UL, one of the leading global safety science provider, has officially opened a cables fire safety and performance laboratory
The facility, located in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), allows manufacturers, brands and suppliers of electrical and optical cables and busways from throughout the Middle East to access a local laboratory for fire safety.
The new fire safety laboratory will accommodate tests to multiple standards for flame retardant and fire resistance properties. It is staffed with UL's industry-leading experts and designed to test flame retardant and fire-resistant cables, fire alarm cables, building wires with fire resistance ratings, fiber optic component cables with fire resistance ratings and busways.
UL's new laboratory provides tests to measure how a cable reacts when exposed to fire and to assess acid gas emission and smoke generation. In addition, it has the capability to evaluate cables' circuit integrity during a fire. This includes tests for fire alone, fire with water, fire with mechanical shock, and fire with both mechanical shock and water.
"Driven by growing customer expectations and UL's deep understanding of wire and cable industry needs and requirements, the opening of our location here in Abu Dhabi will further support manufacturers, especially those here in the region, and provide convenience and capability throughout every step of the go-to-market process," said Hamid Syed, vice-president and general manager for UL in the Middle East.
The Middle East has seen increased regulation around the fire safety of cables. The new laboratory is prepared to help meet these regulations including local civil defense code requirements to comply to fire resistance for cables and the Civil Defense Certificate of Compliance (CoC) for cables requiring test reports and certificates. The facility is also equipped to address compliance to consultant specifications for construction projects in the Middle East and to meet export requirements to the EU, U.K., U.S. and Africa.
UL offers its customers testing services to help them meet and exceed fire safety requirements.
