Furniture and furnishings - A technical fire safety guidance – ”the parallelism method” -

This guidance document is funded and distributed by RISE, Research Institutes of Sweden AB. Addressing the fire risks posed by furniture and furnishings is crucial. Swedish fire statistics from 1999 to 2015 record 2264 fire-related deaths, with about 70% occurring in homes and 9% in other buildings. The highest fatality rates are associated with fires starting in beds and upholstered furniture, a pattern seen in many European countries and globally. Despite the significant risk from furniture and furnishings, Swedish regulations remain minimal. Unlike interior construction products, there are no established systems for classification, approval, marking, or market control. As a result, furniture and furnishings often have poor fire performance, potentially leading to rapid and intense fire development in both domestic and public environments. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide a procedure for selecting furniture and furnishings with fire safety levels that align with the fire properties of the surrounding interior materials. It focuses on individual furniture items, using fire test data to match their performance with the fire test data of interior linings. For example, a surface material with a specific Euroclass fire rating can be paired with furniture exhibiting similar fire properties. The aim is to create spaces where both interior items and construction materials exhibit comparable fire behaviour. This approach is referred to in this guidance as the "parallelism method." While this guidance is straightforward to use, it is most effective when applied by individuals with some fire safety expertise who can interpret the recommendations within the context of building regulations or fire safety engineering. Additionally, detailed chapters on fire technical properties and test methods are included to support professionals evaluating fire behaviour, conducting fire modelling, reviewing test reports, or involved in product development. The proposed actions for improving fire safety are based on international fire research and proven experience, as referenced in the guidance. However, the user bears full responsibility for applying the guidance, and the authors disclaim liability for any damages, costs, or issues arising from its use.

Trots faran med lös inredning så regleras generellt inte den lösa inredningens brandegenskaper av myndighetskrav. Dessutom saknas system för klassifikation, godkännande, märkning och kontroll såsom för byggprodukter, dvs. byggnadens fastainredning. Den lösa inredningen har därför ofta dåliga brandegenskaper och kan ge upphov till snabba och häftiga brandförlopp. Detta gäller både bostäder och offentlig miljö.

Denna väglednings syfte är därför att erbjuda en teknik att välja lös inredning utifrån dess brandegenskaper för ökad säkerhet. Den är tänkt att vara enkel att använda både för hemmiljö och för offentlig miljö. I första hand riktar vi oss till personer med brandkompetens som kan tillämpa vägledningen och sätta råden i ett sammanhang, vilket kan vara till exempel Boverkets byggregler, lagen om skydd mot olyckor, systematiskt brandskyddsarbete mm.

The recommendation is based on the co-authors’ work organized by the RILEM TC 256-SPF “Spalling of concrete due to fire: testing and modelling”. It aims to provide useful information, guidance and best practices in fire spalling assessment to laboratories that perform large-scale tests based on fire resistance test standards. It provides guidance on the spalling observation techniques during testing, as well as post-test spalling quantification/assessment methods. This document is intended to be used in conjunction with the fire resistance test standards, e.g. EN 1363-1 and ISO 834-1. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to RILEM.

This paper describes fire tests on loaded glued laminated timber columns in which the structural response was measured during the heating and cooling phases. Identical columns with 280 × 280 mm2 cross-section and 3.7 m length were tested under various heating durations in a standard furnace to investigate integrity to full burnout. Two of the columns were subjected to ISO 834 heating until failure and their measured fire resistance was 55 and 58 min, respectively. Two columns were subjected to 15 min of ISO 834 heating followed by controlled cooling; these columns failed during the cooling phase, respectively after 98 and 153 min. Flame self-extinction occurred after approximately 40 min while smoldering continued locally. Two columns tested under 10 min of ISO 834 heating both survived the defined heating–cooling exposure. Thermocouples inside the columns show sustained temperature increases for hours after the end of the heating phase. These full-scale furnace experiments show that timber columns may fail during the cooling phase after exposure to standard heating for about 25% of the standard fire resistance duration. These results, in line with previous numerical predictions, highlight the need for further investigation into fire safety until full burnout for timber structures. 

Post-flashover fires inherently lead to external fire plumes, constituting a hazard for rapid fire spread over façades. As multi-storey mass timber buildings with internal visible timber surfaces become more common, there are concerns that such buildings would produce larger external plumes and hazards (assuming all other parameters equal). The literature reveals only indications of this, and how the actual exposure relates to different test methods for assessment is unknown. Here we utilise a series of full-scale mass timber compartment tests to quantify the exposure to the external façade. An incombustible external façade is instrumented with gauges at positions corresponding to reference data from several different assessment methods. The results show that there is an increase in plume duration, height, and temperatures when increasing the areas of exposed timber, but that this increase is less for normal- to large-opening compartments, than was previously seen in small-opening compartments. Also, normal variations in external wind speed have a larger influence on plume heights than the effect of doubling exposed timber surfaces. Test methods used for regulatory compliance differ significantly not only in exposure but also in pass/fail criteria. The proposed European large exposure method and the BS8414 method exhibit exposures on par with the severe end of what could be expected from mass timber compartments, whereas methods like SP Fire 105 and Lepir II produce significantly less severe plumes. However, the safety level is always a combination of exposure and assessment criteria. This data can help justify assessment criteria from a performance perspective. © 2023 The Authors. 

This paper presents the data and the results of seven fire tests performed on glue laminated timber columns in a compartment built especially for the tests and in which timber wood cribs created a so-called natural fire. These tests are part of a research programme titled “burnout resistance” to establish a new methodology to better describe performance of structural elements during the whole duration of a fire. Comparisons with similar tests made in a fire resistance furnace allow comparing charring rates observed in standard conditions and in natural fires.

This paper presents the data and the results of seven fire tests performed on glue laminated timber columns in a compartment built especially for the tests and in which timber wood cribs created a so-called natural fire. These tests are part of a research programme titled "burnout resistance" to establish a new methodology to better describe performance of structural elements during the whole duration of a fire. Comparisons with similar tests made in a fire resistance furnace allow comparing charring rates observed in standard conditions and in natural fires.