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Briefing on the Fire Tests in the

Code of Practice for Fire Safety

in Buildings 2011

The Code of Practice for Fire

Safety in Buildings 2011

The FS Code comprises 7 parts and 1 annex:

Part A Introduction

Part B Means of Escape

Part C Fire Resisting Construction

Part D Means of Access

Part E Fire Properties of Building Elements and Components

Part F Fire Safety Management

Part G Guidelines on Fire Engineering

Annex A List of Codes of Practice and Guides issued by Licensing Authorities for Licensed Premises

Acceptable Test Standards in the Code of

Practice for Fire Resisting Construction 1996

Part E Fire Properties of Building

Elements and Components

Acceptable test standards in the FS Code 2011

(Clause E1.3)

• Relevant parts of the international standard of ISO

• The national standards stipulated in this Part (e.g. BS, BSEN etc.)

• Where it is intended to use other standards, authorized persons should demonstrate complying with Clause E16.2 that such standards are equivalent or not inferior to the international or the national standards stipulated in this Part.



This Part provides test standards for:

• Loadbearing elements (Subsection E3)

• Non-loadbearing elements (Subsection E4)

• Doors, windows, shutters and associated penetrations (Subsection E5)

• Ventilation ducts and associated penetrations (Subsection E6)

• General penetrations (Subsection E7)

• Fire and smoke dampers (Subsection E8)

• Smoke leakage for fire rated doors and doors with smoke seals (Subsection E9)

• Non-combustibility (Subsection E10)

• Limited combustibility (Subsection E11)

• External facades (Subsection E12)

• Internal wall and ceiling linings and decorative finishes (Subsection E13)

• Floor linings and floor coverings (Subsection E14)

• Acoustic and thermal insulation (Subsection E15)



The loadbearing elements should be tested in accordance

with:

• Respective BS EN standards stipulated in Clause

E3.1 (e.g. BS EN1365-1 for loadbearing walls, BS

EN 1365-2 for loadbearing floors and roofs etc.);

• BS 476 Parts 20 and 21 stipulated in Clause E3.2; or

• Make reference to the Tables in Part E.

Fire Tests for Loadbearing Elements

(Subsection E3)



The non-loadbearing elements should be tested in

accordance with:

• Respective BS EN standards stipulated in Clauses

E4.1 – E4.4 (e.g. BS EN1364-1 for non-loadbearing

walls, BS EN 1364-2 for non-loadbearing ceilings etc.);

• BS 476 Part 22 stipulated in Clause E3.2; or

• Make reference to the Tables in Part E.

Fire Tests for Non-loadbearing Elements

(Subsection E4)



The openings in fire barriers should be protected by fire

rated doors, fire shutters etc. should be tested in

accordance with:

• Respective BS EN standards stipulated in Clause

E5.1 (e.g. BS EN1634-1 for doors. shutters and

openable windows);

• BS 476 Parts 20 and 22 stipulated in Clause E5.2.

Fire Tests for Protection of Openings in Fire

Barriers (Doors, Windows, Shutters)

(Subsection E5)



Clause E5.3

All fire rated doors, fire shutter, fire windows should be “tagged” or labelled to ensure ease of identification.


Barriers (Doors, Windows, Shutters)

(Subsection E5)




Barriers (Subsections E6 – E8)



The following applicable standards should be used to determine the quantity of smoke leakage through fire rated doors or smoke sealed doors:

• BS EN 1634-3;

• BS EN 14600;

• ISO 5925-1;

• UL1784; or

• AS 1530:Part 7.

Smoke Leakage Tests for Fire Rated Doors and

Doors with Smoke Seals (Clause E9.1)



• Flow through the door – less than 3m3/hr/m at 25Pa above the atmospheric pressure

• For fire rated doors – smoke seals should resist temperature greater than 200oC for more than 30 minutes

• For smoke sealed door – smoke seals should resist temperature up to 200oC for more than 30 minutes

The Acceptance Criteria for a Smoke Sealed

Door (Clause E9.2)



The non-combustible products should

comply with:

• Class A1 in BS EN 13501-1;

• BS ISO 1182 and BS En ISO 1716;

• BS 476 Parts 4.

Non-combustibility (Subsection E10)



Comparison of classification of the performance of materials tested

in accordance with BS EN 13501-1 and BS 476 Parts 4 & 7:


Elements and Components Combustibility of Internal Wall, Ceiling and Floor Linings

(Clauses E13.1 & E14.1)



Fire Testing Authority (Clause E16.1)

The Building Authority will recognize:

• Laboratories accredited by the Hong Kong Accreditation Services (HKAS) under the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) or other laboratory accreditation bodies which have reached mutual recognition agreements with HOKLAS

• Certification bodies accredited by HKAS under the Hong Kong Certification Body Accreditation Scheme (HKCAS) or other accredited certification bodies which have reached multilateral recognition arrangements with HKCAS



Fire Test or Assessment (Clause E16.2)

The fire properties should be tested in accordance with or assessed against the standards stipulated in this Part. The certification should be established by the following laboratory/certification body to the satisfaction of the Building Authority:

(a) a test report from a recognized laboratory; or

(b) an assessment report prepared by a recognized laboratory or a recognized certification body.

The test/assessment should be within the accredited scope for testing/certifying by the laboratory/certification body.

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