Since 1 July 2017, permanent installations of cables in construction are now subject to the European Construction Products Regulation (CPR). For more than a decade, Europacable (Brussels / Belgium; www.europacable.com), the European association of wire and cables manufacturers, has worked with the European Commission and member states towards the inclusion of power, control and communication cables into the CPR. This encompasses the fact that in the case of a fire, low fire-hazard cables can increase the level of safety for Europeans.

Cables and lines are categorised into standard "Euroclasses" with respect to fire performance. For projects across Europe, architects and those working in building construction can now select wires and cables according to the standardised Euroclasses. National standards and operators’ specifications that conflict with the CPR will have to be amended to adopt the Euroclasses, in order to assess the fire performance requirements for different construction applications.

"Now, politics is in demand. It is urgently necessary to clearly define which classes are allowed in which building applications, because there is great uncertainty among the planners and installers," commented Hans Koch, chairman of the German electrical and electronic manufacturers' association (ZVEI, Frankfurt / Germany; www.zvei.org). According to Koch, in buildings with high-safety requirements, such as airports or hospitals, safety is increased by using class B2ca high-quality fire protection cables. These cables produce less smoke and toxic gases in the event of a fire and could improve conditions for evacuees and rescue workers.