Fire Retardants
Virtually all thatch fires occur in traditional English thatched houses. Research has shown that the vast majority of thatch fires are chimney related, as many as 95%. The majority of thatched properties have chimneys built prior to the 1960`s when chimney construction was only a single brick thickness. Old English thatched buildings often have poor quality chimneys, and most fires occur in the winter when hot gases break through a poor quality chimney and ignite the thatch surrounding the chimney. Naturally untreated African cape thatching reed offers far greater fire resistance than alternative traditional English thatching materials. However if required, we can supply all our thatch tiles pre treated with a specialist fire retardant chemical.
Flame Stop I-DST Thatching Chemical Fire Retardant
Note: Fire retardant treatment is mainly used for indoor applications only and is not a legal requirement for outdoor structures. Fire retardants reduce the flammability of materials by either blocking the fire physically or by initiating a chemical reaction that stops the fire. The particular fire retardant chemical used by thr African Thatch Company is called Flame Stop I-DST. Flame Stop I-DST is a highly concentrated fire retardant used for `hard to penetrate` materials such as thatching and bamboo. This product prevents the spread of flame by developing a self-extinguishing chemical reaction. Flame Stop I-DST was found to be highly effective on thatching due to the flame spread rating of "10" obtained by testing using the ASTM E-84 Standard at Omega Point Laboratories.
Applicable Standards and Testing
Flame Stop I-DS has been tested to the following standards;
ASTM E-84, NFPA 255, UL 723, UBC 42-1 Tested by U.S. Testing LA62192
ASTM E-84, NFPA 255, UL 723, UBC-42-1 Flame Retardant Reed Thatching,
Omega Point Laboratories #8924-89133 Flame Spread 10. Listed by the State of California.
