Future-proofing Safe Finnish Timber Construction
In the world of large-scale wood construction, fire safety is becoming more and more important. In Finland, a government decree has set an ambition to triple the share of wood in public construction by 2025, from 15% wooden public buildings, to 45%.
Continuing the wave of sustainable wooden construction increases the focus and importance of timber fire protection, as wood is an organic and combustible material. When regulations tighten for larger buildings, such as P1 and P2, more and more European markets and operators turn to Fire Impregnation.
In a completely industrial, CE-certified process the wood undergoes a pressure impregnation treatment to improve its fire resistance properties deep in the wood, ensuring a safer and more secure wood construction with the material being the highest attainable fire classification for wood products in the EU : Euroclass B-s1,d0 (according to EU standard EN 13501-1:2018) as well as other important façade tests like SP Fire 105.
Fire Impregnation: An increasingly popular method globally
When looking at the global regulation development in the area of wood fire protection, there is a clear trend that regulators are leaning towards industrial fire protection in general, for example see British Wood Protection Association (WPA).
"The application of flame retardant products on the construction site, by brush or spray is NOT APPROVED by the WPA as quality control is almost impossible to assure."
Even more interestingly, this has led the USA to only approve impregnation for timber fire protection. The International Building Code (IBC) has since 2021 added a requirement to use pressure impregnation for wood fire protection and states that paints, coatings, stains or other surface coatings are not approved methods for fire protection.
"The use of paints, coatings, stains or other surface treatments is not an approved method of protection as required in this section”
International Building Code (IBC), 2023, (Section 2303.2 Fire-retardant-treated wood)
Why are important markets starting to prefer Fire Impregnation vs other methods?
Traditionally in Finland, surface coating solutions are used reach fire class regulation requirements. However, in other markets close-by like Sweden, Norway and in Central Europe like France and the Netherlands, Fire Impregnation is the prescribed method for fire treatments in wooden buildings.
This is why:
Unlike surface coatings, the fire impregnation process allows for deep penetration of the fire-retardant liquid across all sides of the material. In addition, the entire process is completed industrially in NTL Fire Protection Plant, allowing industrial quality control and CE-certification of the full fire protection system, providing a European seal of approval for its consistency in quality, which is important to the end customer. This is not reachable when for instance fire protection is completed on the building site.
This certification is a testament to the documented performance and adherence to relevant standards, including EN 13501-1 (which covers the B-s1,d0 requirement), ensuring that your wood material meets the fire protection requirements both in the Nordics and other export markets .
NTL Fire Protection: Leading the Change in Finland
NTL is the first fire impregnation facility in Finland, bringing novel timber fire protection technology to the Finnish market. While fire impregnation has long been the main method for fire protection in other Nordic markets such as Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, we're proud to pioneer this method locally in Finland.
Situated in Nastola, outside Lahti, our production allows shorter and more flexible transport routes, aligning with our commitment to sustainability and quickly meeting the needs of our valued customers. We understand the importance of domestic production, ensuring that the fire impregnation treatment is not only effective but also locally produced.
Building a Safer Tomorrow, Today
As we navigate the evolving landscape of wood construction, the importance of fire safety cannot be overstated. Fire Impregnated Wood emerges not just as a solution but as a way to simplify the navigation in the timber fire protection area.
Ready to explore the possibilities? Reach out, and let's embark on a journey to build a safer tomorrow, one fire protected wood building at a time.
For inquiries and further information about flame-protected wood products, let's get in touch!
