For Fire Officials

All insulations must meet Class A fire standards, but within that standard there's room for wide variation in real world performance.

Fiberglass is a Class A rated insulation, but at temperatures above 1000 degrees Fahrenheit it melts, which can expose the framing and sheathing beneath it and may allow a fire to spread rapidly.

Foam insulations must be covered with a 15-minute fire resistant material. If that barrier is breached, foam insulations represent a potential hazard to both occupants and firefighting personnel. Sprayed foam insulations, exposed to flame, produce large volumes of toxic smoke.

Among all the insulation products in common use, only cellulose offers an ASTM E 84 Smoke Developed Index between 0 and 5. Exposed to fire, cellulose produces negligible amounts of smoke, a major contributor to the potential for loss of life in a structural fire. In addition, cellulose requires no flammable paper or plastic vapor retarders.

How cellulose performs in a fire

When exposed to fire, the surface of a cellulose insulated cavity immediately chars, effectively protecting what is beneath it. Cellulose is so effective, it actually performs as an ICC approved fireblock material.

In a perfect world, there would be no structural fires. In the world we live in, cellulose insulation is the insulation of choice to enhance fire protection.