Installing Fire-Rated Glass Partitions

Things to Consider While Installing Fire-Rated Glass Partitions 

Protection from fire is a necessity. There are numerous measures that can be taken to protect property and lives in the event of a fire.

Due to changes in building materials and designs of buildings/structures over time, the use of the combination of fire products has varied. Over the years, the use of glass as a major construction material for commercial buildings has increased.

This has mandated the use of fire-rated glass and fire-rated glass partitions.

Fire-rated glass and fire-rated glass partitions (aka glazed partitions) are deemed to be fire barriers and fire compartments. As such, they prevent fire and smoke from spreading for the duration of their fire rating.

Fire-rated glass partitions (aka glazed partitions) consist of the material used as a trim or encasing around the fire-rated glass. Fire-rated glass partitions (aka glazed partitions) are used for the following reasons:

a) Have clear through vision across the partition areas for security, conventions, convenience, communication, vigilance, control and supervision.

b) It can be necessary for the transmission of light across the areas at the location.

c) Aesthetics and ambience of the location due to its functional requirements or surrounding installations can make it necessary to match it with glazed areas.

d) Major energy-saving and construction ease and economy can also be sometimes a reason for opting for glazed areas at a particular partition location.

The glazing can also be in the form of operating doors so that multiple purposes are served like access, light transmission, security, through vision & aesthetics altogether.

Fire-Rated Glass Partitions and doors thus become one of the most important passive fire protection systems.

One of the major advantages of glass partitions and doors is that it can be very easily and safely broken during an emergency if through access becomes necessary.

The following are a few important factors to be kept in mind while deciding the use of fire-rated glass doors and partitions:

1. Locations where Installation can be advantageous:

As per most common architectural conventions, location of glazed partitions and doors are lobbies, staircases, cafeteria, progressive segregation of security areas at public places like airports, Malls, Commercial offices, Hospitals, Educational Institutes, and even process industries like pharmaceuticals, food processing, fine chemicals, biotech parks and agricultural processing plant areas. Security and emergency escapes are some of the important places where such partitions can be located. The installations made at these places will enable easy evacuation in times of panic and emergency. In fire conditions, it can be easy for the firefighters to get easy access to areas across the glazed partitions if necessary. Of course, all the safety norms are required to be followed before making any kind of installation.

2. Importance of Fire Rated Glass:

Employing glass in fire compartmentation by way of doors or partitions is by choice and should be kept to a minimum if the cost is of concern. However, it still remains one of the most common materials of construction for architects and interior decorators. As compared to other compartmentation alternative materials, glass is the impeccable modern and aesthetically pleasing solution.

One thing to know is that fire-rated glass is extremely different from normal glass. So, one should never substitute it with any other glass as it will put fire safety at risk. It is quite essential to know that fire rated glass are developed, manufactured, the type tested to fire test and various important safety tests, certified and listed ( UL / CERTIFIRE / FM etc.) for specific functional application to protect against fire. Definitely, normal glass is never safe to install in fire-rated doors and partitions.

3. Correct Fire Rating is Imperative:

Well, we cannot get fire-rated glass all under one common parameter. Depending on the performance levels of the fire-related glass, separate ratings are given to them. It should be understood that fire-rated glass will usually be recognized for its performance from 20 minutes to 120 minutes fire rating.

The framework used to install the fire-rated glass in the form of a door or a partition is also equally important. It is necessary that the framework also be type tested as an assembly with the proposed glass for desired fire rating, before being installed.

4. Verifying listing, certification, application and labelling of Fire-rated glass:

When it comes to the matter of safety, no compromises are accepted. In this regard, selection of proper tested, certified, listed, labelled glass ( UL/ FM/ CERTIFIRE etc.) is necessary for desired glass quality for its guaranteed performance. All the documents and sources of procurement should be traceable to its originality with responsibility. As per the standard time-temperature curve, fire-rated glasses are tested to a maximum fire temperature exposure up to 1000 degree Centigrade. (approx. 1850 degree Fahrenheit.)

5. Glass should be Fitted Properly:

As a matter of safety, it is important to hire services of trained & skilled installers for the installation of fire-rated glass doors and partitions. Application of gaskets, intumescent seals, beadings and glass covers are important and require skills.

6. Commercially available types of fire-rated glasses:

There are a wide variety of fire-rated glasses available commercially. The type to choose depends upon the application besides fire rating.

• It can be non-safety type single layer, limited temperature resistance, limited fire rating class of glass, which can be cut to the desired size at the site. This will generally be ”partially clear” or “clear wired” type of glass.

