School fires have been in the news again following the recent blaze at Roding Primary School in Dagenham in which a large part of the building was destroyed.
A fire in any sector draws attention to the importance of installing fire-resistant ceilings, and German ceilings manufacturer OWA ceilings provides details and guidance on system selection in its new information booklet (email technical@owa-ceilings.co.uk to request a copy).
OWA highlights that, according to Building Bulletin 100 (BB100), around one in 20 schools experience a fire each year with arson cited as the cause in over 60 per cent of cases. In secondary schools, the average cost of a fire is around £100,000 (source: CLG Research Bulletin No. 10 – Survey of School Fires 2006).
BB100 emphasises the importance of protecting both the fabric of the building and life safety. Recent research by OWA has resulted in fire resistant ceiling systems that perform exceptionally well in fire situations with 60 minutes of fire protection being achieved by OWAcoustic fire resistant ceilings.
