Fire test

Fire test in Sweden, showing rapid fire spread through burning of cable jackets from one cable tray to another.

A fire test is a means of determining whether or not fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and certification result in the issuance of a certification listing. The listing is public domain, whereas the test report itself is proprietary information belonging to the test sponsor.

The following series of pictures show a typical fire test, on firestop products, using a 3 hour fire endurance and hose stream test with mixed results, run at ULC, the Canadian affiliate of Underwriters Laboratories, in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. There are many different types of fire tests apart from those on firestops. Walls and floors themselves can be tested, closures within them, such as windows, fire doors, fire dampers, structural steel and more. Fire tests are conducted both on active fire protection and on passive fire protection items. Each have different test methods and scales. There are full scale, small scale and bench scale tests. There are tests on systems, such as the one below, but there are also tests on materials, such as intumescents, to be sure of components that may be used within a system.

Fire testing must consider all applicable provisions of the intended product certification. It is also prudent to test products in such a manner as to ensure ease of use and broad, economical applications with regards to listing and approval use and compliance.

A fire test can also mean an ad hoc test performed to gather information in order to understand a specific hazard, such as a construction or storage configuration. Tests can be bench scale (e.g., flammable liquid flash point), medium scale (e.g., storage commodity classification), or full scale (e.g., replication of an entire rack storage configuration). Typical information gathered from full scale testing is heat release rate vs. time, smoke production and species composition, radiant heat, and interaction with fire control or suppression systems.

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  Coreslab frame being readied.
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  Penetrants being hung.
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  Penetrants have been hung.
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  Firestop mortar being pumped into place.
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  Material test on firestop mortar.
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  Firestop mortar is in, ready to be smoothed up.
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  Furnace used in fire testing. Bottom pipes are gas jets. Middle row of pipes are shield for thermocouples.
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  Fire test assembly is ready, thermocouples are in place. Time to switch on the fire.
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  Ignition has occurred.
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  Fire test is in full swing. Test sponsors nervously pace up and down, looking and listening for hot spots.
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  The 3 hour fire endurance has passed successfully. No openings developed, not too much heat went through. Ready for the hose stream test.
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  Preparing for the hose stream. 30PSI pressure must be measured at the base of the nozzle.
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  30PSI hose first hits.
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  30PSI hose continues.
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  30PSI hose continues.
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  30PSI hose continues.
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  The hose stream passed except for two locations where the water came through, making a fire-resistance rating impossible in the US, but not in Canada. The two penetrations shown were filled with intumescent laced rockwool, sealed on top with silicone caulking. The caulking let go from the sleeves during the hose stream test.

Many fire tests are run by official laboratories for the purpose of product certification. However, some manufacturers of fire protection products also maintain their own facilities and run tests for R & D purposes before going to the expense and exposure of a test at a third party facility.

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  Private fire test furnace in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Hot sample being removed.
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  Private fire test furnace in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. This furnace is used primarily for internal Research and Development by the Nelson Firestop Company but may also be used for third party testing, if the test is witnessed by Underwriters Laboratories. There is an adjustable opening on this furnace that can be used for 4' x 4' as well as 6' x 6' slabs. The furnace can also be tilted 90° to be able to test either wall assemblies or floor assemblies. The laboratory is also equipped with a full 30PSI hose stream capability.

The use of inadequate fire testing and lack of product certification on circuit integrity fireproofing of electrical wiring between nuclear reactors and control rooms in nuclear power plants led to the Thermo-Lag scandal, which became known as a result of disclosures by whistleblower Gerald W. Brown to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, watchdog groups and the press.

See also

• Firestop
• Fire protection
• Active fire protection
• Passive fire protection
• Gerald W. Brown
• Circuit integrity
• Listing and approval use and compliance
• Product certification
• Intumescent
• Firestop Mortar
• Silicone
• Fire-resistance rating
• Certification listing
• Dalmarnock tests