The Fire Protection Testing section primarily conducts fire testing for diverse products against national and international standards. There is a myriad of fire tests that can be categorised into active and passive fire testing. The first refers to testing on fire-fighting equipment like fire extinguishers, fire hose reels and reel hoses.
Passive fire testing, on the other hand, consists of fire resistant tests and reaction to fire tests. “The former includes testing fire doors, lift landing doors, roller shutters, ducting systems and walls, for example. The latter covers materials fire characteristics testing such as material combustibility, surface spread of flames and fire propagation,” explained Azmi.
SIRIM is also working with the Fire Research Centre (PUSPEK) at the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia to develop the necessary facilities to test sprinklers. Besides that, in 2020, it introduced a new service called the Assessment Test Report that caters to design variations of products against tested samples.
“Let’s say we have a test report for a door. But the design was later tweaked slightly. Instead of having to retest the entire product, we can do some calculations and produce the Assessment Test Report that will allow for this design variation. Previously, the assessment would have to be carried out by another party, usually in Europe, but now we can do it all here,” shared Azmi.
His clientele base consists mainly of product manufacturers, system designers, engineers, architects and researchers. “In Malaysia, architects have to submit the fire safety features of a building to the Fire and Rescue Department to get the building permit. Researchers, on the other hand, will generally come to us for the reaction to fire tests, for example, when they develop a new material,” he said. Other clients include building owners and developers, as well as certification bodies.
