Fire Safety of Facades

Fire safety of facades is a complex topic regarding the different facades systems which differ in build and as well in possible fire safety measures. A great variation of materials is used in facade systems which also have a wide spread variation of reaction-to-fire behaviour. As building regulations are national legislations the implementation of fire safety of facade systems in building regulations differs significantly in different countries. Therefore the testing and classification of facade systems differs as well hugely. Approaches to regulate the material only are as well in use as to concentrate mainly on large scale testing and several approaches in between. It was not possible yet to find a harmonized test for facades in Europe. However, in many countries severe fires with combustible facade systems brought the challenges of fire safety of facades to a greater awareness. An overview over different large scale test and implementation in building regulations shows the differences. Challenges in fire safety of facades regarding the testing, the weathering, aging and damage of the systems and the impact on fire safety are discussed.