Fire Resistant Roof Glazing Design

A large, mostly transparent roof had to be built over the bus station at Amsterdam Central station (Figs. 1 and 2). Due to several tunnel disasters, the fire brigade required that if two buses with full fuel tanks were to ignite simultaneously, no glass should fall into the area below during the first 30 minutes of the ensuing fire. This new requirement had to be met without a significant increase in cost and a special glass system had to be developed. Following a theoretical study of glass subjected to fire, specific design criteria were established. Fire tests then demonstrated the ability of the design method of glass to meet the requirements without a significant increase in cost.