Name: Fire Glazing
Address: Unit 1 Hems Crescent, Great Barr, Birmingham, B43 5DG, GB
Telephone: +448000886248
Price range: ££

Assessment: A formal opinion from a fire test laboratory or competent body on whether a variation from a tested specimen would achieve the same classification.
Borrowed light: An internal window in a wall between rooms or between a room and a corridor, used to share daylight.
BS 476 Part 22: The older British Standard fire-resistance test for non-loadbearing elements, including glazed screens and doors. Being phased out of Approved Document B in England.
BS EN 12600: The pendulum impact test used to classify how glass behaves when struck, for impact safety.
BS EN 13501-2: The European standard that turns fire-resistance test results into classifications such as E 30 or EI 60.
BS EN 1364-1: The European fire-resistance test for non-loadbearing walls, used for fixed glazed screens.
BS EN 1634-1: The European fire-resistance test for doors, shutters and openable windows.
Building Safety Regulator: The body in England that acts as building control authority for higher-risk buildings and oversees building safety.
Ceramic glass: A glass-ceramic material with very low thermal expansion, used as integrity fire glass.
Classification report: The document that states the classification a tested system achieved and the field of application it covers.
Compartmentation: Dividing a building into fire-resisting compartments to limit how far fire and smoke can spread.
Critical location: A position where glazing must meet impact safety requirements, such as doors, side panels near doors and low-level glazing.
Deflection head: A head detail that lets a screen or partition accommodate movement of the structure above without loading the glass.
E (integrity): The ability of a fire-separating element to stop flames and hot gases passing through for the classified time.
EI (integrity and insulation): Integrity plus a limit on temperature rise on the unexposed face: 140°C average and 180°C at any point.
EW (integrity and radiation): Integrity plus a limit of 15 kW/m² on heat radiated through, measured one metre from the unexposed face.
Fanlight: A glazed panel above a door, usually within the same frame.
FD30 / FD60: UK shorthand for fire doors providing 30 or 60 minutes of fire resistance.
Field of application: The range of variations, such as size or orientation, to which test results may be applied.
Fire curve: The standard time-temperature curve that furnace tests follow, reaching around 840°C at 30 minutes.
Fire risk assessment: The assessment of fire risks in premises, and the measures needed, that the person responsible for fire safety must carry out.
Fire strategy: The design document that sets out how a building's fire safety works, including required ratings for each element.
Fire-resisting glazing: Glazing that, as part of a tested system, achieves a fire-resistance classification.
Fire-stopping: Materials that seal gaps and penetrations in fire-resisting construction to restore its performance.
Frameless glazing: Glass panes joined edge to edge with a sealant joint instead of vertical frames.
Gel-filled glass: Insulating fire glass with a clear gel interlayer that absorbs heat in a fire.
Glazing bead: The strip that holds the glass in its frame; its profile and fixings form part of the fire rating.
Glazing schedule: A list of glazed elements with sizes, glass types, classifications and locations.
Golden thread: The building safety information that must be kept and maintained for higher-risk buildings in England.
Higher-risk building: In England, broadly a building at least 18 metres or seven storeys tall with at least two residential units.
Impact classification: The class a glass achieves in the BS EN 12600 pendulum test, shown in its marking.
Insulating glass: Fire glass classified EI that limits heat transfer as well as stopping flames.
Integrity glass: Fire glass classified E that stops flames and hot gases but not heat.
Intumescent: A material that swells when heated, sealing gaps or forming an insulating layer.
Intumescent interlayer: A clear layer between glass panes that foams into an opaque insulating barrier in a fire.
Intumescent seal: A strip fitted around glass or doors that expands in a fire to close gaps.
Manifestation: Markings on large glazed areas that make the glass visible to people.
Modified toughened glass: Glass processed to resist thermal stress so it can provide fire integrity.
Mullion: A vertical frame member dividing panes of glass.
Polished wired glass: Glass with an embedded steel mesh that holds it together in a fire, providing integrity only.
Protected escape route: A route enclosed by fire-resisting construction leading people to a final exit.
Protected shaft: A stair, lift or service shaft enclosed in fire-resisting construction running between compartments.
R (load-bearing capacity): The ability of a loadbearing element, such as a glass floor, to carry its load during a fire.
Radiation: Heat transferred through the air as infrared energy, which EW glazing limits.
Reaction to fire: How a material contributes to the early stages of a fire, classified separately from fire resistance.
Responsible person: The person with duties under fire safety law for non-domestic premises and common parts in England and Wales.
Setting block: A small block under the glass edge that positions and supports the pane in the frame.
Side panel: A glazed panel beside a door, often within the same frame.
Smoke control (S): A door classification showing that leakage of cool smoke was limited in test, shown as Sa or S200.
Spandrel panel: An opaque panel in a curtain wall, usually between floors.
Test evidence: The reports, certificates and assessments that show a glazed system achieved a classification.
Transom: A horizontal frame member dividing panes of glass.
Unexposed face: The side of a tested element away from the fire.
Vision panel: A glazed opening in a door that lets people see through it.

Fire-rated glazing glossary

Need fire-rated glazing checked, replaced or installed?