Safe Public Places
thro’
FR Textiles
Safe Public Places thro’ FR Textiles
Suggestion from
Ministry of Textiles
to
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of India
they would have been with us….
had there been FR Textiles…
83 children killed
in school fire
in Kumbakonam
Victims of
Uphaar
Tragedy
Protective Fabrics
Introduction to Flame Retardant Fabrics
International standards & regulatory measures
BIS standards
Recommendations
Fabric flammability is an important issue, especially for
stage drapery that will be used in a public space such as a
school, theatre or special event venue.
Although all fabrics 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.
Importance of FR Textiles For
Public Safety
• Recent studies have revealed
that in 24 % of fire accidents,
the first item to catch fire is
textiles
– 28 % casualties were due
to burns;
– 48 % due to smoke/gas;
– 13 % due to combined
effects of burns, gas and
smoke;
– 11 % due to other causes.
These emphasize the role of
textiles in limiting the spread of
fire and casualties due to it.
Importance of FR Textiles For
Public Safety
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Heavy damage to property and loss to valuable lives due to fire
Fire safety in public places/buildings has assumed paramount importance
Fires in exhibition (Meerut), marriage pandal (Hissar), Uphar Cinema are
living examples
Record loss of life due to fires in India is amongst the worst in the world
Fires are second largest cause of unnatural deaths in India
In terms of insurance claim also, fires account for losses of Rs. 1 Crore
and above
In view of violation of public safety norms in India, fire safety legislation is
the need of the hour
Strong need to implement latest standards on fire retardant textiles by
enacting and enforcing fire safety legislation and guidelines specially for
the public places/buildings and for children wears.
L I F E S A V I N G S E C O N D S….
Standards- Protective Textiles
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Compiled by Pawan Sharma
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Technology of FR Textiles
• Specialty fibers
– not manufactured in India
& expensive
• Chemical finishing on
conventional fibers
– less expensive
– Additional cost of Rs 30 to
100 per mt depending
upon the quality
requirement
Fire Terminologies
Flame Retardant
A substance applied to or incorporated in a combustible material to reduce
or eliminate its ability to ignite when exposed to a low energy flame resource (i.e.
match or cigarette).
Flame Proof
A material which is totally resistant to fire or flame (i.e. asbestos).
Flame Resistant
A material which does not continue to burn or glow once the ignition source
has been removed.
After Glow
Smouldering ambers present when primary ignition source has been
removed.
Evaluation Parameters for FR Textiles
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Ease of Ignition
After Glow Time
Extent of After Glow
Char Length
Flame Spread Time, Debris or Drips
Smoldering Time
Limiting Oxygen Index
Heat Transmission Factor
Heat Transfer Index
Molten Metal Splash Index
Smoke Opacity
Toxicity
Standardization
• Why Standardization Required:
– The users need to be certain that they are sufficiently
protected.
– The manufacturers want to show to the users that
their product fulfils their needs of protection.
– The test laboratories want to have approved and
standardized test methods in order to get
reproducible results and standardized performance
requirements as a guideline for the certification of
products.
• The problem of standardized tests is that the test
conditions are far away from the conditions in real use
(Zimmerli, 1996). In the last few years due to better
understanding of the subject, it is said that the complete
protective clothing has to be tested, either in a practice
test with test persons or with an instrumented
mannequin (Zimmerli, 2000).
• In addition, it will be necessary to assess the protective
and the comfort properties simultaneously, because in
most cases there is a strong interaction between the two
properties.
Organizations to set standards
•
ISO standard-setting body composed of representatives from various
national standards organizations.
•
CEN- The European Committee for Standardization it's 30 National
Members work together to develop voluntary European Standards (ENs)
•
ASTM- American Society for Standardisation and Materials, in US it
develops standards on protective clothing
•
NFPA - The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) writes
performance standards for fire fighters’ clothing, based on test methods
standardized by ASTM.
•
BIS is the Official National Standards Body of India covers product quality
certification, consumer affairs and development of technical standards .
US Regulations
on
FR Fabrics
US Flammable Fabrics Act
(codified at 15 U.S.C 1191-1204)
• Legislation is to keep away the use of dangerously
inflammable textiles out of commerce in USA
• The act covers trading of fabrics meant for wearing apparel
or interior furnishing when they are traded with importers in
USA
• Manufacture, sale, importation into USA, introduction of
flammable fabrics shall be prohibited
• Importers are advised to buy from a supplier issuing a
guarantee and a test report
• Consumer Products Safety Commission is vested with the
powers of determination of – authority to test, testing
standards & prosecution powers
USA Flammable Fabrics Act
• Enforcement mechanism:
– Consumer Products Safety Commission administers the
enforcement mechanism
– Imported fabrics are not allowed to be cleared out of customs
warehouse unless it is FR
– In case imported fabrics are released against bond by customs
ware house, they can order for return to customs warehouse
– Can seize and send for testing
– File civil suit based on lab report
– Levy fine up to $ 100,000
– Penalty is based on gravity of injury that would have caused or
likely to have caused
– In the event of misrepresentation, the merchant is liable for
imprisonment up to 5 years.
