Is uPVC Safe in Fires?

I’ve recently been asked the question in respect of how well uPVC performs in a fire. The request came as a result of the very tragic fire during July last year in Camberwell. An architect was reported as saying that the windows were uPVC when it was acknowledged that the windows were in actual fact aluminium. However this tragic event must have been in our client’s mind to prompt him to raise the question.

As you can appreciate, this is a complex issue. The information I’ve gleaned is that PVC is safe in fires and it has a higher combustion temperature than wood.

There is a lot of information written about this subject. The most reliable source that I could find was the information detailed below obtained from the British Plastic Federation’s website.

Our client found this useful and I think you will too.

: PVC-U offers many key benefits and is an ideal material for fire prevention.

: Fire prevention is the key objective and PVC-U materials outperform many other plastic materials in this respect.

: PVC-U is inherently flame retardant and requires an external heat source to continue combustion.

: PVC-U has a low heat of combustion and a low burning rate. Hence PVC-U contributes significantly less to heat release and fire
propagation than many other materials.

: When subject to a fire situation, a low rate of smoke production is generated by PVC-U during the critical early stages of a fire when
personnel evacuation is most likely.

: If PVC-U is present in isolation, without any other combustible materials, the high fire retardancy of PVC-U will prevent the
propagation of the fire.

: PVC-U forms an effective barrier to flame spread, making a minimal contribution to fire development and growth. Low total flame spread
and low rate of flame spread are highly desirable as they govern the overall size of the fire.

: Burning PVC-U chars and is self-extinguishing. It does not produce flaming droplets or burning debris, both of which are a major cause
of flame spread. The presence of PVC-U therefore ensures that the ignition of adjacent products is less likely.

: Charred PVC-U consists of an expanded carbonaceous structure which protects the underlying material.

Source: BEAMA Installations – for more information please visit http://www.bpf.co.uk/Topics/Fire_Safety.aspx and download the BEAMA Installations’ FAQs on PVC in Fires