Concrete is made up of limestone, clay, gypsum, and aggregate. All of these are non-combustible materials, making concrete fire-resistant. We often see the chimney – made from similar materials like concrete – as the last part standing after a house fire.
Concrete’s slow rate of heat transfer – how quickly heat can travel through a material – makes concrete an ideal material to protect structures and people from fire.
Concrete walls can handle up to four hours of extreme fire before it starts to break down. What this means is if a fire does happen, you will have a lot less cleanup and a lot less to replace. Most of the time, the concrete can even be reused after it survives a fire.
Because concrete is so chemically inert, it doesn’t emit toxic smoke or dangerous byproducts when burned. Those secondary environmental concerns are nonexistent when using concrete.
