Cape Town, South Africa – In a significant leap forward for structural fire safety in Africa, Ignis Fire Testing has officially unveiled its custom-built, large-scale horizontal furnace – designed specifically to support load-bearing fire testing on full-size structural elements under real-world conditions.
As the only known facility on the continent offering this critical type of fire testing, Ignis Fire Testing is leading the way in ensuring that materials used in buildings can not only withstand fire, but also carry structural loads during a fire event.
“This is a first for South Africa, and a big win for fire safety in our built environment,” says Dirk Streicher, owner and chief engineer at Ignis Fire Testing.
Why Load-Bearing Fire Tests Matter
Load-bearing fire tests are essential for generating the technical data needed to support safer structural designs, ensure compliance with local and international fire safety codes, enhance market confidence in materials and assemblies, and – most importantly – minimise the risk of structural failure and loss of life.
This type of fire resistance testing evaluates whether walls, floors, and beams can remain structurally stable while carrying weight and exposed to fire. Unlike standard fire tests, they simulate real-world scenarios in which components that hold up parts of a building are exposed to fire and must maintain integrity long enough to allow safe evacuation and firefighting efforts. The collapse of a load-bearing wall or floor can significantly impact safety, particularly in multi-story structures. As South African cities boast increasingly higher buildings, the role of load-bearing fire testing becomes more vital.
Professor Richard Walls of Stellenbosch University’s Fire Engineering Research Unit explains, “During a fire, a loaded structural element distorts, meaning that building components can literally fall apart due to the combination of heat and force. Hence, testing walls and other systems under load helps us understand what would happen in a more realistic situation. Thus, loaded furnace tests give a more accurate assessment of a building’s components.”
Ignis Fire Testing’s Advanced Testing Capabilities
Ignis conducts both static and pneumatic load-bearing tests in vertical and horizontal orientations. Pneumatic loading, using compressed air to simulate variable real-life pressures, allows for more controlled and flexible testing conditions.
The newly completed modular horizontal furnace, featuring a stainless steel exterior and ceramic wool interior insulation, measures 4 m in width and has an adjustable length of 3 to 5 m. Its integrated load-bearing system can support full-scale testing of beams, slabs, and other horizontal structural elements under applied loads. As with all Ignis’s furnaces and software systems, this furnace was designed and built in-house.
Apart from load-bearing tests, Ignis performs a wide variety of other fire resistance and a suite of reaction-to-fire tests. It is the largest privately-owned fire testing laboratory in Africa.
Ignis Fire Testing’s pioneering capabilities are a testament to its skilled multidisciplinary engineering and technical team – and a clear demonstration that Africa can hold its own in the global fire engineering arena.
