Low fire-hazard & fire-resistant solutions

Low Fire-Hazard & Fire-Resistant Solutions

STORIES

At Prysmian, we have a mission: to supply our customers with the most appropriate, innovative and technologically advanced cables for every application.
We understand the crucial role our cables play in building safety so we ensure, through continuous investment in innovation, that we offer products that not only provide the best in functioning ability but also meet the highest standards of product safety.

The role of cables in fire safety

Preventing or limiting the effects of fire is a key consideration in building construction. Safety measures can:

  • Detect or suppress fires - e.g. fire alarm systems, sprinklers etc., or
  • Contain and slow the spread of fires – e.g. by reducing flame spread, heat release, flaming droplets, smoke and gas emission.

Cables play an important part in either measure. In fact, cables are critical. Despite the fact that they are less flammable than other building materials, electrical circuits connect each part of a building and therefore can hasten the spread of a fire.

Two criteria are important in terms of cable performance in an emergency:

Reaction to fire. How quickly the cables spread flames and therefore how long they allow for successful evacuations, and how much smoke or other dangerous gas is released.

Resistance to fire. How long they can maintain the integrity of a circuit and stay functional for the use of the emergency services and other fire-fighting installations.

Fire: the facts

Everyday, we spend 90% of our time in the very buildings where 90% of fires take place.  Today fire can engulf a room in 3 minutes compared to 25 minutes 50 years ago. In a recent report, the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services estimated that the total economic cost of fires amounts to around 1% of gross domestic product in most advanced countries. Despite this, the harsh reality is that although construction materials and buildings have changed dramatically in recent years, many of the regulations that monitor their fire safety have failed to keep pace. 

Our commitment to safety

The performance of cables in a fire is critical to the safety engineering of many buildings. But many end-users lack awareness of the options available to them.
In the absence of national regulations, the decision to adopt safer cables is often contingent on project decision makers being aware of the importance of fire-resistant technologies.
We aim to supply our customers with a holistic service, taking into account not only the technological needs of their individual projects, but also suggesting and implementing solutions that meet safety criteria.

We supply fully reliable and competitive safety solutions that aren’t limited by technology or materials.

We communicate with end-users, opinion leaders and electrical professionals about the importance of fire safety-compliant cables for people and animals, and the importance of choosing safer cabling when designing and constructing buildings.

We lead the way in safety and are always designing and producing competitive fire-resistant and low fire hazard cables, continually widening our product range to offer customers the latest in safe cables.

Prysmian's fire-resistant and AFUMEX (Low Fire Hazard) cables have been adopted for many major projects globally, including the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, the tallest man-made structure in the world, and the new Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit in Singapore.

Prysmian’s social responsibility also extends to protection of the environment, with our AFUMEX cables releasing fewer emissions (such as smoke and harmful effluents) under fire conditions. Furthermore, when they reach the end of their lifespan, they can be disposed of using simpler, cheaper and cleaner treatments than standard cables.

Discover more about AFUMEX Technology, Low smoke - Halogen free cables and Fire resistant cables