The Modern Building Alliance has released Beyond the Label: A Technical Fire Safety Review, a report examining seven of the most widely repeated claims about combustible insulation and testing each against current fire standards and incident investigations.

The report’s central argument: a material’s combustibility classification is one input into fire safety, not a verdict on it. Fire performance is an emergent property of the complete assembled system — insulation, protective layers, fixings, fire barriers, and installation — not of any single component considered in isolation.

Among the claims the report addresses: that a material’s Euroclass rating alone determines a building’s fire safety; that non-combustible insulation is inherently fire-resistant; that the Grenfell Tower fire proves combustible insulation alone drives catastrophic fire spread; and that flame retardants make plastic-based insulation inherently problematic. In each case, the report separates the accurate, narrow fact from the broader conclusion often attached to it, citing EN 13501-1/-2, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s published findings, and peer-reviewed fire research.

“Reaction to fire class of a material is one input into fire safety — not the verdict on it,” the report states.

Beyond the Label is intended for technical audiences working with fire performance, building envelopes, and construction-product regulation: fire engineers, specifiers, regulators, and industry bodies navigating an increasingly polarized public debate on insulation materials.

The Modern Building Alliance is inviting organisations working in these areas to get in touch to discuss membership or technical collaboration.

Read the full report: [link to “Beyond the Label” report/PDF]
Related page: [link to dedicated “Beyond the Label” page]