FSA FIRECOAT has been awarded the winner of this year’s Shaping Australia Awards. Taking out first place under the the ‘Problem Solver’ category it has been recognised for its potential for changing the lives of Australians for the better.
Increasingly, Australia's vulnerability to extreme weather conditions, and the frequency of major bushfires, are creating more serious risks to homes in bushfire prone areas.
“FSA FIRECOAT protects people, structures and the environment from fire and other threats, and has received global certifications for safety and fire-retardancy,” said Tony Overstead from Flame Security International.
The University of New South Wales’ Professor Guan Yeoh and his team have developed the suite of innovative fire protection products with Flame Security International, which will better safeguard homes and effectively minimise exposure to fire threats.
Professor Yeoh is world renowned in the field of fire safety and his innovations are helping to keep people and property safe.
“The paint was developed and commercialised with our industry partner Flame Security International and was partly funded via a $3 million Cooperative Research Centres Project grant from the Australian Government. It passed stringent Australian standards testing and it is proven to provide increased protection against bushfires in areas prone to extreme fire conditions,” said Professor Yeoh.
That funding has been put to great use. It recruited a number of UNSW professors (including specialist Prof. Guan Yeoh) and a PhD team of researchers to develop products from scratch, including more to come.
“This will make a significant difference not only to the cost of building in affected areas, but also the potential risks to life and property. The paint can be applied as an undercoat to most external and internal surfaces, including brick, existing render, timber, aluminium, steel, concrete and plasterboard. It will last indefinitely as long as the protective layer of paint is maintained. It won’t irritate eyes or skin on contact,” said Tony.
In October 2023 Bunnings commenced sales of the first wave of FSI’s highly certified paints, one of which is the first ever to achieve a BAL-40 rating, the highest rating any fire retardant paint has achieved in the world.
FSI is about to expand to The United States of America. It will become a tenant at the Berkeley Space Centre (spacecenter.berkeley.edu), a 36-acre innovation centre currently being developed at NASA in Silicon Valley. A major feature of the Space Centre includes the world-first integrated environmental testing, measurement, and certification Reliance Chamber for the most destructive disasters increasingly confronting California, Australia, and the world. The chamber will have the capacity to evaluate technology and its capacity for resistance to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and fire.
This strategic partnership signifies a shared vision between FSI and the Disaster Lab, emphasizing the critical importance of advancing fire material testing methodologies and best practices for creating and maintaining defensible spaces. By focusing on these areas, the collaboration aims to significantly contribute to the global effort in enhancing community safety, property protection, and environmental conservation in the face of escalating wildfire risks.
