The Importance of Fire Retardant Safety Products on Construction Sites

Construction Site Relevance

An estimated 3,840 fires have happened annually on construction sites from 2013 to 2017. Sites vulnerable to fire accidents are dangerous to workers—fires on construction sites average 49 injuries and four deaths per incident. Additionally, property damage accounts for a loss of $304 million per year. The causes of such fires vary, but there are many common causes of fires on construction sites. These include cooking, smoking, hot work, heaters, arson, and insufficient fire protection.

Fire Codes

NFPA 241 covers temporary construction sites, equipment, and storage fire protection topics. Required compliance for construction, alterations, roofing, demolition, and underground jobs.

NFPA 701 Method II is a test for fabrics heavier than 21 oz per sq. yards. Such a test measures the flammability of material whenever exposed to ignition. The small-scale testing measures fabric resistance upon 12 seconds of flame exposure. Required criteria for the material to pass the test:

After flame for less than 2 seconds
A char length less than 6.5”.
The specimen does not continue to flame after reaching the floor of the test chamber.
The Fire Department Chemist tests the Boston Fire Marshal’s standards. Satisfactory evidence of a service life that exceeds planned service determines criteria match.

Fire Retardant

Fire retardant is a coating that stops the spread of fire. The application contains or slows the spread of a fire by causing a chemical reaction. Fire retardant application can be in the form of powders, paints, foams, and sprays. Items with fire retardant coating do not ignite.

Fire retardant includes many chemicals:

Aluminum Hydroxide
Huntite
Hydromagnesite

These chemicals will decompose when in contact with heat. This will cause the release of water vapor and carbon dioxide, preventing the spread of fire.

Fire retardant makes surfaces of an item safer for use around hazards. Fire retardant coating is typical on construction products, Christmas Trees, and building columns.

Solution

Buildings under construction pose the risk of catching fire. Fire retardant safety products are essential to prevent such hazards. This can slow the spread of fire and provide safety for pedestrians and workers.

Construction fires happen too often to ignore the issue of fire safety. Always provide your team with top-quality fire retardant products when implementing scaffolding. At U.S. Netting, we pride ourselves on providing many options for debris netting. We also offer a debris safety netting that is fire retardant. An orange stripe across the top of debris rolls indicates fire-retardant properties.

Prioritizing debris netting on construction sites is prioritizing fire safety. This can save lives, money, and time on a construction site. It is never too late to install fire safety. What can happen in a moment will have heavy consequences. Providing your construction team with fire safety measures will prevent a dreaded disaster.

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