Fire, smoke and toxicity
Tested to the standard rail vehicles are held to
Switchable film is a polymer laminated into or onto glass, and in a hospital corridor, a federal building or a transit station somebody eventually asks what it does in a fire. Most of the category answers with an adjective.
PriWatt film has been through three independent tests at Intertek — smoke density, heat and smoke release, and toxic gas generation — run against NFPA 130, the fire-performance standard for fixed guideway transit and passenger rail systems. It is a harder bar than most interior materials are asked to clear, and the reports state their conclusions rather than implying them.
The three tests, and what they returned
| Test | What it measures | Criterion | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASTM E662 — non-flaming | Specific optical density of the smoke, in a closed chamber | Ds at 1.5 min < 100 · Ds at 4.0 min < 200 | Met |
| ASTM E662 — flaming | The same, with the specimen ignited | Ds at 1.5 min < 100 · Ds at 4.0 min < 200 | Met |
| ASTM E1354 — heat release | 180-second average heat release rate, cone calorimeter | < 100 kW/m² | 52.29 kW/m² |
| ASTM E1354 — smoke | Test average smoke extinction area | < 500 m²/kg | 483.18 m²/kg |
| Bombardier SMP 800-C | Toxic gas generation under combustion | The method sets none — the values are for comparison | HCl, HCN, HBr, HF, NO, NO₂ and SO₂ not detected |
The toxicity result is the one worth reading twice. Under combustion, with and without a pilot flame, the analysis detected no hydrogen cyanide, no hydrogen chloride, no hydrogen fluoride, no hydrogen bromide and no oxides of nitrogen or sulphur. Carbon monoxide was measured at 120.3 ppm without a pilot flame and 225.2 ppm with one. SMP 800-C does not set pass and fail limits — the concentrations it lists are, in the method’s own words, a guide for comparison — so what is published here is the measurement rather than a verdict.
All three reports record no deviations from their test standards. Report numbers, dates and the full data are in the documents themselves, which are sent on request.
What these results are not
They are material fire-performance tests: how much smoke the material makes, how much heat it releases, what it gives off while it burns.
This is not a fire-resistance rating
Switchable glass is not fire-rated glazing. It does not carry a 20, 45, 60 or 90 minute rating, it is not tested to NFPA 252, NFPA 257 or UL 9, and it cannot be used where the drawing calls for a rated assembly. Where a wall or an opening has to hold a fire, it needs rated glazing — and that is a different product from a different manufacturer.
The specimens were film
The tests were run on PriWatt film — around half a millimetre thick, and for the cone calorimeter applied to 11.9 mm glass. That is the right specimen for a material test and it is not the same thing as a test of a complete glazed assembly in a wall.
NFPA 130 is a transit standard
It governs fixed guideway transit and passenger rail systems. The E662 conclusion places the film in the "other vehicle component" category of NFPA 130-17. It is cited here because it is a demanding bar the material has demonstrably cleared, not because every project is a railway.
What the AHJ says goes
What a particular project requires is set by the code and the authority having jurisdiction. The role of these reports is to answer the question with documents when it is asked — they go into the submittal, in full, with the report numbers on them.
The buildings that ask this question first
Interior material fire performance is asked about early in exactly the sectors PriWatt already works in — and in each of them the answer arrives as a document or it does not arrive at all.
Healthcare
Observation walls, consulting rooms and surgical suites, where interior finishes are scrutinised and there is nothing to launder or replace.
Government facilities
Federal and municipal work, where the submittal is the conversation. The National Library of Medicine is on this site as a delivered project.
Transit and rail
The standard these tests were run against. Stations, concourses and vehicle interiors, where NFPA 130 is the frame the question is asked in.
Education
Classrooms, training rooms and labs, supervised at some times and private at others, with the same scrutiny of what is on the walls.
What else the submittal can carry
The fire reports sit alongside the electrical certification, the safety glazing certificate, an independent acoustic measurement and the three-part specification. Every one is a document rather than a claim on a web page.
| What it covers | |
|---|---|
| UL file E514182 | The electrical system, evaluated by UL Solutions |
| SGCC 9894 | Safety glazing certification for the laminated products |
| ASTM E90 — STC 37, OITC 33 | Airborne sound transmission, measured at Riverbank Acoustical Laboratories on a 1/2 in laminated specimen |
| ASTM E662 · E1354 · SMP 800-C | The three reports above, in full, with the data and the graphs |
| CSI MasterFormat 08 88 00 | The three-part specification, ready to edit into a project manual |
| US 11,686,966 B2 · CA 3,212,838 | The patented busbar anchoring system |
They are sent to the address you give, as attachments, from the specification page or from patents and certifications — along with four CAD details as PDF and editable DXF.
Common questions
No. Switchable glass is not fire-rated glazing and cannot be used where a rated assembly is required — it has no 20, 45, 60 or 90 minute rating and is not tested to the door and window fire-test standards. What it has is independent material fire-performance data: smoke density, heat release and toxic gas generation, tested at Intertek against NFPA 130.
Three independent tests at Intertek. ASTM E662 for smoke density, where the film met the NFPA 130-17 requirement of Ds under 100 at 1.5 minutes and under 200 at 4 minutes in both flaming and non-flaming modes. ASTM E1354 by cone calorimeter, run per NFPA 130, returning a 180-second average heat release rate of 52.29 kW/m² against a limit of 100, and a smoke extinction area of 483.18 m²/kg against a limit of 500. And Bombardier SMP 800-C for toxic gas generation.
Under Bombardier SMP 800-C, with and without a pilot flame, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen bromide and the oxides of nitrogen and sulphur were all not detected. Carbon monoxide was measured at 120.3 ppm without a pilot flame and 225.2 ppm with one. The method sets no pass or fail limits, so those are measurements rather than a verdict.
The ASTM E662 report concludes that the film meets the specified performance requirements of NFPA 130-17 for other vehicle component, and the ASTM E1354 test was run in accordance with NFPA 130 section A.8.4.1.10 and met its criteria. Compliance of a complete assembly on a particular project is determined against that project by the authority having jurisdiction; the reports are supplied in full to support it.
Yes. All three are sent as attachments to a confirmed email address, along with the UL and SGCC certificates, the acoustic measurement, the CSI specification and four CAD details. Ask on the architects page or on patents and certifications.
Put the documents in the submittal
The reports go to the address you give, in full, with the report numbers and the data they were issued with. If a project needs something that has not been tested, that is a straight answer too. Pompano Beach, Florida; (833) 333-8556.