Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Testing and standards
ASTM E119 is the American standard test method for fire tests of building construction and materials, the furnace test that gives a wall, floor, column or beam assembly its hourly fire resistance rating. A full size assembly is built into a furnace, heated on one side along a defined time temperature curve and assessed on structural adequacy, on integrity and on the temperature rise of the unexposed face. It is the US counterpart of AS 1530.4 in Australia and EN 1363 in Europe.
ASTM E119 tests assemblies, never materials. There is no such thing as an E119 rating for a cladding panel on its own; the rating belongs to the wall it was built into, including the studs, the sheathing, the insulation and the fixings.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ASTM E119 Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials | UL 263 and NFPA 251 are equivalent |
| Ratings | Expressed in hours, typically 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours | Single figure, unlike the three part Australian FRL |
| Curve at 5 minutes | 538 °C (1,000 °F) | |
| Curve at 30 minutes | 843 °C (1,550 °F) | |
| Curve at 1 hour | 927 °C (1,700 °F) | |
| Curve at 4 hours | 1,093 °C (2,000 °F) | |
| Insulation criterion | Average unexposed face rise 139 °C (250 °F); any single point 181 °C (325 °F) | Above the initial temperature |
| Integrity criterion | No passage of flame or gases hot enough to ignite cotton waste | |
| Hose stream test | Duplicate or the same specimen subjected to a standard hose stream | Required for wall and partition ratings |
| Code reference | IBC Chapter 7 and Table 601 | Required ratings set by type of construction |
The test and its criteria
A representative assembly, typically at least 9.3 m² for a wall and 16.7 m² for a floor, is built as it would be in the building and installed as one face of a gas fired furnace. Loadbearing assemblies carry their design load throughout. The furnace is controlled to follow the standard time temperature curve, which rises steeply for the first few minutes and then climbs more slowly, reaching 538 °C at five minutes, 843 °C at thirty minutes, 927 °C at one hour and 1,093 °C at four hours.
Three conditions of acceptance run concurrently. Structural adequacy requires a loadbearing assembly to continue to carry its load without collapse. Integrity requires that no flame or gas hot enough to ignite a cotton waste pad passes through the assembly. Insulation requires that the average temperature rise on the unexposed face stays below 139 °C above the starting temperature, with no single thermocouple exceeding 181 °C. The rating is the time at which the first of these is breached, rounded down to the standard rating period reached.
Walls and partitions also face the hose stream test, in which a duplicate specimen, or the tested specimen after a reduced duration exposure, is subjected to a standard fire hose stream at a specified pressure and distance. It tests whether the assembly retains enough integrity to survive fire fighting operations and thermal shock, and it is a common cause of failure for assemblies that performed acceptably in the furnace.
How E119 ratings differ from an Australian FRL
An Australian fire resistance level is written as three numbers in minutes, for structural adequacy, integrity and insulation in that order, so a wall might be 90/90/90 or 120/60/30. An ASTM E119 rating is a single figure in hours, and the assembly must have satisfied all applicable criteria for that period. The two systems express the same underlying physics but report it differently, and there is no arithmetic conversion.
The heating curves also differ slightly. AS 1530.4 and EN 1363-1 follow the ISO 834 curve; ASTM E119 follows its own, which is marginally hotter in the early minutes and slightly cooler later. For most assemblies the practical difference is small, but it is enough that regulators do not accept one in place of the other.
Listings and how the rating is used
Tested assemblies are published as listings with design numbers, most familiarly in the UL Fire Resistance Directory, and the design sets out every component: stud spacing and gauge, board type and thickness, screw pattern, insulation, joint treatment and the maximum load. Compliance on site means building the listed design, not something similar to it. Substituting a component, even one that appears equivalent, voids the listing unless an engineering judgement from a recognised source covers the change.
The IBC sets required ratings by type of construction in Table 601 and by fire separation distance in Table 705.5 and the related exterior wall provisions. Type I and Type II construction demand the highest ratings, and the same types also restrict the use of combustible materials, which is where fire resistance and combustibility meet in a single external wall assessment.
What this means for a facade panel
A GRC or FRP rainscreen panel hanging outboard of a rated wall is usually not part of the rating. The rating is achieved by the backing wall, and the panel is assessed on combustibility and, where the wall is on a taller building of Type I to IV construction, on the NFPA 285 performance of the whole exterior wall assembly. Where a panel is claimed to contribute to a rating, the evidence required is a tested assembly, not a material report.
ShapeShift’s published fire evidence is reaction to fire and combustibility evidence rather than fire resistance evidence. ShapeShell-RC carries an AS/NZS 1530.1 result of Not Deemed Combustible from Ignis Labs. ShapeShell-RT, a fibre reinforced polymer system and therefore never non-combustible, holds an AS 5637 Group 1 classification from AWTA Product Testing, passed the full-scale BS 8414 and AS 5113 facade test at BRE Global, and is classified B-s2,d0 under EN 13501-1 by Intertek Testing Services.
Standards and references
- ASTM E119 Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials
- UL 263 and NFPA 251, equivalent test methods
- IBC Chapter 7 Fire and Smoke Protection Features; Table 601 fire resistance rating requirements
- AS 1530.4 Fire resistance tests for elements of construction; EN 1363-1 and EN 13501-2
- ASTM E136 for non-combustibility; NFPA 285 for exterior wall assemblies
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
What does a 2 hour ASTM E119 rating mean?
That the assembly, built as tested, satisfied the structural adequacy, integrity and insulation criteria for at least two hours of exposure to the standard time temperature curve, and passed the hose stream test where required.
Is ASTM E119 the same as AS 1530.4?
They answer the same question but are not interchangeable. AS 1530.4 follows the ISO 834 curve and reports a three part fire resistance level in minutes; E119 follows its own curve and reports a single figure in hours.
Can a cladding panel have an E119 rating?
No. E119 rates assemblies. A panel can be a component of a tested assembly, but the rating belongs to the whole wall as built and listed.
What is the hose stream test for?
It checks that a wall or partition retains integrity under the thermal shock and mechanical force of fire fighting. It is required for wall and partition ratings and assemblies do fail on it.
Does a fire resistance rating mean the materials are non-combustible?
No. Combustibility is a separate question decided by ASTM E136 in the United States and AS 1530.1 in Australia. A rated assembly may contain combustible components.
Need the fire evidence for a facade package across Australian, UK and European codes? ShapeShift publishes each result with its standard and testing body. See ShapeShell fire test data
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.