The Importance of Fire Rated Access Panels

At Exitile, we offer multiple types of testing and ratings for our access panels. In this article, we will delve deeper into the importance of fire rated access panels and the industries they are used in.

What is a fire-proof rating?

A fire-proof rating provides the necessary certificates to ensure that your access panels can provide adequate protection against heat and flames for a specific period of time. We offer three types of fire-ratings, which offer solutions for fire integrity and fire insulation. Most of our panels are tested under the standard conditions for construction elements, which are all in compliance with the requirements covered in BS BS EN 1634-1: 2014

Fire rated codes

There are six different types of codes that correspond with the different fire ratings. Starting with a ‘000’ code, which is equivalent to no fire rating, following on from that, a ‘060’ code will mean that the access panel has up to 1 hour of fire protection. ‘120’ will have a 2-hour fire protection on it, and ‘240’ will have up to 4 hours protection. These codes will all have a red banner.

The only two codes that vary from the above would the ‘120’ with a purple banner, this indicates that the access panel will have up to 2 hours fire protection from both sides of the panel. The final code that varies from the rest, is the ‘E60-I60’ code, which indicates that the access panel will have the ability to provide up to an hours’ worth of fire integrity protection, as well as up to 60 minutes of insulation.

Integrity

Integrity in regard to a fire-rating covers how the flame physically travels from one side of the panel to the other; in other words, how long can the access panel withstand and prevent fire from burning through the material and breaching the building compartments. When looking at our fire rated access panel range, any panels with an integrity fire rating will be marked with a small red circle with a flame inside it. It is important to note that the letter that highlights an integrity is the symbol ‘E’.

The only two codes that vary from the above would the ‘120’ with a purple banner, this indicates that the access panel will have up to 2 hours fire protection from both sides of the panel. The final code that varies from the rest, is the ‘E60-I60’ code, which indicates that the access panel will have the ability to provide up to an hours’ worth of fire integrity protection, as well as up to 60 minutes of insulation.

Insulation

Insulation in regards to a fire-rating is used to stop the heat transfer in the event of a fire, this allows the building to be evacuated without the risk of people brushing past very hot metal.

The only two codes that vary from the above would the ‘120’ with a purple banner, this indicates that the access panel will have up to 2 hours fire protection from both sides of the panel. The final code that varies from the rest, is the ‘E60-I60’ code, which indicates that the access panel will have the ability to provide up to an hours’ worth of fire integrity protection, as well as up to 60 minutes of insulation.