Pilkington Sheds the Light on Fire

Pilkington has gained approval from the largest fire testing facility in the UK, the Building Research Establishment (BRE), for its fire-resistant glazing in a new rooflight from NuLite Ltd.

The St Helens-based glass manufacturer collaborated with NuLite Ltd, designer, manufacturer, installer and renovator of all types of rooflights, to test the new NL604© fire-resistant rooflight which contains 23 mm Pilkington Pyrostop™ 60-101 . The rooflight achieved an impressive 60 minutes of integrity and insulation.

Bill Harris, Managing Director, NuLite Ltd, said: 'We use a number of Pilkington products in a variety of our roof lights, glass pyramids and lantern lights, so we were confident Pilkington Pyrostop™ would pass our stringent requirements for this new product. The tests were very successful, achieving greater fire resistance than anticipated – 80 minutes integrity and 64 minutes insulation.'

Mike Wood, Global Fire Protection Consultant, Pilkington, said: 'We test our fire resistant glass range in a number of different scenarios so specialist fire glaziers and specifiers know which combinations of products are the most suitable to use together. This test was carried out using the principles of BS 476 part 20 which includes glazed screens, floors and walls, and we are very pleased to be working with NuLite Ltd on this new product.'

The Pilkington Pyrostop™ range is a family of clear, laminated, fully insulating fire and impact resistant glass that offers the highest levels of fire protection whilst maximising natural light and visibility. In the event of fire Pilkington Pyrostop™ turns opaque providing both the integrity requirements of a barrier to hot gases and flames, as well as very effective insulation from the heat of a blaze. Depending on the thickness, it also provides impact protection up to Class 1 of BS EN 12600.

For more information log onto http://www.pilkington.co.uk/pyrostop.