GGF supports police investigation into fire-resistant glass 'fraud'
The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) is supporting the recent Police investigation following a complaint about the specification of some of the fire resistant glass supplied by Glassworks Ireland Ltd, a company based in Hillview Industrial Estate, Randalstown, County Antrim.
It is alleged that Glassworks Ireland has supplied some non-fire rated glass as fire resistant, branding the product as Pyroguard. CGI who manufacture Pyroguard products is a GGF Member that manufactures recognised, approved and certified fire-rated glass or one of their registered stockists.
A Senior Police Officer has urged customers to check the legitimacy of the product by contacting Pyroguard/CGI, to ensure the product’s authenticity and, if found not to be genuine, to report this to the Police and Trading Standards.
The GGF’s Fire Resistant Glazing Group and the Federation’s technical department work continuously with Members to ensure that Fire Resistant Glazing Systems are manufactured and installed to comply with the legal requirements contained in the relevant Building Regulations or Standards and the installation meets the very highest industry standards. The GGF, through the work of its Fire Resistant Glazing Group, has published ‘A Guide to Best Practice in the Specification and Use of Fire Resistant Glazed Systems’ which is publicly available for download from www.ggf.org.uk and is referenced in Building Regulations Approved Documents.
The police have stated that two people have been arrested and questioned as part of a fraud inquiry, however Detective Chief Inspector Colin Gillis said: "There is absolutely no concern regarding Pyroguard products supplied by other companies and our appeal is only to those who have dealt with Glassworks Ireland Ltd.”
Giles Willson, GGF Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Technical Affairs commented, “We support the police investigation into this case to ensure that our Members products and services and their customers are protected against the potential fraudulent supply of products that are not genuine.”
Kevin Hulin of Mann McGowan and Chairman of the GGF Fire Resistant Glazing Group commented, “We welcome the police message and the investigation. This case is of a particular serious nature because fire resistant glazing can save lives. The GGF Fire Resistant Glazing Group is at the cutting edge of the industry standards and have invested years of hard work to establish the importance of fire resistant glazing, so it’s imperative any cases such as this are investigated thoroughly to ensure that companies are operating legally when it comes to manufacturing, supplying or installing life safety Fire Resistant Glazing Systems.”
Fire resistant glazed systems have provided a proven method to contain fire and smoke within a building, enabling the safe egress of the occupants. Fire resistant glazing also reduces the amount of damage to a building by containing the fire and thereby reducing the spread of fire. The result is a less expensive and speedier repair, enabling the business to return to normal sooner following a fire.
Giles Willson summarised “It is worth reminding consumers and businesses that fire resistant glazed systems need to be certified, through comprehensive testing as a complete system, and be installed by competent operatives. Failure to follow these basic steps could result in the system not performing correctly. The GGF website (www.ggf.org.uk ) has more information on fire resistant glazing, suppliers and installers as well as a comprehensive publication, ‘A Guide to Best Practice in the Specification and Use of Fire Resistant Glazed Systems’ which is available for free download.”
Detective Chief Inspector Colin Gillis added, “It is extremely important that anyone who has had fire-resistant glass supplied by this company takes steps to confirm it is the legitimate product, even if the glass is marked with an 'official' stamp and has an accompanying certificate of authenticity implying that it is fire-resistant glass."
GGF Member CGI, the manufacturers of legitimate Pyroguard glass products, can be contacted by customers who believe they have been sold a Pyroguard product from an unauthorised source. For technical advice and guidance please call +44 (0)1942 710 723 or for further information on Pyroguard and their Technical Licensing Programme, please visit www.pyroguard.eu
Anyone who finds the product they have purchased is not to the required standard should contact the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) investigation team on 028 9448 1644.
