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January 2006
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Textiles F.R. Limited
Flame Retardancy Finishers & Consultants

 UKAS
 
News & Developments
 
BSEN 13772 & BSEN 13773: Curtain & Drapes Burning Behaviour
Ignitability Testing of Curtain Fabric for use in the Contract Market

Changes to European test methods have from time to time had an impact on the procedures we use within the UK.  One such change is about to impact upon us and may well influence how we conduct testing for ignitability of curtain fabric used in contract situations.

Current UK Position:   The method used in the majority of contract curtain situations (not including Health Authority applications which adopt a different test procedure) is BS5438 Test Method 2 where an ignition source is applied for 15 seconds to the face of the fabric.  The performance of the fabric is assessed using BS5867:Part 2:1980:Type B specification.  The “BS5867” reference is what most people in the contract sector associate with curtain “compliance” requirements and as such will be used throughout this discussion to denote “current UK contract curtain requirements”.

Current European Position:  The term “European” is used here to denote any EU member other than the UK.  In 2003 a number of new European standards concerning flammability of textiles were introduced.  Those of prime concern to this discussion are shown below.
  • BS EN 13772:2003 “Textiles and textile products – Burning behaviour – Curtains and drapes – Measurement of flame spread of vertically oriented specimens with large ignition source”.
  • BS EN 13773:2003 “Textiles and textile products – Burning behaviour – Curtains and drapes – Classification scheme”.
  • EN 1101 “Textiles and textile products – Burning behaviour – Curtains and drapes – Detailed procedure to determine the ignitability of vertically oriented specimens (small flame).
  • EN 1102 “Textiles and textile products – Burning behaviour – Curtains and drapes – Detailed procedure to determine the flame spread of vertically oriented specimens.

These will be referred to as the “BSEN” standards in this discussion.  The following text is taken from the ‘Forward’ section of BSEN 13772.

“This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by August 2003, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by August 2003”. It goes on “the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom”.

What does it mean? Strictly speaking this means that “BS5867” should have been withdrawn in 2003.  This hasn't’t happened in practice since BSI appears to be questioning the premises that BS5867 is “conflicting” with 13772/13773.  Something is going to happen; it’s just unclear what it will be.  However, we should prepare ourselves for changes to what we have become accustomed to in the context of contract curtain testing.  A number of EU members have adopted the new “BSEN” standards.  However, talking to some of our customers who are based in such countries, nobody has been asked to comply with these standards and indeed nobody seemed to have heard of them.  History tells us that this situation can change fairly rapidly and we should be prepared to adapt in order to compete.

Comparison between existing & new standards:  The differences between “BS5867” and “BSEN” standards are pretty far reaching.  We are not proposing to go into detail here (more information can be found on the appropriate page of our web site). It is sufficient to say that the essential details are as follows. The new standards require that fabric is first assessed for “ease of ignition” using an ignition source applied to the fabrics edge (this uses test method EN 1101).  If “non-ignition” occurs then testing continues using BSEN 13772 and according to the outcome of this test then fabrics are classified as either Class 1,  2 or 3.  If “ignition” occurs then testing continues using EN 1102 and the fabrics are classified as either Class 4 or 5.  This is clearer in the flow chart (Figure 1).  Class 1 would represent the most difficult set of criteria to comply with whilst Class 5 the least difficult.  There are likely to be implications here following the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) (scheduled for 1st April 2006 but likely to be put back because of the lack of guidance documents – see this topic on out web site).  The RRFSO will require fire risk assessments to be made by ‘responsible persons’ (owners of buildings, Directors of companies etc.).  These risk assessments may result in the ‘responsible persons’ going for the ‘highest’ class rating (class 1) shown in the flow chart.  In practice this may be completely unnecessary since a lower specification (BS5867) has served us well for more than 20 years.

In addition, a cleansing procedure is required prior to testing (unless the fabric is not intended to be cleaned in which case no cleansing is required).  This would be either a water wash or dry cleaning procedure.  However, there may be scope for “agreement between parties” where, subject to satisfactory labeling/marking of certification, the strict requirement for this prior to testing can be dispensed with.
 
13772
 

Practical implication of new standards:  Should the “BSEN” standards be adopted in the UK and “BS5867” be fully withdrawn, then it obvious that there will be some big changes to the way we all conduct our respective business’s, it is only the extent of the changes which is unclear.  Some immediate points to consider are shown below.
  • The new tests will take much longer to complete, are more involved and as a consequence will cost more to conduct.
  • Each test will consume more fabric than current UK tests, again adding to costs.  The frequency of testing is not specified in the new standards.
  • There is the question of which class UK curtain fabrics will adopt as the “accepted industry standard”.  There is evidence that few of the fabrics we commonly see used for UK curtain applications will meet class 1 performance criteria.  It is likely that class 3 or 4 may be the classification most appropriate for convergence with current UK contract curtain testing.
  • Those companies selling goods manufactured in the UK into Europe will almost certainly have to comply with the new standards.  This could mean double testing of items should the UK market retain some aspects of the BS5867 specification in the future.

Raising awareness:  The previous discussion is presented in order to try and raise awareness of the proposed changes.  It should be remembered that these are still proposals; BS5867 has not been withdrawn yet and we are continuing to engage in treatment and testing to this specification.  We at Textiles FR Limited will continue our dialogue with all organisations who are either directly or indirectly involved in the current proposals through our trade federation, the Textile Finishers Association in our case.  We would recommend that our customers who may be affected by these proposals make similar representations though their respective trade associations.
 
Textiles F.R. Limited January 2006