Draka has launched a new generation of OHLS – Zero Halogen Low Smoke – cable that, it claims, sets a new and higher level of fire safety performance. Draka’s new Saffire cable complements the company’s award-winning Firetuf range of performance cables that today embraces low voltage (cables up to 1kV) building wires and power cables that are available throughout the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.
This latest Draka development will, the company says, enable consultants to specify cable that provides enhanced safety in line with the latest fire safety legislation, and greatly assist building control officers to easily identify that superior fire safety is being incorporated into the building. Saffire will also provide contractors with a new bench-mark brand for third-party approved fire safety cabling.
The launch of Saffire extends the safety benefits of OHLS cables to a much wider marketplace. OHLS cables do not emit halogen gases and burn without producing large amounts of dense smoke. By comparison, under fire conditions, the standard PVC cables used widely in the construction industry emit hydrogen chloride gas, which has a suffocating odour that is detectable in even very low concentrations.