 Description:- A range of companies are coming up with innovative building solutions that will save lives, reports EMMA PROCTOR
As the region’s skyscrapers soar higher and higher, it has become even more critical to ensure that these structures are fitted with the best active and passive fire control systems - including fire-retardant products - which will allow sufficient time for building occupants to evacuate safely in the case of a fire.
New buildings are today being designed to provide maximum physical protection to occupants and it is now common practice to isolate floors from one another with intumescent barriers that restrict any potential fire to a single area. Service risers are also generally self-contained and appropriately sealed with fire-rated materials.
To meet the sudden huge demand for fire-retardant materials, Danube Building Materials recently unveiled an entire range of fire-retardant solutions at last year’s Big 5 show. “Fire safety in the construction industry is a critical issue, especially with the Civil Defence authorities enforcing the use of fire-retardant materials in key areas, including entrances, staircase areas and kitchens,” says Rizwan Sajan, chairman, Danube Building Materials.
This increased demand has seen Danube open a dedicated door factory in Dubai, where its renowned fire-retardant doors are manufactured in collaboration with Spano of Belgium and Halspan from the UK. The company has also expanded its presence in the Gulf by launching operations in Bahrain with a Dh 9.9 million ($2.7 million) investment in a warehouse and showroom. The new venture also aims to tap into the construction boom in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Danube is also making a concerted effort to raise awareness about current safety requirements in the Middle East and is producing exclusive product specific literature and catalogues which will be distributed to specifiers, consultants, architects, government departments and project developers.
“We are very aware of all the safety legislations, which we regard as highly beneficial for customers and have made it a part of our internal policies to adhere stringently to these regulations,” says Sajan. “We have also recently obtained the BM Trada Middle certification for our own brand of fire door cores, which has been tested in Warrington Fire Research and given global assessment by Chiltern UK,” he adds.
Meanwhile, in order to meet the growing demand for fire-resistant paints following the recent spate of fires across the UAE, Al Gurg Leighs Paints (AGLP), a total paint solutions company, has also launched a number of new products. Dulux Magic Touch is one such product approved as a fire spread retardant and is also the first of its kind to have antibacterial certification, Murtaza Ali Challawala, marketing and business development manager, AGLP tells MEI.
“The importance of fire retardant products for use on the interiors was stressed in one of the APID (Association of Professional Interior Designers) seminars recently,” he says.
The company has also introduced new versions of Leighs Epigrip C400 V2 – a one-coat solution for steel and Firetex FX1000. Other specialty products launched recently include Pyrosheild flame retardant and Sterisheild antibacterial coatings.
AGLP leads in the industrial coatings segment and was one of the first coatings company to supply paints in the region. Notable projects have included Dewa’s first power plant and Port Rashid, both of which are protected with Leighs coatings. AGLP’s target markets are projects, infrastructure and OEM markets. And with its Dulux Decorator Centres (DDCs), the company is also targeting the upcoming new home-owners market.
“The idea of having these centres in malls is to make buying paints a pleasurable experience and our latest DDC additions are at the Mall of the Emirates and Jumeirah Beach Residences,” explains Challawala.
There is also a marked increase in the number of customer requests for metal coatings on fire doors and walls, a trend that Australia-based company Forged Metals has made the most of. “We have noticed a huge demand in recent years from designers and architects who want our metal coatings for fire doors as not only do they look stylish and sophisticated, they do not support a flame,” said managing director Trent Richardson. “Our doors have become a product that more and more commercial and corporate building designers are utilising as they know that we can achieve custom finishes that will keep their clients different from the rest – I think that it is very important in today’s demanding society.”
Forged Metal’s finishes are made from real metal and can be achieved on any substrate, giving the look and feel of a solid forged piece of metal without the weight or cost.
The company offers a selection of solutions to suit different projects including textures, flat finishes, high polishes, top coats, interior/exterior doors, wall panelling, water features, signage, moulding, sculpting and custom lighting. “We ensure that each piece of our work is unique and one of a kind, therefore adding value to the object being coated - finishing, burnishing, sandblasting, engraving and etching can all be achieved on our metal surfaces,” he says.
Floorings are now deemed just as important in the fight against fire as many traditional methods of manufacturing carpets use materials that will give off toxic fumes when alight, which is often more deadly than the fire itself.
Suppliers like EGE Carpets in Dubai are providing clients, hotels in particular, with floorings that are flame retardant and also have tiny molecules of water within them that are released at high temperatures to stop the flames from spreading.
EGE’s regional director Michael Bogsted says that safety is now the major consideration for its customers. “In the past, floors and the materials that cover them were not a primary concern; they are the largest single area of a room, but only account for maybe only six per cent of the cost of decoration - the fact that these carpets can literally save lives is a massive incentive,” he explains.
Every aspect of a building, from its construction and design to its furnishings is now under the microscope and even wood can now qualify as a non-combustible material to a certain degree thanks the increased use of fire retardant chemical treatments.
It is clear that fire safety materials can no longer be seen as a cost-incurring nice ‘extra’ when it comes to design - they are essential. And the rise of companies finding technical solutions to combat the hazard and meet client demand indicates that a definite shift in the mind-set of the sector is finally under way.
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