Does fire glass also need to be safety glass?

Yes, where it sits in a critical location. Glazing in doors and side panels within 300mm of a door edge up to 1500mm from the floor, and glazing in walls below 800mm, must break safely, be robust enough, or be permanently protected under impact safety rules. Fire glass in those positions needs a suitable impact classification as well as its fire rating.

What are critical locations?

In England the guidance is Approved Document K. Critical locations include glazing in doors and in side panels close to doors up to 1500mm above floor level, and glazing in walls and partitions between floor level and 800mm.

How is impact performance shown?

Impact performance is classified under BS EN 12600 using a pendulum test. Many fire glasses carry an impact class in their marking.

Where wired glass falls short

Plain wired glass does not normally meet the impact performance expected in critical locations. That is a main reason it is replaced in doors and low panels.

Manifestation

Large areas of glazing that people could walk into also need manifestation, markings that make the glass visible.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent provisions for glazing in critical locations in their building standards guidance, so check the guidance for the nation the building is in.

Updated 09/10/2026. General guidance only; your fire strategy, designer and building control body decide what applies to a specific building.