Fire has become an issue since a number of reports in magazines that insurances companies are not willing to insure buildings with green roofs. However, it should be noted that on the continent buildings with green roofs get a reduction in fire insurance as counter intuitively the green roof protects the building from fire.

If a green roof is installed along the guidelines outlined in the FLL [www.fll.de], the de facto international green roof guidelines then the building will be protected form fire.

The guidelines are very clear that all perimeters and up stands should have at least a 500mm shingle perimeter to act as a fire break and that on all large buildings shingle fire breaks should be designed into the green roof to stop the spread of fire. It is also noted that on roofs that are not to be irrigated that the green roofs should only include a small percentage of combustible material [generally 10%].

With over 35 million m² of green roofs in Germany without any instances of fire on roofs, fire is not an issue if green roofs are installed well.

Furthermore even though green roofs may develop into dry grasslands green roofs are seen on the continent as fire protection. In fact the original green roofs evolved from wet bitumen roofs that were covered with 6cm of sand to protect the roofs form fire. The sand eventually greened.

In Germany now you can get in the region of a 15% discount on your fire insurance if you have a green roof installed to the FLL guidelines, as the vegetation and soil is protecting highly inflammable waterproofing membranes from ignition.

Download GREEN ROOFS _ FIRE AND GERMAN GUIDELINES note as pdf