• Another type will be clear thin (5 to 6 mm thick) tempered safety glass with good fire rating, with very low heat radiation resistance (less than 20 minutes, 15 KW/m2 at a 1-meter distance)

• There can be multilayered jelly-filled clear glass with or without lamination. The outer layers can have different properties like UV resistance, antiglare, toughened etc. Such glass can be of medium thickness ( 10 to 20 mm thick). It can also be insulated for a short duration of up to 20 minutes and limited to high radiation resistance.

• One more type of non-safety- clear glass is “Borosilicate” glass. It is comparatively thin ( 5-6 mm thickness), with good fire rating, high-temperature resistance, good impact resistance, Resistance to hose stream test. It has low radiation resistance.

• High thickness ( 30 to 35 mm thick) multilayered tempered glass, with good insulation on exposure to fire. It can be coated/ film laminated for other important properties like antiglare, UV resistance, non-stick surface and colour tinge. However, the coatings are highly prone to scratches in normal use and handling, hence difficult to maintain or improve by cleaning.

The importance of Fire-rated Glazed Partitions and doors is also important from point of view of its limitations as follows:

• From a safety point of view the glass used for fire rated glazed doors and partitions should be a safety glass besides being fire-rated (namely – heat treated toughened / tempered / laminated).

In case of emergency, if the glass receives any impact it should get shredded into small crystal-like pieces, which pose minimum danger of injury due to sharp edges in broken glass.

• Tempering is a lengthy process and no alterations to any dimensions of glass is possible at site during installation. So judicious planning and design details get involved at the initial stages of the project to freeze glass dimensions with tempered glass.

• Transparency of the glass also results in the transmission of heat radiation, which makes it difficult to have transparency and insulation properties together to be retained during fire incidence. If transparency can be achieved, insulation is very limited and vise versa. A transparent glass turns opaque when exposed to fire in order to achieve insulation properties.

• Being fragile in nature and high in density and high in price, it cannot be used as a temporary partition for makeshift arrangements.

Last important thing to mention here is that use of glass for fire-rated compartmentations in the form of doors and partitions is inevitable, but the selection of the type of glass and its framework assembly has to be done cautiously with in-depth planning for desired performance and effects.

Fire incidents are due to short circuit

Fire incidents are due to short circuit 

Noida Jun 18, 2021: A major fire broke out at the office of the Noida Metro Rail Corporation in Sector 29, Noida on Friday afternoon due to an electrical short circuit.

Mumbai 04 Feb 2022: The fire in 60 storeyed Avighna Park is from video doorbell, later spread to other parts.

Mumbai October 25, 2022: A fire broke out in Vasai godown while Thane reported five different incidents of fire and another fire broke out in a Goregaon building.

Mangalore Jun 24, 2022: Fire incident at Mangalore showroom due to short circuit, says EV maker Okinawa.

Jammu and Kashmir's Nov 16, 2023: Eight houses were gutted In Massive Fire Due to Short Circuit

Hyderabad Nov 15, 2023: Investigators, including Clues Team officials, who examined the Bazarghat fire accident site, on Tuesday said CCTV footage showed that a short circuit caused the blaze that killed nine people.

Mumbai Sep 21, 2023: A short circuit caused by the anti-insect UV light led to a level 2 fire in the basement of a ground-plus-one structure within the posh Benreeza Terrace on the Worli Seaface.

Bengaluru October 15, 2023: Fire breaks out in Agarbatti factory in Cholurplaya due to alleged short circuit goods and material worth lakhs and atleast 8 vehicles damaged in fire accident.

Chandigarh, October 10, 2023: A massive fire broke out in the computer room of the C-block of Nehru Hospital at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), caused by a short circuit in the computer room.

Bhopal June 20, 2023: Satpura Bhawan fire incident, Inquiry committee submits report, says fire due to short circuit.

Hyderabad June 12, 2023: Short circuit leads to fire at food court in Madhapur. The food court would be issued a notice for operating without a fire NoC.

Kaushambi (UP) June 6, 2023: A fire broke out due to a short circuit in one of the general coaches of the Sealdah-Ajmer Express train here, spreading panic among passengers, but no one was hurt in the incident.

Bengaluru February 07, 2023: Fire on Top Floor of office High-Rise. The UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems, which provide battery backups when the power supply fails, went up in flames, the fire officials told NDTV.

