Fire Protection!
Class A or Class A as a Unit!

Cabot Junior High School fire, Cabot, Arkansas
Fire protection is always a concern in interior products.  Let me first explain the way products are rated in fire tests.  In the standard tunnel test two things are measured; "flame spread" and "smoke developed".  Numbers are then given to the product according to these standard testing procedures.  For flame spread, Class A requires 25 or less while the smoke developed rating is 150 or less for some and 450 for others.

The fact is that fiberglass board, our closest competitor, is rated barely Class A in most tests at flame spread 25.  Every manufacturer I have ever researched uses a Class A cloth to cover their product and claims a Class A product when the fact is the cloth, fiberglass board, and glue that holds it all together burns like crazy as a unit.

In the past, when this type of product was the only choice, I can see how using it was necessary, but with the Patented Perdue Acoustics products having been on the market for several years now, with a flame spread 10 and smoke developed 95 as a unit, I do not know how long it will be before the use of such products could not be deemed down right negligent!  There is no one that detests frivolous law suits more than myself, but this, a real issue, can get to be a real problem real quick.  We have developed better products at Perdue Acoustics.  Acoustical products that have the highest NRCs, best compressive and tensile strengths, best fire ratings and do not cost more than our fiberglass counterparts.  There is a better choice ...Perdue Acoustics!
Other photos from a burned school with Perdue Acoustics' panels still on the walls:
Photos taken at Junior North Band room in Cabot Junior High School, Cabot, Arkansas after fire August 10, 2006.



Letter from Cabot Junior High School:
On August 10, 2006 my school district suffered the loss of one of our Junior High Schools. The building was a total loss including almost $200,000 worth of instruments, stands, chairs, music and all of the accessories that are included in making a band program work. Two days after the fire, I was allowed to walk thru the band room to see if anything survived. As I entered the rubble, one of the first things I noticed was the Perdue acoustic panels still hanging on the concrete block wall! It was a scary sight looking at the destruction that had taken place. The metal frames to our chairs were still in there rows, the main bow of the tubas (which were in their cases) could still be seen standing upright but nothing else was recognizable except the panels. I had been told the panels were fire resistant but this proved the point. As we continued into the main rehearsal room, all of the panels were still mounted to the wall except for a couple of places where the roof had fallen in and knocked them off the wall. The material that covers the panels was burned off, but the panels themselves were still in reasonably good shape. Thankfully, we have recovered from the fire due to a great administration and our insurance policy. We have already made plans for the new Junior High building and it includes a new set of Perdue acoustic panels to make the room sound the way it needs to sound.

On a side note, I was fortunate enough to help design a new HS band room two years ago. We moved in February 4, 2007. With the help of Perdue acoustics, we were able to purchase and hang panels in our main rehearsal room. The room sounds awesome! Several college band directors have been through our rehearsal facilities since we have moved in and all of them, along with many local band directors, have commented about the quality of the sound in the room. This is the 4th band room I have finished using Perdue acoustic panels. I can promise you, I'll never use anything else! Thanks for making a great product at a great price! But more than that, thanks for being so easy to work with! You guys are great!


Perdue Acoustics:  Honesty, Integrity, Innovation, & Value!