Screen Products That Help Reduce Fire Risk At Your Doors And Windows
During a wildfire or exterior fire event, doors and windows can be vulnerable points in a home. Standard screen materials are often flammable, and many window frame materials can warp, melt, or burn under sustained heat, and typical window glass can crack and break under high heat stress, opening a path for flames and embers.
Advanced Screen Systems products are built differently, and that difference matters when fire is nearby.
How Fires Spread Through Doors and Windows
Two primary risks exist at doors and windows during a fire event: ember intrusion and convective/radiant heat. Embers that pass through a screen can land on curtains, carpeting, or furniture and ignite a fire inside the home. Intensive heat can cause conventional frame materials and glass to fail, removing the barrier entirely.
Advanced Screen Systems products are designed to address both ember resistance and heat attenuation.
Our screens are built with Genuine MESHTEC™ high-tensile woven stainless steel mesh retained in an aluminum frame. Aluminum doesn't melt or deform at the temperatures generated by most wild fires, meaning our products will stay structurally intact under heat exposure and provide protection over window and door openings.
The 1/16 inch tight weave of Genuine MESHTEC™ Mesh limits the passage of burning embers through the screen to prevent ignition. No screen product can eliminate fire risk entirely, but the combination of non-flammable mesh and tight weave offers superior ember resistance compared to standard insect screens.
Genuine MESHTEC™ Mesh has also been tested and proven to attenuate radiant heat passing through the screen. This serves to protect the opening. lowering the likelihood of door and window failure during a fire event.
Laboratory Testing
In independent testing, our screens were evaluated using the ember-intrusion test method described in ASTM E2886 and shown to block burning embers, preventing ignition. Testing also indicated they reduce radiant heat by more than 40%.
California Chapter 7A
Our mesh meets the material requirements outlined in California’s Chapter 7A, the state’s building standard for construction in wildfire-prone Wildland-Urban Interface areas.
National Research Council Canada
Our aluminum-frame screens utilize a noncombustible, corrosion-resistant metal mesh with a 1/16 inch aperture that helps keep wind-driven embers from entering through doors and windows. They are designed to meet the screen material requirements in the National Research Council Canada’s National Guide for Wildland-Urban Interface Fires.
Australian Fire Standards
In Australia, Genuine MESHTEC™ Mesh has undergone testing per AS 1530.4 and 1530.8 to meet some of the most stringent building requirements defined in AS 3959, Construction of Buildings in Brushfire-Prone Areas.
Laboratory testing there has shown Genuine MESHTEC™ Mesh deflects, disperses, and reduces radiant heat, and helps prevent flaming embers and debris from entering through compromised doors and windows.
The Pre-Hung Add-On Entry Door System includes three products: the Security Screen Door, the Pet Resistant Screen Door, and the Storm Door.
All three are sized for OEM pre-hung entry door systems, attach into the entry door jamb at the door shop, and follow standard installation procedures at the job site. All are built on the 1Build System.
The Sliding Patio Security Screen Door and Pet Resistant Sliding Patio Screen Door mount and slide in the existing patio screen door track. One delivers security, and the other pet resistance – both provide the fire protection, ventilation, insect barrier, and other benefits that come with MESHTEC™ construction.
Both can be installed at the factory or the job site, and both are built on the 1 Build System.
The Egress Window Screen is a security and fall protection screen for residential windows. It's designed to comply with ASTM F2090 for fall protection and meets the AAMA 1901-25 standard for security screen performance.
And like every 1Build product, it carries fire protection benefits as well.
A Relevant Benefit In A Growing Market
Wildfire risk is a significant and growing concern for homeowners across much of the United States, particularly in the West and Southeast. For OEM manufacturers serving these markets, a screen system designed to limit ember intrusion and attenuate heat is a useful product differentiator.
This benefit is available across our entry door, sliding patio door, and window screen products, all built with Genuine MESHTEC™ Mesh.
Want To Learn More?
Talk to an expert about adding fire-protection screen solutions to your product line.