HOMES built using oriented strand board (OSB), which is made of wood pieces compressed together then glued, burn 800 per cent faster than homes built with real timber.
As part of a UL experiment, Jacksonville Florida firefighters set a controlled fire under 2 solid wood beams and 2 OSB beams. Although charred, the solid wood beams remained intact throughout the test.
However, the OSB beams collapsed after just three and a half minutes because the fire had melted the glue holding the compressed wood pieces together.
It’s a strong argument that owners of new homes built using low cost OSB as part of their internal structures, should install multiple hard wired smoke sensors linked to the 24-hour zones of professionally monitored alarm systems.
Each year, more than 50 people die in house fires across Australia.♦
