Steel glazing specialist Wrightstyle Limited, has announced that its advanced systems have successfully passed stringent American fire tests, withstanding not only high furnace temperatures, but also the notoriously difficult hose stream test.

The company, which exports its curtain walling, door, screen and window systems worldwide, carried out two tests with Intertek Testing Services in Madison, Wisconsin, to add US fire test compliance to its other international test certifications.

The additional American certifications were undertaken and secured as part of a development strategy with US-based distributor Hope’s Windows Inc, based in Jamestown, New York State.

The addition of US test certification, added to Wrightstyle’s other international test data, will also be applicable in other global markets, due mainly to the increasing numbers of American architects working overseas, and therefore specifying US tested systems. This in particular applies in the Middle East, where typical specifications for fire-resistant systems are often required to comply with US standards.

The fire resistance test method used in America is to ASTM E 119 requirements, (Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials). This test method requires both a fire endurance test and a hose stream test.  Similar testing procedures are also applied by the other recognised US testing standard agencies, the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

The Wrightstyle systems tested were the company’s F1 door, screen and window system, which successfully achieved 90 minutes positive pressure and temperature rise fire resistance; and its SR 60 curtain wall system that was tested to 60 minutes temperature rise. This underlines the safety and versatility of Wrightstyle’s systems across the full range of both interior and exterior applications.

The American test methodology requires, as in Europe and elsewhere, for the glazing system to be subjected to furnace temperatures of over 1750 degrees Farenheight, testing the strength of the glass, the integrity of the glazing system, and its overall capability of maintaining compartmentation in a fire situation.

However, immediately after fire exposure, the American testing standard also requires the glazing system, to then be subjected to a high-pressure fire-hose test, generating a water stream in the region of 30 psi and impacting directly onto the super-heated steel and glass assembly.

The hose stream test, once also part of international testing standards, is now only confined to America, and is required for assemblies seeking to meet fire resistance of 45 minutes or more. In the UK, mainly due to difficulties of compliance, the hose stream test was discontinued over forty years ago.

In the hose stream test, the longer the fire resistance being applied for, then the longer and more severe is the high-pressure water exposure.  This tests the glass for the thermal shock of being deluged and suddenly cooled by the fire fighting services, as well as by the building’s own sprinkler system.

“These successful tests have confirmed that our systems meet and exceed global standards for fire safety – an important factor because we export to markets around the world, each with differing fire safety regulations,” said Simon Bennett, the International Sales Director for Wrightstyle Ltd.

“However, our steel systems have not only been designed to be safe and secure. They also offer excellent aesthetics and, using the strength of steel, allow for very large expanses of glass,” he explained.