For determining the fire resistance of building constructions we have at our disposal our own accredited fire laboratory, the Laboratory for Fire Safety. The fire resistance is a means to measure how long a construction can withstand a fire. It is determined according to the Dutch standard NEN 6069 or a harmonized European standard. The independent Peutz Laboratory for Fire Safety has been accredited by the Dutch Accreditation Council RvA for determining the fire resistance of non-loadbearing walls, ceilings and doors, shutters and openable windows. The intention is to expand the number of different tests covered by this accreditation in the near future. An up-to-date scope of the accreditation can be found on the website of the RvA: www.rva.nl.
For determining the fire resistance the test specimen, incorporated in a standard test frame, is placed in front of 4 m wide and 3 m high furnace. Inside the furnace the temperature is controlled by gas burners according to a standardized heating curve, which leads to a temperature of more than 800 °C after 30 minutes and almost 1000 °C after one hour. During the test the specimen is monitored visually and electronically in order to determine failure of performance criteria such as temperature, radiation and integrity. The furnace can be tilted so it can be used for either vertical constructions such as walls and doors or horizontal constructions such as floors and ceilings.
The accreditation according to NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17025 quarantees producers and suppliers of fire resistant constructions that the results of an 'accredited' fire resistance test, performed in the Peutz Laboratory of Fire Safety are not arbitrary and can be used in member states of the European Union.