NFPA Journal - July/August 2018 - 20

Dispatches

COMBUSTIBLE CLADDING

EFFECTING CHANGE
A USER OF NFPA'S FACADE FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT
TOOL PRAISES ITS ABILITY TO SIMPLIFY A COMPLEX
AND CHALLENGING ISSUE
By Angelo Verzoni
une 14 was the one-year anniver-

EXTERIOR
HAZARD
Hundreds of buildings constructed
with combustible
exterior cladding
assemblies have
been identified
around the world.

sary of London's Grenfell Tower fire,
Britain's deadliest blaze since World
War II. Seventy-one people died in
the fire, which spread rapidly up
and around the sides of a residential high-rise that
was sheathed in combustible plastics.
In response to the incident, about two months
later, NFPA released a tool for users to help
understand the United States code requirements
for exterior walls containing combustible components, including how and when to use NFPA 285,
Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Non-Load-Bearing Wall
Assemblies Containing Combustible Components.
In February, NFPA released a more widely adoptable tool, the Exterior Facade Fire Evaluation and
Comparison Tool (EFFECT™), for users worldwide
to determine which buildings in a particular set
are at the highest risk for fires involving combustible exterior wall components. Both tools and other
NFPA resources on exterior wall fire safety can be
found on nfpa.org/exteriorwalls.
A user of EFFECT, Reem Madkour, who works
in the United Arab Emirates as a senior consultant for the global engineering company WSP,
answered questions for NFPA Journal about his
experiences with combustible exterior wall components and using the tool. Over the last several
years, the UAE-the city of Dubai, in particular-
has experienced major fires involving facades on
high-rise buildings, and WSP has worked closely

20 | NFPA JOURNAL * J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

with developers and UAE Civil Defence authorities
in the region to explore the problem.
WHY DID YOU START USING EFFECT?
With the introduction of the UAE Fire and Life
Safety Code in 2011-12 and similar legislation in
other countries in the region, awareness of the
dangers of combustible cladding has become a
focus in our industry. Consequently, facade fire
safety has dramatically improved in subsequent
construction. However, the issue of the performance of pre-existing building stock has been the
subject of much debate. For several years we have
been conducting our own risk quantification studies of buildings and calling for a common process.
AND EFFECT IS A STEP TOWARD ACHIEVING
THAT COMMON PROCESS?
Yes, EFFECT is a great tool to further the conversation of combustible cladding risk mitigation.
Cladding replacement is invasive and expensive and
it can be challenging to highlight existing risks and
incentivize building owners to invest in addressing
these issues. EFFECT is an easy, and arguably proactive, way to input data about a building and get a
clear and concise rating that is unbiased.
WHAT VALUE HAVE YOU FOUND IN THE TOOL?
The tool provides a quick, easy, common, and
comparable method of prioritizing buildings
within a portfolio to highlight potential fire
and life safety risks. Combined with our past

http://www.nfpa.org/exteriorwalls

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2018