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Fire Rated Construction Hoarding: A Complete Guide
Protecting sites with fire-safe temporary partitions
All hoarding products used in construction and fit-out projects must carry a fire rating. As specialists in construction hoarding, Westgate Global has extensive experience in fire-safety compliance, having delivered major internal site segregation projects such as the Manchester Airport Transformation Programme.
Since the Grenfell disaster, the scrutiny on fire safety has intensified, making it essential to understand fire-rating requirements for temporary hoarding in construction, fit-out and refurbishment projects. We recognise that fire ratings can be complex and sometimes confusing.
In this guide, we break down the types of fire-rated hoarding available, explain fire classification terminology, and highlight what you need to know to make informed decisions. Finally, while we provide and advise on fire-rated hoarding panels, it’s vital to consult a fire-safety professional to ensure the chosen panels and classifications meet the specific requirements of your project.
What is ‘fire rating’?
Fire rating is a measure of how long a passive fire protection system can resist fire under standardised test conditions. It is typically expressed as time over temperature — the time in minutes or hours that a system can withstand exposure to a defined temperature curve before it reaches critical failure points, such as structural compromise or loss of integrity.
It is essential to recognise that even if a hoarding panel carries a fire rating, no material can be considered entirely ‘fireproof’. Given enough heat energy over a sustained period, every material has a failure threshold: bricks can crack, metals can lose strength or warp, and structural elements can ultimately fail.
Within buildings, passive fire protection systems — such as fire-rated walls, hoarding panels, and associated sealing measures — play a key role in compartmentalising spaces. By limiting the spread of fire and maintaining structural stability for a defined period, they create valuable time for fire suppression systems to activate and for emergency response teams to prevent the fire from escalating to a stage where the building’s primary structure becomes compromised.
What is fire-rated hoarding?
There are many types of construction hoarding panels available. The environment (e.g. construction sites, shopping centres, offices, hospitals) combined with the use (e.g. construction, fit out or welfare rooms creation) and the type of project (internal or external), would all be a factor in which hoarding to select for your project;
- Plywood hoarding: a common and traditional type of hoarding made from plywood sheets
- PVC hoarding: lightweight interlocking coextruded panels made from uPVC
- Steel faced hoarding: rockwool or PIR foam filled panels with a steel face on both sides
- Metal/steel hoarding: a common solid surface for external use, more durable option compared to plywood
- Mesh hoarding: used externally, see through, lightweight, ideal for short-term projects
Fire rated hoarding is a panel, sheet or board that has passed a series of British Standard and/or European Standard tests. These tests enable each panel to be classified, and with assigned fire rating classifications, inform you how resistant to fire that product is.
It’s important to note that not all types of hoarding are fire rated. Within our Hoardfast range of hoarding panels, we provide a standard uPVC panel, and also steel faced internal hoarding panels that offer various fire ratings. These steel faced panels can also be used externally on construction projects to create site perimeter hoarding or weatherproof hoarding.
What is the UK construction hoarding regulations for fire safety?
Fire rated hoarding is a must during construction, building, fit out and refurbishment project works to ensure the safety of workers and public. The UK hoarding regulations state that temporary works should identify sources of fuel and ignition and establish general fire precautions. This includes the use of hoarding as material that has the potential to burn.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) states that a responsible person, usually the main or principal contractor in control of the site “must carry out, and keep up to date, a risk assessment and implement appropriate measures to minimise the risk to life and property from fire”. It is therefore imperative that any hoarding used on a construction site is assessed for its resistance to fire.
The Joint Code of Practice (JCoP) for Fire Prevention on construction sites was first established in 1992, has since been revised (10th edition) to reflect changes in standards, practice and modern materials and construction methods. Regarding the use of hoarding erected to create temporary welfare areas within a building under construction, the JCoP sets out expectations in section 13.5. “Temporary accommodation must be constructed with materials which do not significantly contribute to the growth of a fire or propagation of smoke and/or corrosive fumes”, and must also meet additional criteria. To achieve a compliant fire break, any hoarding must be installed slab-to-slab with any gaps fully sealed (firestop) to constitute a fire rated barrier.
We work with heads of industries including fire and construction to ensure we follow best practice and guidelines relating to the use of temporary hoarding within construction.
What are the UK and EU standards for fire-rated hoarding?
The British Standard for fire ratings includes multiple classes, such as A1, A2, C which all carry the prefix BS (or EN which is British Standard versions of the European Standards). Any classification which carries a BS or EN prefix will have the same status of authority.
Building regulations stipulate the rules and degree of fire resistance.
The British Standard 476 (BS476) dictates the appropriate fire tests for these elements and grades the level of fire resistance. The tests (designed to test flame spread and propagation) that are relevant to the Solid Surface industry (and therefore relating to construction hoarding) are BS476 part 6 and BS476 part 7:
- BS 476 part 6: Fire Propagation Test
- BS 476 part 7: Surface Spread of Flame Test
The BS 476 part 7 test produces a fire rating of Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending upon how far a flame travels over a surface. Class 1 is the best rating i.e. the lowest flame spread.
Class 0 fire rating (a classification for fire safety within and around buildings) is outlined in Parts 1 and 2 of the Fire Safety: Approved Document B. To achieve a Class 0 Fire Rating, products must achieve Class 1 in the Part 7 test and also pass the Part 6 test.
| Definition | Grade | Smoke Propagation | Flaming Droplets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Combustible Materials | A1 | – | – |
| A2 | s1 | d0 | |
| Combustible materials: Very limited contribution to fire | B | s1 | d0 |
| and all variations | |||
| Combustible materials: Limited contribution to fire | C | s1 | d0 |
| and all variations | |||
| Combustible materials: Medium contribution to fire | D | s1 | d0 |
| and all variations | |||
| Combustible materials: High contribution to fire | E | – | E-d2 |
| Combustible materials: Easily flammable | F | – | – |