IZEG fire test

In a multi-storey building in Germany, we rely on the building and its equipment being as safe as possible. After all, there are strict requirements for the safety of buildings in this country, including
preventive structural fire protection. 

Buildings in Germany are classified according to building classes. Higher buildings in particular (building classes 4 and 5, i.e. buildings of 7 m or 13 m of height, according to section 2 para. 3 nos. 4 and 5 of the Model Building Code - MBO) are classified into fire compartments depending on the requirements on the rooms. Fire protection has the highest priority and is regulated by a large number of legal standards. If a fire breaks out, it should be ensured that it does not spread to other fire compartments within certain periods. This applies in all directions: laterally, upwards and downwards.

Fire protection requirements for waste water pipes

• Building services installations, such as drainage pipes, often pass through the walls and ceilings of fire compartments. Section 40 para. 1 MBO requires that such pipes may only be routed through structural elements with fire integrity (walls and ceilings) for which fire resistance is prescribed, if there is no risk that the fire will spread in the near future. 

• According to Section 31 MBO, ceilings between storeys must be fire-resistant as structural elements with fire integrity of building class 5 and highly fire-retardant of building class 4. This means that building components compartments must withstand a fire for 90 minutes and highly fire-retardant compartments must withstand a fire for 60 minutes (DIN 4102-2:1977-09).

• Consequently, certain pipe installations or their penetration seals must also have the same fire resistance (MLAR 2015, Section 4.1). Only with the same fire resistance, the necessary safety of the fire barrier can be achieved.

Fire safety testing

It must be proven by appropriate tests whether safe fire protection is ensured. The relevant test standard DIN EN 1366-3, however, only requires an upward test for vertical penetration seals through slabs for drainage  pipes, but not a downward test. The test standard explicitly states that the risk of fire spreading downwards cannot be assessed with the test procedure regulated therein.

As a responsible specialist institution for cast iron drainage technology, we are always interested in the highest safety and quality standards of drainage products. Therefore, together with leading manufacturers of cast iron drainage pipe systems, we have carried out the IZEG fire test. 

Our aim was to find out how well different drainage pipe and penetration seals pass the fire test not only upwards but also downwards. This orienting fire test was carried out on 05 February 2021 at the accredited materials testing institute (Materialprüfungsanstalt) in Braunschweig.

The various drainage pipe systems with approved penetration seals were tested for the behaviour and integrity in the event of a fire. The focus of the investigation was the effect on the integrity of ceilings, especially of the categories „fire-resistant“ and „highly fire-retardant“, required in the Model Building Code and the respective administrative regulations based on the standards. The IZEG fire test was carried out under the following conditions:

A) Test for continuous maintenance of the fire integrity over the test duration of 90 minutes

B) Evaluation of smoke development outside the fire test room

C) Observation of possible flame formation in the lower room

D) Checking the temperature transmission to adjacent rooms for inadmissible increase

The installation of a cast-iron SML pipe system and various plastic pipe systems was carried out in a test set-up with three floors. The downpipes of the pipe systems passed through a room in which a fire was  generated according to the standard temperature curve. The pipes penetrated a ceiling upwards into the open air and a floor downwards, where they then ended in a horizontal line.

1. REHAU RAUPIANO PLUS
   Waste water pipes and fittings according to abZ Z-42.1-223 of the manufacturer REHAU, installed with pipe collar REHAU Plus abZ Z-19.17-1662 according to the specifications of aBG System REHAU Plus aBG Z-19.53-2459
2. POLO-KAL XS
   Waste water pipes and fittings according to abZ Z-42.1-506 of the manufacturer POLOPLAST, installed with pipe collar system POLO-BSM F according to the specifications of aBG Z-19.53-2306
3. Geberit Silent-Pro
   Waste water pipes and fittings according to abZ Z-42.1-542, installed with system Geberit pipe firestop seal 90 Plus EN according to the specifications of abZ Z-19.53-2236
4. Wavin AS
   Sewage pipes and fittings according to abZ Z-41.1-228, R90 Wavin installed with system BM-R90 according to the specifications of aBG Z-19.53-2307
5. Geberit Silent db20
   Waste water pipes and fittings according to abZ Z-42.1-265, installed with system Geberit pipe firestop seal 90 Plus according to the specifications of the abZ Z-19.17-1927
6. SML: Düker SML, SAINT-GOBAIN HES PAM-GLOBAL® S, PREIS® SML
   Drainage pipes, fittings and joints according to DIN EN 877, installed with penetration seals with ROCKWOOL Klima-rock according to abP P-3725/4130-MPA BS