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An overview and experimental analysis of furniture fire safety regulations in Europe
Author(s) -
Guillaume Eric,
Feijter Rene,
Gelderen Laurens
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
fire and materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-1018
pISSN - 0308-0501
DOI - 10.1002/fam.2826
Subject(s) - european market , fire safety , fire performance , fire protection , architectural engineering , european union , forensic engineering , risk analysis (engineering) , business , engineering , civil engineering , international trade , materials science , fire resistance , composite material
Summary The regulation requirements for upholstered furniture are nationally defined and lead to very different safety levels across Europe. This paper studies the fire performance of upholstered furniture across Europe and demonstrates the differences in the fire safety of sofas in different countries. Real sofas were purchased over Europe and tested first alone then for several of them in a room scenario. The fire performance of such upholstered furniture is related to their constitution and possibly to the improvement of their performance by physical and/or chemical means. Results are presented from a performance point of view and not focusing on the different technical solutions that can be envisaged, such as fire barriers or flame retardants. The results clearly show the effect of stricter regulations, not necessarily on the maximum heat release but mainly on the time available to escape, which is critical in many fire scenarios. Such regulations may have a positive effect, but they have to be performance‐based, evaluated properly, and implemented considering market surveillance.