Some 40 years ago the first truly extensive green roofs were built in Germany. Since then, green roofs have become a common addition to buildings. At the same time, this development has led to a more critical approach to fire safety. Related requirements are becoming increasingly strict, and will continue to evolve as green roof designs develop.

Green roofs should be designed to provide the necessary fire resistance
The first green roof performance tests, including fire tests, were performed and analysed in the 1990s. It’s pretty safe to say that fire safety regulations differ, sometimes significantly, from country to country. So in order to gain a larger global perspective we need to review the way fire safety is treated and talked about on major green roof markets.

After reviewing many cases over the past few years, we can say that generally green roofs should be designed to provide the necessary resistance to the spread of fire by considering 4 primary measures: