Insulation board supplier Celotex has announced it is temporarily suspending the sale of some of its 5000 product range due to a recent fire safety test.

The firm has halted sales after one of its products failed to achieve a Class 0 fire rating following tests by the Department for Communities and Local Government following the Grenfell Tower blaze.

In a statement, Celotex said: "A sample of our 5000 product was tested under Parts 6 and 7 of British Standard 476 ("BS 476") in 2011 and achieved a Class 0 fire rating.

"In April 2017, we sent a sample of RS5000 for independent testing under both Parts 6 and 7 of BS 476. We were surprised when we learned, in August 2017, that whilst this sample continues to meet the standard for Class 1, the sample did not achieve a Class 0 rating. A sample of this product was used in a full system test for a rainscreen cladding system in 2014, where the system passed. We understand that in August 2017 a sample of the same product passed 3 the DCLG test 5 4  for a full rainscreen cladding system.


"All the products in the 5000 range share a core which is made of the same material (Polyisocyanurate or "PIR"). They are marketed under different names according to their intended application (CG5000, FR5000, RS5000 etc.). The sample tested in 2011 was of the product marketed as FR5000. We applied the 2011 test results in relation to Celotex RS5000, Celotex CG5000, Celotex CF5000 and Celotex SL5000.

"We do not currently know why the RS5000 sample did not achieve a Class 0 rating in these later tests, given the results from 2011 and we are investigating this. In light of this test result and the desire to act responsibly, we believe it is right to temporarily suspend supply of these 5000 ranges."

(LM/MH)