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Flammability –
Contract Furniture
Tristine HargreavesStandards & Regulatory Manager
Flammability
• Domestic flammability requires compliance with the
Furniture & Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988
(as amended)
• Cover materials
• Filling materials
Flammability
• Contract flammability requires compliance with BS7176
• Composite test of cover materials + fillings together
• Note! Fillings must still meet the requirements as
described in the Annex (same requirements as Furniture &
Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as
amended)
BS 7176
• Low Hazard – cigarette and match only
• Medium Hazard – cigarette, match + crib 5
• High Hazard – cigarette, match + crib 7
• Examples of hazard categories are given in the standard,
however, these are a guideline and other factors may need
to be taken into consideration, such as;
• Are the premises also used for sleeping, fire escape etc...
Specifying Contract Furniture
A simple statement such as ‘The furniture shall comply with BS 7176:
2007 for Medium Hazard’ is a full and precise definition of requirements. It
is advantageous in that it not only sets ignition resistance levels but also
requires the use of Schedule 1 Part 1 of the FFFSR (combustion modified
foam) and clarifies the need for the durability of any flame retardant
treatments.
This statement also requires re-testing the product at a set frequency during
production. This would be extremely difficult for a purchaser or Responsible
Person to police, hence a level of trust is needed between the specifier and
supplier.
Specifying Contract Furniture
It also requires the furniture to be visibly labelled which may not be possible
in an acceptable manner with some styles of furniture, especially those
built-in items (which cannot be reversed to view a label on the underside).
These issues should be addressed with the selected supplier during the
tendering process.
Test houses are unlikely to be able to issue a test certificate stating full
compliance to BS 7176 or BS 7177,due to the difficulties in policing the
labelling and re-test requirements. Instead, any certificate usually makes a
statement such as
‘this item complies with the ignition resistance requirements of BS
7176 Medium Hazard’.
Any questions?