Health
Fire safety

Prevent the spread of fire in buildings

Mirella Vitale
Mirella Vitale
February 14, 2019

Find out how stone wool insulation can protect cities by preventing the spread of fire.

Fire in apartment building

You might think that our cities and neighbourhoods are safer from fire hazards today than they were 50 years ago. After all, modern buildings are equipped with more advanced fire sensors and safety equipment, as well as regulations to prevent fires and minimize spread when they do occur.

However, buildings today develop fires 5-10 times faster than they did in the past!1 This is due to our increased usage of plastics and other synthetic matter, which are more combustible than natural materials.

Additionally, as cities grow and buildings are positioned closer together, the risk of fire grows larger as well. Therefore, proper fire mitigation strategies have never been more important. 

So, how can you keep your buildings and its inhabitants safe from fire?

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Buildings today develop fires
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faster than they did in the past

Stone wool can resist temperatures above
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because the fibres are inherently non-combustible

Insulation plays a critical role in fire-resilient buildings. Stone wool is inherently non-combustible and can resist temperatures above 1,000ºC. This allows stone wool insulation to contain fires locally and prevent them from spreading rapidly.

The truth is, people may have as little as two minutes to escape a burning building after an alarm sounds2. With stone wool insulation, residents will be given more time to evacuate before firefighters arrive to extinguish the flames, which could mean the difference between life and death.

(O106) Inline Page Link: Making our cities resilient(2)

By confining fire to a certain section of the building, stone wool insulation also minimises damage to the property, helping you preserve precious memories and save money on additional repairs.

What’s more, insulation ensures that fire will not spread to neighbouring units in a tower block, making sure that other flats will not have to suffer as a result.

As such, embracing stone wool insulation can assure you that more effective fire safety measures are in place. If fire does break out, this increases the odds that damage is kept to a minimum, and that the residents will be safe and sound.

(O106) Inline Page Link: Smoke inhalation is more dangerous than fire(2)

Sources:

1. UL, Analysis of Changing Residential Fire Dynamics and Its Implications on Firefighter Operational Timeframes

2. Safe Kids Worldwide, 2013. “Fire Safety Hard Facts/Top Tips”.

Learn more about the fire resilience of stone wool