What is Fire Resistant Glass?
Fire resistant glass –
Fire resistant glass is a type of specially-treated glass designed to resist the effects of fire and smoke. Typically acting as a barrier to the fire and preventing it from spreading for an extended period of time.
Fire resistant glass is a vital component of many fire safety programmes. This will give residents or workers valuable time to evacuate in the event of a fire. If properly-installed, it can also work as an insulator. Therefore stopping not just the flames and smoke of the fire, but the heat as well.
Where fire control is concerned, containment and time are extremely important factors. An uncontrolled fire will spread rapidly, and may pose a serious danger. We can help to ensure it never gets out of control with high-quality fire glass from The Glass Warehouse (TGW).
The Safety Advantages of Fire Resistant Glass
Fire resistant glass is able to contain the spread of fire for a longer period of time. With a higher melting point than ordinary glass and the ability to resist high heat for a set length of time. By comparison, ordinary “annealed” glass and even tempered safety glass are destroyed very quickly by fires. Therefore, often falling from their frames or melting entirely almost immediately when exposed to flames.
How Fire Rated Glass is Made
Fire resistant glass can be made in a number of ways, depending on the fire glass you choose. Georgian wire glass, for example, has an internal wire frame (visible as a crosshatched steel wire pattern in the glass). This wire acts to hold the glass together at high temperatures, preventing it from sagging and collapsing.
Another prominent fire glass type is made quite differently, by the Pyroguard and Pyrobel brands. These fire glass types are made with a heat-resistant, fire-resistant resin which is protected by two or more layers of glass. Thus creating a transparent pane of glass, able to resist fire and heat for up to an hour.
Many other types of fire glass are available from The Glass Warehouse. For more information on these different types of fire resistant glass, get in touch today on 020 8500 1188.
The Capabilities of Fire Glass from The Glass Warehouse
The fire glass available from The Glass Warehouse is part of a range, with variety of capabilities to help protect your business and staff from fire.
The Ratings Available for Fire Rated Glass
When you are browsing fire glass from The Glass Warehouse, you will see a range of ratings for the glass. For example, “60/30” or “60/60”. Fire glass is rated this way to show the length of time in minutes which fire rated glass is able to resist before melting. As the first number, then the length of time (in minutes) which the glass is able to insulate heat from the fire for as the second number.
Therefore 60/30 indicates that when exposed to flames, that piece of fire-rated glass will be able to remain solid in its frame for 60 minutes, and can contain the heat from the fire for 30. After 30 minutes, heat from the fire will have completely conducted through the glass, but it will still remain solid for the remainder of its 60 minute lifespan.
Using Fire Glass as Part of a Fire Safety Programme
Fire glass should never be the entirety of your fire safety programme. Fire resistant glass is able to delay and limit the spread of fire around your premises, but it can’t stop the fire on its own. That’s the job of a fire suppression system such as a sprinkler system, or the local fire department.
However, the resistance to a fire’s spread offered by fire resistant glass often contains the fire to a small enough area that suppressing it completely becomes a much simpler matter. The containing effect of the fire resistant glass creates time for emergency services to respond or your own suppression methods to kick in, too, stopping the blaze from spiralling out of control.
Get in Touch with The Glass Warehouse for Fire Glass Today!
If you’re interested in fire resistant glass from The Glass Warehouse, contact us today on 020 8500 1188.
