ESG Pyrotech Secure LPS 1270 fire resistant safety glass combines fire resistance with crime prevention properties

06 July 2010

Until the introduction of LPS 1270, components such as glazing panels were not independently assessed, rather the entire unit, including glazing, was tested and approved to LPS 1175. This could be problematic for the window or door manufacturer, as any interruption of their usual glass supply would mean that production of the entire unit would be delayed. If the normal glass supplier were to cease production or change its product range, the door or window would need to be retested with a new glazing panel, possibly from one or more new suppliers.

ESG has launched a new security glass, ESG Secure LPS 1270. Developed in-house in response to the new draft standard LPS 1270 from the Loss Prevention Certification board, it is designed to protect property against criminal and terrorist attack.

Items such as doors and windows can already be tested to LPS 1175 to provide secure products for properties, but the introduction of a specific LPS 1270 glass means that ESG can provide an approved panel for any LPS 1175 compliant product without compromising its approval status. This new glass is also lighter, thinner, and therefore easier to handle and install than other comparable products, which are currently only available from outside the UK.

ESG has also launched ESG Pyrotech™ Secure LPS 1270 fire resistant safety glass, to combine fire resistance with serious crime prevention properties in a single product. These two versions of LPS 1270 approved products join ESG’s Secure range, which also includes glass which is tested to the BS EN356 security standard for resistance to manual attack. This is the only glass of its kind to be approved by Secured by Design, the initiative from ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) for the protection that it affords against burglary and vandalism.

LPS 1270 involves vigorous testing in three stages, designed to simulate three possible types of attack against the glazed areas of a property. The process also tests resistance against a wide range of tools, all of which could be used in burglaries, serious crimes against property, or acts of terrorism.

The introduction of a new test, the LPS 1270 standard for glass, means that the door manufacturer now has choice, and can use an ESG Secure LPS 1270 glass panel in any LPS 1175 approved product without any further need for testing.

Each product in ESG’s Secure LPS 1270 glass range is tested and rated against the three scenarios. The first is resistance to the creation of a small hole through which a wire or screwdriver might be pushed, in order to operate a release bar, or lift a catch to unlock a door or window. The second scenario assesses resistance to making a hole large enough for a criminal to get their hand through in order to slide back a bolt, undo a lock or turn a handle in order to gain access to the property. The final stage of testing is resistance to a major breach of the glass panel, large enough for the would-be intruder to pass through bodily, entering the premises through the panel itself.

Testing in all three scenarios is carried out using a series of tools which could be used to effect entry in order to perpetrate a crime or an act of terrorism, ranging from a simple screwdriver up to oxyacetylene cutting equipment, pneumatic impact tools, concrete chainsaws and high powered diamond drills. The duration of the tests range from ten minutes up to a full hour, even allowing for short rest breaks, and the ratings themselves range from levels 1 to 8; 1 being the least and 8 the most resistant. Every ESG Secure LPS 1270 glass product therefore has a three digit score between 1 and 8; the first for the small hole test, the second for the hand hole test, and the third for the whole body test.

Suitable for most commercial contexts, ESG Secure LPS 1270 glass products are tested and approved to a high security level of up to level 4, which indicates good resistance to tools leading up to and including disc grinders, fire axes, hooligan bars, sledgehammers, circular and reciprocating saws and 18 volt drills, plus anything leading up to these.

As the first approved glass products of their kind manufactured in the UK, ESG Secure LPS 1270 will make life easier for door and window manufacturers, who will now be able to buy high security glass from a home grown source.