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Leigh Hill, Director, Built Environment Europe at Warringtonfire discusses the new $30m Fire Resistance Testing Laboratory which opens January 2025

With construction finished and handover now complete, Warringtonfire’s flagship fire resistance testing facility is entering the penultimate testing phase.

In this Q&A, Leigh Hill, Director, Built Environment Europe, Warringtonfire, answers some questions about what people can expect from the state-of-the-art laboratory once it opens in January 2025.

Leigh, can you give us an overview of the timeline that has led up to this point?

It is exciting to be at the stage where our new large-scale Warringtonfire laboratory is less than two months away from opening.

It’s taken a long time and huge amounts of work to get to this point.

However, I’m delighted to share that our $30m fire resistance testing laboratory is all set to officially open in January 2025.

Now that construction has finished, the team will be focusing on UKAS validation and accreditation for its five furnaces and operations.

We recently passed a pivotal milestone when the first official trials of two of our large-scale furnaces were carried out.

This represents the culmination of years of planning and hard work by the team.

The testing process is expected to be completed by the end of November and will ensure that the laboratory is ready to accept test specimens when it opens its doors.

And what’s happening with Warringtonfire’s previous laboratory?

While the new Birchwood site is completed, Warringtonfire’s resistance testing team will gradually transition from the Holmesfield Road laboratory as they prepare for opening.

As part of the expansion, 50 new jobs have already been filled, including all maintenance engineer, technical officer, and technical assistant positions.

The plan is for our technical and certification teams, currently based at a third site, to move into the new facility in the first week of December.

This change brings a wealth of benefits to our clients and colleagues, who will now be physically together to support and deliver the entire end-to-end process under one roof – from initial enquiry, testing, and technical evaluation, all the way through to certification decision.

This gives us the ability to service customers to a higher standard with the latest technology and collaborative processes, whilst developing multidisciplinary teams with expertise across the whole testing and certification process.

How does the capacity at the Birchwood laboratory compare to the Holmesfield Road site?

As we all work towards better building safety, the importance of fire testing continues to grow and with that comes greater demand.

That’s why the new Birchwood Park laboratory has been designed to double the capacity of the Holmesfield Road site and triple it in due course.

We’ve had an incredible amount of interest so far in testing at the new site, with clients already securing their bookings with us.

Testing slots are filling up quickly. We’re thrilled with the positive response and are looking forward to welcoming everyone soon.

What are some of the standout features the new laboratory has to offer?

We’re thrilled that the laboratory, in partnership with Tilbury Douglas, was recognised with a Bronze Award and a perfect score of 45 out of 45 under the Considerate Constructors Scheme during its construction earlier this year.

This scheme celebrates the efforts of construction sites, organisations and suppliers who commit to raising both environmental and community social value standards.

From the initial conception of the project, we have also aspired to incorporate sustainable principles at every stage, from the energy-efficiency and air quality measures integrated into the build, to the company’s continuing commitment to sustainable operations.

Equipment such as new abatement systems which clean the smoke to ensure that fumes from the fire testing process have negligible environmental impact have aided in this.

The laboratory is also prepared to utilise a blend of clean hydrogen and natural gas as soon as the local infrastructure supports it.

While the new laboratory will be at the forefront of sustainable fire resistance testing due to these measures, client confidentiality is also a core priority in our processes.

The facility features seven confidential spray booths, each with its own temperature-controlled environment, as well as custom-made steel screens that can be attached to test preparation bays to protect intellectual property.

Dedicated client viewing areas and strict workflows are also in place to safeguard sensitive information and ensure privacy.

Ahead of the launch, we are trialling full blank screens in front of the furnaces as an additional confidentiality measure during the test process.

Have you received any early feedback from your colleagues or customers on how the new site is shaping up?

From a team perspective, colleagues have spoken about the ways this new site could speed up responses and resolutions to queries and the potential for new career pathways across the business.

We have already received extremely positive feedback from client visits so far, all of which have recognised the scale of the operation and the improved facilities for installation, welfare, and testing.

The return to a single site with the technical team nearby was also well-received.

On 14 and 15 October, UKAS attended the site to witness a timber door test on the vertical furnace.

The assessor’s feedback was positive, and they were very impressed with the laboratory and the scale of the fire resistance testing that will be completed at Birchwood Park.

Thanks Leigh, finally can you share what you’re most excited about ahead of the new facility opening?

While a lot is changing for the better, plenty also remains the same.

This includes our priority, which is to deliver a safe, healthy workplace that protects our environment.

Fire resistance testing facilities are often expected to be dim, dusty, smoky places but we’re committed to showing that this is not the case.

Instead, our facility offers a clean, state-of-the-art facility for our customers and employees.

I’m particularly looking forward to making our clients and colleagues feel at home at Birchwood Park.

Not only do we want the site to serve as a testing facility, but we also want it to become a versatile environment where meetings can be held, and our team can thrive.

Once open, the Birchwood Park laboratory will be renowned as a world-leading fire resistance testing facility and set a high benchmark for other facilities to follow.

For more about Warringtonfire and its new Birchwood Park laboratory, or to book for 2025, please visit https://www.warringtonfire.com/about-warringtonfire/warrington-site-relocation-and-expansion

If you are unsure of bookings already scheduled for 2025 or have a question regarding booking for 2025, please contact your account manager.

If you are unsure of who your account manager is, please contact Matthew Ruff (matthew.ruff@element.com) who will be able to assist.