National Standards
(Test methods)
Developed by the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA), titled NFPA 701: Standard Methods of Fire
Tests for Flame Propagation of Textiles and Films.
There are no “official” federal regulations regarding FR
of drapery fabrics used in public spaces. However,
Under NFPA 701, drapery fabric is tested by burning a
small sample and measuring the flame, char length &
flaming residue
– if a fabric meets these three areas, it is
considered as flame retardant.
State and Local Regulations
• Though NFPA 701 is the national standard, it is not a law
or regulation in itself.
• Authority to make and enforce laws and regulations in
this area is granted to state and local governments.
• Many state and local governments have not developed
their own standards. Instead, they require that draperies
used in public spaces meet the NFPA 701 standard.
• The 2005 Florida Fire Prevention Code, for example,
specifies in Chapter 20 that fabric used in places of
assembly must meet NFPA 701 standards.
State and Local Regulations
Some states and cities, however, have
developed their own standards and/or
procedures. These requirements are
separate and distinct from NFPA 701
standards.
State and Local Regulations
In California, for example,
drapery used in public spaces
must be made of fabric that has
been registered with the State
Fire
Marshal,
documenting
compliance
with
Title
19
(Division 1, Chapter 8) of
California Code of Regulations.
While the State of New York and the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts both
accept NFPA 701 certification, New
York City requires certification that
fabrics meet requirements outlined in
Title 27 (Chapters 1 and 4) of the
New York Administrative Code,
while the City of Boston requires that end users submit an
application for a use permit, in advance, for each fabric to be
used in a public space.
State and Local Regulations
Venue Requirements
Even specific venues have developed their own
requirements for drapery to be utilized within the
venue. Radio City Music Hall, in addition to requiring
that all fabrics be certified compliant with New York City
regulations, also requires the Certificate of Flame
Retardancy include not just basic information on the
fabric utilized, but specific information about each sewn
drapery piece, including quantity and size.
European Standards
Guide list & web site
Protection Function
Standard Code
Protective Clothing
Against Heat & Flame
EN 531
For use in welding and allied processes
EN 470-1
Against mechanical impact
EN 510
For users of hand-held chainsaws
EN 381- series
Firemen’s Protective clothing
EN 469
Against cold
EN 342
Against foul weather
(Moisture, wind, cold)
EN 343
Against radioactive contamination
EN 1073
Against electric hazards/electrostatic charges
EN 1149
Against thermal hazards of an electric arc
CLC/TS 50354
(technical specs)
High visibility warning clothing
EN 471
For working in environment of machines
EN 510
Against chemical hazards
EN 465,, EN 466,
EN 467
http://www.cen.eu/cenorm/standards_drafts/onlinecataloguewithlinkstomem
bers/index.asp
Great Britain
The Consumer Protection Act (1987), the
Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety)
Regulations 1988, 1989 & 1993 set levels
of fire resistance for upholstered products.
Standards Mentioned : BS 5852, BS 7177,
BS EN 1021-2, BS 7176
• The first Regulation in Italy
concerning fire behaviour of
Textiles e.g. Furnishings, had
come in the existence in 1984
for the public assembly
places like cinema halls,
theaters etc.
• Then restrictions for schools,
fairs and hotels followed
Italy
FRANCE
Upholstered Furniture in French
public buildings has to meet ERP
Article AM 18 which, since 2006,
requires a finished testing as per
the standard EN 1021 and French
Standards NF D60 – 013 & NF D60
– 015.
Application field and Fire standards
Upholstery
BS 5852
EN 1021
BS 7176
Flame
Cigarette
Crib 5
Mattress ticking
BS 6807-1/2
EN 597-1/2
BS 7175
BS 7177
Flame
Cigarette
Crib 5
Carpet
DIN 4102 (B1), FAR25-853
Black –out
NF P92 503
Curtains
BS 5867
type A
type B
type C
NF P92 503
Bedding
TB-604
Protective clothing
EN 533, NF P92 503 (M1)
Toys
EN 71/2
Non woven
NF P92 503
Fire Service Law of
Japan requires that
Flame
Retardant
items e.g. Carpets,
Curtains etc. should
have flame retarding
treatment
before
going to the end
users.
JAPAN
BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS
BIS standards
on
FR Textiles
Standardization of FR Textiles
• BIS has brought out a series of standards for FR
textiles - curtains, drapes, upholstered furniture
materials, protective clothing for industrial workers
and fire fighters etc along with test methods for
evaluation of the above items.
• These standards are for 3 hazard categories
– low hazard
– moderate hazard &
– high hazard categories
International Scenario
Material
Specification
Conformance to
USA / Britain
Tent fabric
- National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) 701
- British Standard 7157
Mandatory in some
States
Carpet
-Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (MVSS) 302
-ASTM D 2859
-ASTM E 648
Mandatory
Furnishing
materials
California Technical Bulletin
116
BS 5852 ( Ignition Source
0,1,5&7)
BS EN 1021
BS 7176
Mandatory
BIS Standards on Tent Cloth
• IS 12990, IS 7609, IS 8758, IS 7613, IS
12991, IS 10321 are available on tent
cloth
BIS Standards on Carpet
• IS 12722, IS 10466, IS 2331, IS 7878, IS
4391, IS 5641, IS 5884, IS 10921, IS
7877, IS 13188, IS 15764 are on textile
floor coverings.
