NCC 2022-compliant fire door and window product(s), fully tested to Australian standards,” Brad confirms. “All our fire rated products are evaluated and tested to European, British and US Standards at certified and accredited test institutes globally, as well as locally and independently tested, assessed and certified under the Warrington Certifire Au programme. Due for completion in November 2022.”
Fire-resistant glass prevents the passage of fire, smoke, and heat radiation, with each type having different safety features and benefits for occupants and firefighters. “Integrity-only glazing is usually a monolithic sheet glass, while insulated glass is multiple sheets of glass, with an intumescent interlayer between each sheet,” Brad explains. “When subject to heat, the intumescent reacts and foams up to create a heat radiation barrier.”
Embodying German manufacturing standards, Schott has a peerless reputation for quality. “We’re a multinational corporation specialising in non-standard applications, from fire-rated and security glass through to pharmaceutical, optical, and laboratory glass.”
Schott’s renowned fire-resistant glass is available in two varieties – Pyran® S and Pyranova®. “We produce the integrity-only Pyran S, a unique combination of borosilicate and float process, thermally toughened to meet local safety requirements,” Brad notes. “A different composition to standard float glass, with a lower thermal expansion coefficient protecting against rapid temperature differentials. Whereas normal float glass fails easily under heat stress, Pyran S will withstand 1000°C for up to a full two hours. Pyran S is perfect for FRL -/60/- external boundary window applications.”
“Our second glass type in this area is called Pyranova, a fully insulated, multi-laminated safety glass,” Brad continues. “Depending on thickness, it will perform 30-, 60-, 90- or 120-minutes full insulation and integrity (varying in thickness as the time required increases). Pyranova is used in anything from bushfire applications through to commercial glazing and facades.
Each variety of Schott fire-resistant glass features in a vast range of public and commercial buildings, with applications ranging from facades and partitions to skylights, smokescreens, lift shafts, escape routes, and stairways.
Schott’s productive collaboration with Australian Glass Group (AGG) underlines both parties’ conscientious attitude to safety. “AGG has gone through a vigorous 12-month validation process to become a licenced processor and distributor for Schott fire-rated glazing,” Brad confirms. This process included independent audits from both Warrington Fire and BM Trada.
This impressive ongoing collaboration will play a key role in bringing about markedly increased safety standards across Australian buildings.
To find out more about fire-resistant glazing systems and the new NCC regulations, email [email protected]
Article credit: Brad Irwin and Jill Johnson Media
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