Fire test requirements

IBC Fire Test Requirements for Interior Wall and Ceiling Finish Materials... 

Fire test requirements for the acceptability of automotive interior materials should be changed so that materials with improved fire performance are used in future. Since the fire performance of typical car interior materials seems to be poorer than that of conventional plastic materials that can be found commercially in the market place, then improvements in automotive materials lire performance should be easily achievable. This can result fi om either using intrinsically safer plastic materials or from adding flame retardants to existing materials. 

Note that this index only produces a relative number. Two products with widely different values of the index might be equally safe if, in fact, neither impedes escape. Conversely, two products with apparently similar values may produce different hazard levels if both products are close to the margin of safety. Thus, the scale for any index must be "calibrated", and it may well be different for each building or type of occupant. Generally, this will require a more complete hazard analysis and/or full-scale fire tests. Protocols for doing this are currently under consideration. 

The different fire safety requirements within the Member States of the Community certainly present an obstacle to this objective, because a manufacturer who wants to market his product all over Europe, at present, has to perform a lot of different fire tests,... 

National Tests. It is clearly possible to remove the technical barrier to trade represented by different national fire test procedures, by providing a facility for a manufacturer to conduct the relevant tests once and within his home country, with a guarantee of acceptability of the results by all Member States. This requires laboratories to equip themselves with all the necessary equipment and for an extensive interlaboratory collaboration and calibration procedure to be introduced, which would ensure mutual acceptance of test results. 

Translation of National Test Data. A less cumbersome solution could be found if there was the possibility of satisfying a regulatory requirement of one Member State by test results obtained from a fire test procedure of another Member State. 

Materials passing these tests will not be required to be subjected to any other reaction to fire test. 

Cigarette resistance to BS 5852 Part 1 is required by the primary upholstery composites of the actual furniture and mattress. This is consistent with all previous UK regulations and specifications which required that fire tests should be carried out on the actual upholstery composite. 

Because of the lack of suitable standard rate of heat, smoke and toxic gas generation tests, the 1988 UK regulations are based on ignition resistance of individual materials. This contradicts the basic requirements for the fire testing of composites and of hazard related tests and as such it may be possible to develop materials which meet the requirements but which produce hazardous products. 

The actuator and power supply for any depressuring valve with a double action or an energize to open actuator that may be exposed to fire should be fireproofed for a minimum of 15 minutes, per the UL 1 709 high rise fire test. Fireproofing of the actuator and power supply is not required with the fail-open design. 

Where large cable trays feed into the control building or I/O room, these openings or wall penetrations should be sealed against fire and smoke. Penetration seals should be provided that are or should meet the appropriate test requirements of ASTM E 814, Standard Method of Fire Tests of Through-Penetration Fire Stops or other test methods, such as IEEE 634, Testing of Fire Rated Penetration Seals. 

New fire water pump installations require acceptance testing as defined in NEPA 20. This section highlights some of the important tests required. 

All actions required of the controller must be function tested. The test requires startingthe fire water pump six times automatically and six times manually. Following each start, the pump must be run at rated speed for at least 5 minutes. 

Establish inspections/tests required and frequencies for each type of fire protection equipment. 

Water-Based Fire Protection Systems Inspection and Testing Requirements... 

SwRI 93-01, Testing Requirements for Protected Aboveground Flammable Liquid/Fuel Storage Tanks, includes tests to evaluate the performance of ASTs under fire, hose stream, ballistics, heavy vehicular impact, and different environments. This standard requires pool-fire resistance similar to that of UL 2085. 

An insulated tank can be a protected tank, built to third-party standards UL 2085 and/or SwRl 93-01, or a fire-resistant tank built to UL 2080 or SwRI 97-04. Protected tanks were developed in line with NFPA requirements and terminology, while fire-resistant ASTs were developed in line with Uniform Fire Code (now International Fire Code) requirements and terminology. Both protected tanks and fire-resistant tanks must pass a 1093°C (2000°F), 2-h fire test. 

Jump Firing Test. In tabulating the elevations azimuths required to obtain a given range and deflection of a gun, account is taken of the fact that usually the direction of the target to the trajectory at the origin differs from that of the axis of the bore of the gun before it is fired. This difference in direction is called jump. The jump may be in any direction, but as a matter of convenience it is described by two coordinates, vertical horizontal The jump firing test is described in US Ordnance Proof Manual 40-11 (1942)... 

Because CPATs aren t the same at every department, it s important to find out in advance what is involved in the test you will be taking. One thing you should know is whether you will have to perform the test in heavy gear, such as boots, gloves, helmet, turnout coat, and SCBA. Not all fire departments require the gear, but if they do, it s best to practice for the test wearing clothing that is similarly heavy and restrictive. 

There are no ISO, ASTM or British fire test method standards specifically for solid mbbers and there is no active fire test work being pursued in TC 45. There are, however, a number of published international test methods for cellular materials and plastics, the majority of which could be applied to rubbers. A comprehensive account of fire testing of plastics has been given by Paul in the Handbook of Polymer Testing81. There may be fire resistance requirements for particular rubber products and some examples were given by Schultz110. 

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