
The fire safety of building facades is not a new issue. With the increase in the height of buildings, the spread of fire on facades has become more important because evacuation of occupants and extinguishing are more difficult compared to lower buildings. Recent major fires (February 2024 Campanar Valencia Spain, August 2021 Torre dei Moro, Milan, August 2020 Torre Ambar Madrid, June 2017 Grenfell Tower London, February 2015 the Marina Torch, Dubai, etc.) highlighted the risk of large fires on facades of tall buildings.
Facade systems are complex. There are different ways of constructing facades to adapt to different climatic conditions and performance, such as energy efficiency, a wind load, aesthetics, brightness, reaction to fire etc.
Two common systems ar:
- composite external thermal insulation systems (ETICS),
- ventilated facades.
Building a façade requires many different materials and components, each with its own specific properties. The system proposed by the producer should be respected to achieve quality, safety and long-lasting performance.
Building a façade requires many different materials and components, each with its own specific properties. The system proposed by the producer should be respected to achieve quality, safety and long-lasting performance.
In case of fire, reaction to fire refers to the overall system of the façade, determining the fire safety of the system, and not to the individual materials that make up the system.
There is a complexity of fire safety testing in the EU and a great need to harmonise test methods. There is a continuing trend in the EU towards performance-based design (PBD), with an emphasis on large-scale testing. Modern Building Alliance embraces this trend and proposes a holistic approach to evaluating façade fire safety. Cooperation between architects, engineers and builders is essential to ensure proper installation and compliance with fire safety standards, especially in tall buildings.
It is equally important to ensure that installed façade systems are accurately described, and the quality of construction must be ensured and comply with applicable legislation.
Attention should be paid to all construction details, such as the number and width of joints, connections to windows, penetrations or the type, number and location of fire barriers. Producers of products and systems must provide detailed specifications and a guide for their proper implementation. Applicators must be certified for their application.


Rooftop Photovoltaic Fire Safety
Rooftop solar photovoltaics are gaining ground as the preferred energy option among Europeans. This widespread public acceptance of photovoltaics requires strict safety standards for installations in residential, industrial and commercial properties.
Statistics on fires involving photovoltaic systems in Europe relate to the last 5-6 years. Therefore, much more data is needed to better understand the correlation between fires and rooftop photovoltaics. This basic data should be collected by firefighters and insurance companies.
In the rare cases where the photovoltaic system caused a fire, it was due to a short circuit or local overheating.
The quality of materials, proper installation, construction of roof, are important factors to limit the effects of an ignition both building and the safety of workers and firefighters.
The brochure Rooftop PV Fire Safety Factsheet by www.solarpowereurope.org provides an overview of the main causes behind solar PV fires, existing measures to ensure safe PV installations and applicable EU standards.
