On March 15th, it was revealed that there's a black market for fake fireproof glass.
According to the mandatory national standard "Architectural Design Fire Protection Code," for buildings taller than 54 meters, each unit should have windows with fire resistance integrity of not less than 1 hour.
If substandard fireproof glass is installed, the consequences of a fire in high-rise buildings could be unimaginable.
At the end of December 2023, journalists received reports from the public: in certain markets in Tianjin and Hebei, some companies were selling fireproof glass of questionable quality.
During the 315 Evening Gala, journalists visited a professional fireproof glass manufacturing company in Tianjin. However, on the production line, the journalists didn't observe any processes such as spraying fireproof liquid or drying the glass.
Despite repeated questioning from the journalists, a worker revealed that the fireproof glass produced in the factory was actually just ordinary tempered glass without any fireproof treatment. "If someone wants fake fireproof glass, we just stamp the label on," he said.
Not only in Tianjin, but also in a location in Hebei, companies producing fireproof glass were found to be engaging in similar fraudulent activities. Some staff even claimed they could provide clients with corresponding qualified inspection reports. "My test report says (fire resistance) one and a half hours, but in reality, my glass can only withstand (fire) for half an hour."
Insiders revealed that glass companies manage to pass off expensive qualified fireproof glass as their own products for inspection, deceive inspectors with fraudulent reports, and then openly sell counterfeit and inferior products.
What's the actual difference in fire resistance between counterfeit and genuine fireproof glass? Staff at the National Consumer Inspection Center discovered that samples of fireproof glass produced by fraudulent companies deformed and cracked in less than 4 minutes under high temperatures.
