Fire Protection

But living in a bushfire prone area doesn’t make you powerless. We’re here to help protect you, your family and your home.

With our advanced glass technology, fire protection doesn’t have to result in an unattractive design. You can have protection from fire as well as the look you’ve always wanted.

Why does glass matter during a fire?

Any penetration into a building during a fire is an issue, but when you get breakages letting embers and heat in, that’s when you’ve got a real problem.

A window that retains its integrity during a fire is immensely important to the survival of the home.

How can glass maintain its integrity during a fire?

You’re right to be sceptical, glass is not naturally resistant against fire.

It can transmit a lot of radiant heat and readily cracks under thermal shock – we know this better than anyone – we exploit and manage these properties of glass every day in the processes we use to manufacture the glass in the first place. But because we know a bit about how this stuff works, we decided to change the way glass functions in a fire – with PyroGuard™ 40.

PyroGuard™ 40 is a specialised makeup of glass in a double-glazed format. As you would expect, all components are processed and selected for their durability and non-flammability at high temperatures. Importantly, the two glass layers provided in the double glazed format provides a level of redundancy – bushfires are violent phenomena, with high windows and debris hitting the glass – the glass has more to contend with than just heat.

The heart of PyroGuard’s function is the specific coated glass that reduces the transfer of radiant heat from the bushfire through the glass to the inside of a home or building. This means, that when subjected to radiation levels of up to 40kW/m2, less than 4% of the radiant heat is transferred through a window glazed with PyroGuard™ 40. This assists in providing protection to combustible materials such as curtains and furnishings within the building.

In many of the same ways that it offers bushfire resistance, PyroGuard is also a high performance energy efficiency glass – providing year-round comfort and allowing expansive views of the natural environment outside… for the other 99% of the time when it’s not on fire.

Doing the research

PyroGuard™ 40 has been rigorously tested to AS1530.8.1 in conjunction with specially designed framing profiles and glazing components, chosen for their performance characteristics, cost effectiveness, ease of installation and availability.

A total solution

It’s important to remember that the ability of a building to survive a passing bushfire is not solely dependent on the ability of glass used in windows and doors to withstand radiant heat.

A number of factors are also critical, including wall cladding, roofing material and absence of combustible material near the house.

What do I do now?

If you’re convinced you need fire resistant glass and you want to start finding the right product to meet your needs – we’ve got just the thing! Try using our Product Finder tool to find the right solution for you.