Lots of incident happened PAN India, short-circuit is most common cause of blaze in buildings. Ashwini Bhide, additional municipal commissioner of the BMC informed the standing committee, “There is no mechanism for having societies conduct electrical audits. We are in communication with the state government to develop a regulatory mechanism for the same. We are also reviewing fire safety in hospitals and in the malls of the city.”

Bhide added, “In case of high-rises also we have been conducting fire drills and inspections regularly and taking all appropriate steps to ensure there is zero-tolerance for fire safety,” an officer said.

According to BMC officials, the MFB in the past three months have conducted fire drills at 52 high-rises and inspected 1,526 buildings in the past 20 months. Notices have been issued to 327 buildings, while 78 buildings have complied with violations, 109 are in the stage of compliance and prosecution against three housing societies is under process.

Further, the BMC’s standing committee on Wednesday also cleared a proposal of ₹3.15 crore for the procurement of 24 fire bikes for the city. According to BMC officials, the fire bikes will help firefighting in congested areas like chawls and slums. These fire bikes will be added to the fire-fighting fleet of the MFB.

FORMER MUNICIPAL commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, also the head of technical committee on Safety Manual to respond to man-made disasters, said on Monday that nearly 70 per cent of the fire incidents in Mumbai take place due to electrical short circuits. He was speaking at a panel discussion ‘Electrical Safety is non-Negotiable’ in the city.

“We have found that 69 per cent of the fire incidents reported in Mumbai happened mainly due to the failure of electrical installation. The second highest reason being domestic gas cylinder leakages, which is just 2 per cent. So, the numbers clearly state that if electric installations at residential buildings could be routinely checked and inspected, we could prevent 70 per cent of the fire incidents in Mumbai,” said Pardeshi.

An electrical system can deliver energy to a very small location, raising the temperature and causing a fire. Some appliances heat up by design, and the heat needs to be controlled.

Hazards

Short Circuit – Generally the result of two conductors touching when they should not touch. Can result in very high currents, overheating, arcing, smoke, fire, more short circuiting. Protection includes insulation of conductors, fuses and circuit breakers, substantial enclosures.

Loose Connections – Will generate heat as current is run through them. This can result in insulation failure, arcing etc. Protective measures include workmanship standards, inspection, training, infrared inspection of systems in use.

Overload – Can lead to insulation failure, shorting, arcing, fire. Prevention by designing with consideration of worst-case loads, thermal environment, nearby conductors and insulation type. Tables in NEC. Fuses and CBs to remove currents above design limits.

Arcing – Localized extreme heating of conductors resulting in plasma (arc) and incandescent metal particles (sparks). Prevented by keeping conductors apart with insulation or spacing.

Ignition of flammable vapors and gasses – will be covered in another talk. Fires caused by lightning will also be part of another talk.

Mitigations

Fuses – One-time current limiting devices made to open the circuit if the current exceeds a specified limit for a specified time. Fuses can be slow-blow or quick-acting.

Circuit Breakers – Re-settable current limiting devices. Most are dual-action that can trip on instantaneous overload or a longer, but lower, overload. Also carry an interrupt rating – how much current they can safety interrupt. Some larger breakers have adjustable time delays to help coordinate with other breakers.

Thermal Cut-outs and thermostats – Provide circuit interruption (either temporary or permanent) if the temperature gets too high.

Engineering Analysis – An electrical distribution system should be designed not only for normal conditions but for emergency, overloaded, conditions. A Load Study tells the designer how much power is needed at each location and how the system will provide it. A fusing coordination analysis shows what will happen in the event of an overload at any point in the system. The NEC requires these and refers to the IEEE “color book series” for details on how to do the analyses.

Grounding – Important not only because it keeps all exposed parts of the system at about the same potential to prevent electrocution hazards, it also provides a low-impedance path capable of tripping a breaker if a fault current occurs.

Arc-fault interrupter – The NEC now requires Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI) for circuits in bedrooms. These devices monitor the line for the RF noise characteristic of arcing (even low-power arcing).

Appliance and Equipment design – UL requirements for specific appliances (like coffee makers) include safety requirements like thermal cut-outs and types of wire allowable. Other requirements are also called out like accessibility (vent holes have to be small enough to prevent access to hazardous voltages by a standardized finger probe).

Component Standards – Component failure is reduced by compliance with UL standards for electrical parts (like UL 1699 for AFCIs).

The Maharashtra Fire Services of Government of Maharashtra is insisting to install an IOT BASED MICRO CONTROLLER DEVICE, claimed to be offering multiple safety measures as per IS732.

Note: The Circular CEI 2021/P.No.114/Energy-5, Energy Department, Government of Maharashtra is included in Annex A.