4. THIRD PARTY TESTING AGENCIES
There are several independent testing laboratories, also referred to as third party testing agencies, which perform fire testing of firestop manufacturer products in accordance with a specific fire test standard. After successful completion of the fire tests, the agencies generate details of the tested firestop systems. These details are usually included as design listings in the fire resistance directories made available by the testing laboratory. These directories are an important source of information during the plan review process and inspection process.
The following are some of the recognized independent laboratories conducting tests of firestop systems:
1. Underwriters Laboratories Inc.( UL), Northbrook, IL( 847) 272-8800, www. ul. com
2. Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, TX( 210) 522-2311, www. fire. swri. org
3. Factory Mutual Norwood, MA( 781) 762-4300, www. fmglobal. com 4. Intertek Testing Services, San Antonio, TX( 210) 625-8100, www. intertek. com
5. ICC NTA, Nappanee, IN( 574) 773-7975, www. icc-nta. org
4.1 Identification guide( UL)
To identify the most relevant or closest UL firestop system that meets a project ' s unique site requirement, one should be aware of the different nomenclatures UL follows to categorize its various documents.
For each category / type of firestop system, UL has a separate UL Category Control Number
• XHEZ( Through-penetration firestop systems)
• XHBN( Joint systems)
• XHHW( Fill, void, or cavity materials)
• XHDG( Perimeter fire containment systems)
• CLIV( Wall opening protective materials)
To further narrow down the search within the category control number, UL uses the following nomenclature rules.
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