When discussing the fire safety of high-rise buildings in the UK, there is a great deal of confusion on the requirements for facade cladding panels. Central to this situation is the so-called ‘Class 0’, stemming from outdated national building regulations. Class 0 is still used in regulations to define the quality of facade cladding products, even while the mandatory European system on fire classification requires other, stronger specifications. This article discusses why it is important to stop using Class 0 in determining fire safety of facade cladding products.
The Euroclass system defining the fire performance of building products came into existence in the year 2000. It was introduced by the European Union (EU) to remove trade barriers between individual member states. Before the introduction, manufacturers had to test building products in individual countries. All of them had their own unique testing methods to define the fire performance of a product.
