How we’re blazing the trail in fire safety

At Thurston Group, we place safety and sustainability at the forefront of our operations. As market leaders in modular construction, we understand how to stay ahead when it comes to complying with new regulations.

That’s why we’re proud to be setting the industry standard for fire safety and sustainability certifications. Thurston has made a £250,000 investment to achieve early compliance with upcoming changes to construction site legislation in January 2025 and also become the first manufacturer to achieve EPC A rating, while maintaining the highest fire safety standards.

Tough new requirements are being rolled out in January 2025 by the Fire Protection Association’s Joint Code of Practice (JCoP) to reduce the risk of fire on construction sites, specifically regarding the provision of temporary buildings, hired or purchased.

The JCoP is written by the Fire Protection Association and is considered the benchmark for fire safety guidance on construction projects and best practice guide for fire prevention on construction sites.

The legislation changes in the JCoP 10^th edition outline the requirements for any new site setup. These include:

We have invested significantly in product development and testing to ensure our units comply with the guidance and requirements, which come into effect on 1^st January next year.

Our testing process is intensive; we test each element of our units both separately and as a complied final piece (unlike the wider industry, which only tests individual elements). This ensures we can provide customers with clear evidence of the testing results and our units as a whole being fireproof, providing peace of mind.

Our Temporary Accommodation Units have all been tested and have surpassed JCoP requirements. This achievement in not only surpassing JCoP requirements but also attaining an EPC A rating highlights our dedication to providing the safest and most energy-efficient temporary accommodation solutions for the construction industry.

Our managing director, Matt Goff, emphasised Thurston’s commitment to safety, saying: “As the largest UK supplier of modular accommodation, shipping container homes and modular buildings used extensively by the construction industry, Thurston Group has been leading proactively on fire safety and prevention for many years. Our proactive fire testing programme has found that our temporary accommodation units not only meet but surpass, the requirements of the new fire safety regulations almost a year ahead of schedule.”

“We are proud to see the modular industry once again lead in redefining safety standards. Thurston Group is delighted to be at the forefront of this critical area.”

Our commitment extends beyond current regulations, with our in-house design teams actively developing new products with even greater fire performance capabilities. We’re proud of our ability to provide customers with clear evidence of rigorous testing and believe other suppliers should be following suit.

To find out more about our dedication to fire safety, speak to us today.