Specialist Fire Rated Office Glazed Partitions
Glass technology is evolving. At Office Glass we are now able to provide specialist glass that can withstand the extreme conditions of a fire. Consequently, commercial buildings can be stylistically transformed without compromising employee safety.
Fire-rated glazed partitions are specially designed to add architectural style, whilst improving the fire standards of your office space. Glass partitions and glass walls are contemporary ways to revamp your office, adding privacy within an open plan and inclusive space. However, their fire rating allows these glazed partitions to improve the fire safety of your premise, slowing the spread of fire and allowing employees and visitors more time to reach safety.
We only partner with the best suppliers of fire-rated glazed glass, providing you with the assurance that your glass partitions have been designed with fire safety in mind. All glass is rigorously tested before it receives its ‘fire-rated’ classification, ensuring it can withstand high temperatures and pressures making it fit for its intended use.
Fire-rated glass is an exceptionally specialist subject; however, our glass partition experts are on hand to guide you through each step of the process. Our talented designers can help you make fire-rated substitutions within your intended design, increasing the safety of your office while achieving the very best stylistic result. Our Birmingham and Manchester-based teams are available to support you at every stage of the process.
Product overview
Ordinary glass will typically shatter at 120 degrees Celsius, with toughened glass breaking at around 260 degrees Celsius; however, fire-rated glass can withstand temperatures over 870 degrees Celsius. Office Glass fire-rated glazed partitions are constructed from several layers of toughened glass sheets interjected with intumescent interlayers.
In a fire, the glass at the surface will quickly heat and shatter; but, this ‘shattering effect’ activates the intumescent interlayers. These layers expand and repel the flames, as well as the smoke and heat. Consequently, this expert design allows the fire-rated glazed partitions to keep the fire at bay, maintaining their structural integrity and delaying the fire from gaining momentum. This is crucial in commercial settings as these partitions give people more time when vacating your premises.
We are able to provide specialist fire rated glass partitions that are able to perform both in terms of integrity and insulation. This is a complex area, therefore, if you are considering this type of product please give Office Glass experts a call to talk your options through.
Our Range of Fire-Rated Partitions
We are proud to partner with Fire Glazing Ltd, an approved supplier of our preferred range of products by the Polish manufacturer, Alufire.
Alufire has decades of experience producing a variety of framed glass systems ranging from EI15 to EI120, and a collection of frameless glass partitions from EI15 to EI60. Therefore, we are able to provide a range of fire-rated glazed partitions, fire-rated glass walls and fire-rated glass doors. Not only do these products offer rigorously tested fire protection, but they also have substantial force resistance for category IV buildings, corrosion resistance and impressive levels of soundproofing.
| Product Type | Fire Safety Rating(s) | Force Resistance (N/m) | Corrosion Resistance | Sound Reduction (dB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Line | EI15, EI30, EI60 and EI120 | 1000 | High Impact – ISO 12944 approved | 44 |
| Classic Line Doors | EI15, EI30, EI60 and EI90 | 1000 | Class C4 | 42 |
| Vision Line | EI15, EI30 and EI60 | 1000 | Class C4 | 47 |
| Shadow Line | EI15, EI30, EI45 and EW60 | 1000 | Class C4 | 43 |
Our talented designers at Office Glass can seamlessly incorporate this range of fire-rated partitions and products into your designs, improving your building’s safety standards without compromising your space’s aesthetic. We can provide framed or frameless partitions in a range of sizes and shapes and the fire-rated silicone sealant are also available in a range of colours.
Fire Protection
The amount of fire protection the glass partitions provide will vary. Fire-rated glazed partitions can range from fire-rated doors offering 30 minutes of protection to glazed partitions achieving 120 minutes, depending on the level of fire protection.
The layered glass that makes up fire-rated glazed partitions is lined with a sealant that becomes opaque during a fire, absorbing the heat and forming an insulative, expanding shield. The incorporation of this special sealant effectively reduces the transmission of both conducted heat through the glass and radiated heat.
Not only does the now opaque glass screen the fire and reduce the panic amongst your employees, enhancing their exit speed, but it also helps the emergency services to locate the fire.
Understanding Fire Ratings
Fire safety standards are paramount to every type of building and interior design, and this is no exception within commercial spaces. Fire ratings, therefore, help business owners to select products that not only look good but will keep their employees, visitors and customers safe. However, when it comes to choosing fire-rated products for your premise, you first must be able to understand how a fire rating is displayed.
Once Office Glass products have been manufactured, they must endure rigorous tests before they can claim to offer any level of fire resistance. These tests aim to assess the performance of the glass in the event of a fire. Fire ratings are most commonly displayed as a letter or couple of letters followed by a number. The most common letters you will encounter are E, I and W. Each letter represents a different characteristic of a product, from integrity, insulation and heat resistance. If you are unsure what the requirements are for your workplace, get in touch with our experts today.
Insulation (I)
I is for insulation. The length of time a piece of glass can maintain a safe temperature on the non-fire side is known as its insulation rating. Similarly to integrity, this is also measured in minutes, so a fire rating on I30 would tell you glass can suppress the fire’s temperature spreading to the other side for 30 minutes.
Heat Resistance (W)
In some instances, the glass’s heat resistance is displayed by a W. This is similar to the insulation rating, however, the length of time the glass can offer heat resistance is often undetermined.
Integrity (E)
The Importance of Fire-Rated Partitions
At Office Glass, we cannot stress the importance of fire-rated partitions enough. They may look stylish but they offer a critical tool in the worst-case scenario: compartmentation. Glass partitions and walls allow for a fire to be contained into smaller, sub-divided zones within a larger, open-plan space. In doing so, compartmentalising a fire helps to control and delay its spread, giving people more time to evacuate and firefighters more chances of extinguishing the fire before it causes too much damage.
Compartmentation should be considered in
- Reception Areas
- Common Areas
- Corridors
- Stairwells
- Along Escape Routes
Depending on how many escape routes and fire exits your building has will vary the level of fire protection you need to implement. For example, spaces with only one exit will need products that can guarantee a longer period of fire protection than a building with multiple exits. Other factors that influence where fire-rated glazed partitions are required are the size, height and type of buildings as they will have different measures and standards to meet. Our professional surveyors are able to assess where your workplace is most at risk, helping you to keep fire safety at the forefront of your mind.
Contact Us For An Instant Quote
Upgrade your building’s fire safety in style with rigorously tested fire-rated glazed partitions, walls and doors. Contact our specialist teams today for a free quotation, if you are based in the Midlands call us on 0121 663 1240 or if you are looking for glass experts in the North, get in touch on 01925 755145.