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Fire-retardant fabrics refer to the type of textiles that are designed to resist ignition and also slow the spread of fire, this can be taken advantage of when designing fabrics as it improves the safety factor in a multitude of applications. These fabrics can either be inherently fire-retardant or chemically treated which add to the resistance that materials can provide against heat and flame damage.
They are used in a wide variety of areas that require the attributes of being retardant to flames like protective clothing, curtains, household upholstery, and other industrial environments. To make sure that these fabrics maintain a quality of effectiveness, they must meet a very strict set of safety standards such as NFPA 701 (North America) and EN 13501 (Europe). This can be achieved through selective materials and specialized treatments that can reduce flammability greatly and delay combustion.
The termfire-retardant, refers to a chemical substance that is or can be applied or treated to materials in order to prevent the start of or slow the growth of fire.[1] The tests used specified inbuilding codes, such as NFPA 701, are more correctlyflame resistance tests, which test a fabric's ability to resist ignition with the flame size and duration in the test conditions.[2] The result is a comparative test, which provides a measure of the material's resistance to propagating combustion caused by small scale ignition sources. These tests do not predict the burning characteristics of full scale hazards. In many cases, if exposed to a sufficiently large and sustained exposure fire, the fire-retardant fabrics will burn vigorously.Polyester is inherently flame retardant, and therefore doesn't flare up when applied to various tests. Any amount of heat delivered within a long enough time interval will have no impact on the fabrics' integrity while a limited amount of heat delivered within short enough time interval may ignite or melt the fabric.
Inherently flame-retardant fabrics are certified in theUnited Kingdom by variousBritish Standards. Fire-retardant fabrics sold in the UK for use ascurtains must abide by BS 5867 Part 2 B & C, a British Standard. Other relevant UK standards include BS 5815-1 2005, BS 7175, Crib 5, IMO A563 and NFPA 701.
Fabricflammability is an importanttextile issue, especially for stage drapery that will be used in a public space such as aschool,theatre or special event venue. In the United States, Federal regulations require that drapery fabrics used in such spaces be certified as flame or fire-retardant. For draperies and other fabrics used in public places, this is known as the NFPA 701 Test, which follows standards developed by theNational Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Although allfabrics will burn, some are naturally more resistant to fire than others. Those that are more flammable can have their fire resistance drastically improved by treatment with fire-retardant chemicals.
Inherently flame-retardant fabrics such as certain brand polyesters are commonly used for flame retardant curtain fabrics.
Fire-retardant fabrics are normally treated to differentBritish Standards; normally this depends on the end usage of the fabrics. BS 476 is a fire treatment for fabrics that are normally for wall hanging, and must only be used as for that purpose, where as CRIB 5 is a fabric fire treatment for upholstery and must only be used for furnishing and upholstery purposes, even if both fabrics have been treated for fire-retardancy. The relevant standards for fire-retardant fabrics include:
The M1 standard is a European standard that is widely used in Europe only. In construction, "M1" is part of a bigger classification system that France and Finland primarily use, but is used across the country. This relates to the reaction that materials have when ignited, i.e. insulation, wall panels, textiles, furniture, etc. The classification system has 5 levels from M0-Non-combustible, to M4-Easily flammable where the materials are tested for heat release, production of smoke, flame spread rate, and ignitability.[5] UK fire officers are reluctant to accept M1 certification, as they prefer BS certificates due to the detail that the BS certifications go into, and lean more into legal, insurance, and safety measures in UK businesses.
When a fabric is designated asinherently fire-retardant,permanently fire-retardant, ordurably fire-retardant, the flame retardancy will last for the life of the fabric as it has been woven into the fabric fiber itself.[6] The drapery can be laundered or dry-cleaned as recommended by the drapery manufacturer. In the case of fabrics that are designated asfire-retardant, that have been topically treated with chemicals, the flame retardancy of the fabric will dissipate over time, particularly with repeated cleaning. As these chemicals are soluble in liquids, either water or dry cleaning fluid, these fabrics must be dry-cleaned with a non-liquid cleaning agent.[7] The flame retardants work by coating the flammable fabrics with a mineral based barrier, preventing fire from reaching the fibers.
Typically, the flame retardancy of topically treated fabric is certified for one year,[8] though the actual length of time in which the treatment remains effective will vary based on the number of times the drapery is dry-cleaned and the environmental conditions in the location in which the drapery is used. It is recommended that topically treated drapery be re-tested for fire-retardancy on an annual basis and re-treated by a qualified professional as needed.[4]
