UL a global safety science organization, in association with Centre for Safety Engineering (CSE) at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) conducted a live fire test at the institute’s Palaj campus. This test is the fifth in line, after the first four tests conducted last year as part of Phase 1, revealed immediate issues and concerns that needed attention in order to improve fire safety of building envelopes.
The test involved setting a three-storey building on fire to study the impact of dangers posed by modern construction methods and materials, thereby defining the need to modernise fire engineering. The building comprised of an insulating material along with an ACP-glass facade, and was conducted in the presence of several stakeholders including fire experts from India and the US, researchers, practicing engineers, policymakers, contractors and manufacturers.
UL and IIT Gandhinagar had joined hands last year, with the understanding that fire safety as part of disaster management is the topmost priority, given the increasing use of facades of different types (glass, aluminium, composite etc.) in building construction. A spate of accidents in India and elsewhere underlined the need for rigorous standards and codes in this area.
Suresh Sugavanam, UL’s Managing Director of South Asia said, “Over the last one year, our association with the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar and the commitment to study fire safety has opened the doors to several interesting and important findings. This partnership is helping us realise our safety mission while working towards developing India-specific fire safety standards. We are extremely pleased to release the research findings of the Phase I project, titled ‘A first of its kind report on glass façade testing project: Research on glass façade fire testing.’ This live fire test as part of the second phase will further help us in gaining insights in order to recommend relevant standards and solutions.”
Prof Sudhir K Jain, Director, IITGN shared his insights on the fire tests and said, “The installation of glass, aluminium or composite facades was found to be the culprit of few major building fire accidents in the recent years in India and abroad. It is expected that such tests will provide scientific insights into the interaction between insulating materials, facade materials and building compartments in realistic fire scenarios and help improve their safety.”
Earlier during the day, a discussion on building facades and fire safety was conducted were research findings of the Phase I of the IITGN-UL project were also presented and discussed, and the formal report of findings was released. Titled ‘A first of its kind report on glass façade testing project: Research on glass façade fire testing,’ the report was released at the hands of Prof Jain and Mr Suresh Sugavanam. Eminent speakers included D K Shami, Fire Advisor, Ministry of Home Affairs; Dr. Pravinray Gandhi, UL LLC; Mr. Sugavanam; and Prof. Gaurav Srivastava, Principal Investigator of the Project, IITGN. Additionally, the William Henry Merrill Fire Engineering Laboratory was also inaugurated by Prof. Jain and Mr. Sugavanam. The centre reinforces the strong commitment of IIT Gandhinagar and Underwriters Laboratories towards enhancing safety within and outside India.
