Reaction to Fire
United Kingdom Testing and Certification can offer Reaction to Fire Testing Services through strategic partner laboratories that are UKAS accredited for this activity.
Reaction to Fire testing examines the characteristics, such as combustibility, of building materials to determine their contribution to fire development and spread. Such materials can be classified into one of seven classes under BS EN 13501-1 according to their reaction to fire:
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A1 – Non-combustible materials, do not contribute to the development of a fire
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A2 – Materials with limited combustibility, do not contribute to the development of a fire
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B – Combustible, limited contribution to fire
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C – Combustible, minor contribution to fire
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D – Combustible, contributes to fire
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E – Combustible, will only resist a small flame for a few seconds
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F – Materials that have not been classified or have not met minimum requirements of class E.
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To obtain a classification, products are tested according to the following test methods:
Each classification requires certain test methods to be conducted and is summarised by the below table:
This procedure specifies a method of test for determining the reaction to fire performance of construction products when exposed to thermal attack by a single burning item (SBI).
This test identifies products that will not, or not significantly, contribute to a fire, regardless of their end use. This fire test has been developed to select construction products which produce a very limited amount of heat and flame when exposed to temperatures of approximately 750 °C.
This test determines the potential maximum total heat release of a product when completely burned, regardless of its end use. This method determines the absolute value of the heat of combustion for a product without accounting for inherent product variability.
This method specifies a test for determining the ignitability of products by direct small-flame impingement under zero impressed irradiance using vertically oriented test specimens.
