Association News

EAPFP expert to chair European Fire Protective Products Task Group

EAPFP expert to chair European Fire Protective Products Task Group

European Association for Passive Fire Protection (EAPFP) Technical Officer Niall Rowan has been selected by CEN TC 127, the CEN committee responsible for Fire Safety in Buildings, to head up a new Task Group.

The new Task Group has been established in response to a draft mandate from the European Commission on Fire Protective Products, which calls for the creation of harmonised European product standards for a number of product groups.

The purpose of the Task Group is to develop a framework to enable CEN to make a comprehensive response to the Commission and to provide a draft list of product standards for CEN to prepare.

The draft mandate calls for harmonised European product standards to be developed for the following product groups:

  • Reactive coatings for the protection of structural steel
  • Fire protective boards, sprays and renders for the protection of structural steel and for other end uses e.g. fire resisting ducts
  • Fire stopping and fire sealing products for penetration seals and linear joint seals

These products are currently covered by ETAGs (European Technical Approval Guidelines) in support of ETAs (European Technical Approvals). 

Explaining the crucial role of the new Task Group, Mr Rowan declared:

“Under the current system it is not mandatory to have CE marking for such products. If the products are covered by a harmonised European Product Standard, then CE marking will become mandatory, which is a long term goal of the EAPFP. This is why the creation of the Task Group is so important.”

Mr Rowan’s knowledge and experience in this area makes him ideal for the role. As Technical Officer for the UK’s Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP), he is the secretary for the main ASFP Technical Committee and six Technical Task Groups.  He has previously chaired technical meetings for the UK Fire Test Study Group and was recently appointed as chair of FSH 22, the UK national committee for fire resistance testing. This committee is responsible for maintaining the BS 476: Parts 20-24 series of fire resistance test methods and formulates the UK input into CEN TC 127.

The EAPFP has long campaigned to raise the standard of fire safety in buildings across Europe, and considers that mandatory CE marking for all PFP products is essential to ensure quality and consistency and to avoid market distortion.

For further information on the EAPFP, and to download a simple guide to CE-Marking for passive fire protection products, visit www.eapfp.com; tel: +44 (0)1420 471616; e-mail: admin@eapfp.com

 

Published April 2015