A fire test is a means of determining whether

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permission ...

or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and certification result in the issuance of a

certification listing A certification listing is a document used to guide installations of certified products, against which a field installation is compared to make sure that it complies with a regulation (e.g., a building code). Typically, products or items are requ ...

. Components and systems subject to certification fire testing include fire rated walls and floors, closures within them such as windows,

fire door A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating (sometimes referred to as a ''fire protection rating'' for closures) used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of ...

s, fire dampers,

structural steel Structural steel is a category of steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes, ...

, and fire stops. Fire tests are conducted both on

active fire protection Active fire protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection. AFP is characterized by items and/or systems, which require a certain amount of motion and response in order to work, contrary to passive fire protection. Categories of active fi ...

and on

passive fire protection Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor- ...

items. There are full-scale, small-scale and bench-scale tests. Fire testing considers all applicable provisions of the

product certification Product certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications ...

Examples of fire testing for products and systems

* ASTM E84 Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials, also known as the

Steiner tunnel test The Steiner tunnel test is a widely used method of testing building interior wall and ceiling finishes for their ability to support and propagate fire, and for their tendency to emit smoke. The test was developed in 1944 by Al Steiner of Underwriter ...

* ASTM E1354 Standard Test Method for Heat and Visible Smoke Release Rates for Materials and Products Using an Oxygen Consumption Calorimeter * ASTM D7309 Standard Test Method for Determining Flammability Characteristics of Plastics and Other Solid Materials Using Microscale Combustion Calorimetry * ASTM D2863 Standard Test Method for Measuring the Minimum Oxygen Concentration to Support Candle-Like Combustion of Plastics (Oxygen Index) * DIN 4102 Part 1 Fire behaviour of building materials and building components – Part 1: Building materials; concepts, requirements and tests * UL 94 Standard for Tests for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances * UL 2221 Tests of Fire Resistive Grease Duct Enclosure Assemblies * UL 1479 Fire Tests of Through-Penetration Firestops * UL 1709 Rapid Rise Fire Tests of Protection Materials for Structural Steel * UL 2085 Protected Aboveground Tanks for Flammable and Combustible Liquids * EN 16034 Pedestrian doorsets, industrial, commercial, garage doors and openable windows – Product standard, performance characteristics – Fire resisting and/or smoke control characteristics * FAR 25.853 -1& ASTM E 906 Standard Test Method for Heat and Visible Smoke Release Rates for Materials and Products, also known as the OSU Test

Organisations that perform fire testing

QAI Laboratories Quality Assurance International (QAI) is a U.S.-based international organic certification company that is authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as "a USDA-accredited certifying agent that operates globally to certify o ...

Southwest Research Institute Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent and nonprofit applied research and development (R&D) organization. Founded in 1947 by oil businessman Tom Slick, it provides contract research and develop ...

* Groupe CTT Group, Canada * Currenta, Germany *

Exova Exova Group plc was a laboratory-based testing company, operating primarily within the Testing segment of the Testing Inspection and Certification (“TIC”) sector. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Element Mat ...

* Applus+ Laboratories *

NTA Inc NTA may refer to: * Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis, a method for visualizing and analyzing particles * National Tax Agency, the official tax collecting agency of Japan * National Tax Association, a non-profit organization in United States * Nation ...

Intertek Intertek Group plc is a British multinational assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History I ...

Underwriters Laboratories The UL enterprise is a global safety science company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions. Established in 1894, the UL enterprise was founded a ...

FM Global FM Global is an American mutual insurance company based in Johnston, Rhode Island, United States, with offices worldwide, that specializes in loss prevention services primarily to large corporations throughout the world in the ''Highly Protecte ...

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

* iBMB at

Technische Universität Braunschweig The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...

* EFECTIS (regroup CTICM & TNO fire proofing laboratories) *

NGC Testing Services NGC commonly refers to: * New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, a catalogue of deep sky objects in astronomy NGC may also refer to: Companies * NGC Corporation, name of US electric company Dynegy, Inc. from 1995 to 1998 * Nati ...

* Thomas Bell-Wright International Consultants

Ad hoc fire testing

A fire test can also mean an ad hoc test performed to gather information in order to understand a specific hazard, such as a construction or storage configuration. Tests can be bench scale (e.g., flammable liquid flash point), medium scale (e.g., storage commodity classification), or full scale (e.g., replication of an entire rack storage configuration).''NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems'' 2007 Edition, Annex C ''Explanation of Test Data and Procedures for Rack Storage'' Typical information gathered from full-scale testing is heat release rate vs. time, smoke production and species composition, radiant heat, and interaction with fire control or suppression systems.

Fire test examples

Many fire tests are run by official laboratories for the purpose of product certification. However, some manufacturers of fire protection products also maintain their own facilities and run tests for

R & D Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

purposes before going to the expense and exposure of a test at a third party facility. Some universities have functioning fire research groups which are equipped to run fire tests on building materials. File:Nelson furnace.jpg, Private fire test furnace used for

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

by a firestop manufacturer File:3m fire test furnace cottage grove mn.jpg, Private test furnace, ready to test a

cable tray In the electrical wiring of buildings, a cable tray system is used to support insulated electrical cables used for power distribution, control, and communication. Cable trays are used as an alternative to open wiring or electrical conduit syst ...

firestop A firestop or fire-stopping is a form of passive fire protection that is used to seal around openings and between joints in a fire-resistance-rated wall or floor assembly. Firestops are designed to maintain the fire-resistance rating of a wall o ...

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

File:Cmp test 7.jpg,

Furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

used in fire testing. File:Cmp test 13.jpg, Following successful three hour fire endurance test, application of hose stream

References

Fire protection Tests

Examples of fire testing for products and systems

Organisations that perform fire testing

Ad hoc fire testing

Fire test examples

See also

References