BIS Standards on Upholstered Furniture
• IS 12467 Pt.1&2 ,IS 577, IS 7864 deal with
testing of upholstered furniture .
– Out of these, two mention ignitability test
wherein ignition sources are smouldering
cigarette and match flame equivalent.
Common FR Test Methods
BS 5852 Part 1 "Match - test"
(on finished / unfinished CO - fabric)
Flame retardant against burning cigarettes
Length : ± 68mm
Diameter : ± 8mm
Mass : 1g nominal
igniting not less than 5mm not more
than 8mm
smouldering rate : 12 ± 3min / 50mm
pass if :not more than 50mm damage
within 60min : no flaming,
smoke, heat, glowing
Flame retardant for upholstery fabric
Flame Length : 35mm (vertical); Ignition Time : 20s;
Pass if : Flaming : max. 2min after removal of the burner, Smoke, heat, glowing :
max. 15min after removal, Max. 100mm damage ↔↕
German Railway - "Upholstery - Test"
Work Clothes
EN 533
• Flame length : 40mm (vertical); Ignition time : 10s
• Criteria : -after flame time; afterglow time; not charred area;
formation hole; molten / flaming debris; borders reached
Carpet
ASTMD 5859-76
• Methenamine tablet
• Steel plate : Æ 205mm
• Pass if :
charred area
<= 25.4mm
from inner edge : OK
NF P 92-504
Rate of spread of flame test: Flame length : 35mm (vertical)
Ignition : 30 times 5s with 3s intervals M1 if :- after flame time
max. 1s; no flaming debris; burning speed max. 2mm/s
NF P 92-503
Criteria : formation hole <20”; if yes ®NF P 90-504;
M1 if : After flame time max.5 - damage afterglow
max. 250mm; no molten / flaming debris
Center of Excellence
To provide infrastructure support at one place for the technical textile
manufacturer
the
government
has
set
up
four
Centers
of
Excellence(COE) in the thrust areas of technical textiles. The details
are given below:
Segment
Agency
Meditech
SITRA with AC college of
technology,Chenai
Protech
NITRA with IIT delhi
Geotech
BTRA with ATIRA
Agrotech
SASMIRA with MANTRA and Navsari
agriculture University
The four COEs have been sanctioned Rs.43.31 crore by the MOT
Centre of Excellence
Protech
NITRA has been sanctioned Rs. 10.95 crore for
setting up of COE for Protech. So far an amount of Rs
4.318 crores has been released to the COE : NITRA.
Centre of Excellence
The NITRA-COE Protech is in the process of
creating the following facilities:
 Facilities for testing and evaluation of products of
segments of technical textiles.
:

Develop as a national and international accreditation
center

Development
infrastructure

Facilities for training of core personnel and regular
training of personnel from the industry
of
Resource
Centre
with
I.T.
Centre of Excellence
The NITRA-COE Protech has already purchased
following equipments:
:
Sr.No.
Name of Item
Purpose
Toxicity Tester
To test toxicity in flame resistance fabric
in protech
1
2
3
4
5
Snagging Tester
Water cooled Xenontest ( weather meter)
Abrasion Resistance Tester
DSC & TGA
To determine pullout tendency of yarn
For evaluation of colour change due to
weathering
To assess the surface change on the fabric
due to abrasion
To analyse Raw Materials
NITRA also purchased Books and Standards
related to Protective Textiles.
Recommendations…
• In view of public safety and property loss as well
as high environmental pollution involved in fires, it
is necessary that relevant Indian standards are
made mandatory for textiles used in public places
/ buildings - hospitals, schools, airports, theaters,
shopping complexes, railways, civil aviation,
automobiles etc.
• Legislation for FR textiles are already in force in
many of the developed countries of the world and
India should be no exception to this.
RECOMMENDATIONS…
• Standards on FR textiles - IS15741:2007, IS15742:2007,
IS15748:2007 & IS15768:2007could be made mandatory
under the BIS Act.
• Subsequently, standard for resistance to ignition of
mattresses, divans and bed bases to be made
mandatory after publication.
• Standards developed by BIS on FR textiles need to be
included in National Building Code of India 2005
immediately as a separate chapter.
• In order to prevent the import of sub-standard and
hazardous FR textiles, the relevant Indian standards
could be made mandatory for imports also.
CONCLUSION
• All out efforts by all stake holders required to minimize fire
hazards by use of FR textiles and enforcing suitable fire
safety legislation for safety in public places/buildings.
• Role of standards in minimizing fire losses is of paramount
importance.
• Awareness of latest developments at International level is
required.
• With the pace of globalization, infra structural growth and
changing public safety concepts, any neglect in public
safety including use of FR textiles shall cost us dearly.
• The opportunities thrown open by the growing market for FR
fabrics need to be thoroughly exploited by India.