What are fire resistant carpets?

They are standard flooring layouts or covers and are included in the Dubai Civil Defence fit outs approvals.

The Civil Defense relies on a set of international standards in approving the type of carpets used in buildings. Therefore, the engineer responsible for the fit out must specify the standard he used to complete the project.

Each standard follows a specific testing method, where a sample of the material is taken and then analyzed in laboratories according to standardized analyses based on a set of conditions.

These reports measure flammability, reactivity, and insulation. The carpet is considered compliant if it passes these tests.

Testing Standards for DCD fit outs in Dubai

Those international testing standards are set of experiments that are made on a small piece of the tested material under specific conditions, and the DCD accepts any of the following testing standards: 

1- ASTM D 2859	Object: to assess the flame resistance of textile floor coverings
2-  EN 13823	Object: to use the European classification standard to categorize building products into Euroclass A2, B, C, or D.
3-  EN-ISO 11925-2	Object: to test the inability to items exposed to direct flame
4- EN-ISO 1182	Object: to test the non–combustibility of the products under fire tests.
5- EN-ISO 1716	Object: to determine the calorific value (it tells how much heat a carpet release when it burns)
6- EN 13501-1	Object: this test classify the materials from non-combustible (A1F1) to combustible materials or easy flammable products (F)
7- ASTM E648	Object: Calculating how a floor-covering system installed in a building corridor will behave in terms of fire exposure
8- EN-ISO 9239-1	Object: to analyze flooring goods’ burning characteristics with a radiant heat source
9- NFPA 253	Object: to estimate  the fire exposure behavior of floor covering systems.
10- BS 4790	Object: to determine the effect of a small source of fire or flame on textile floor coverings.
11- BS 4841-6	Object: to check the floor insulation, it suits modern buildings.
12- BS 6307	Object: to determine the effect of small fire resources on flooring.
13- EN 1365-2	Object: to test fire resistance on ceilings and floors.
14- EN 1366-6	Object: to test fire resistance on safety installations
15- EN 1399	Object: to evaluate how much the floor is resilient to burning cigarettes.
16- ULc – S102.2	Object:  to determine flooring characteristics

Key characteristics for compliant carpets

Dubai Civil Defence set a group of roles to follow when choosing a carpet or a floor cover. This helps in minimising the damage caused from a small source of flame like a burning cigarette in offices or busy buildings, while in industrial buildings, special covers are used such as epoxy. 

For residential buildings,  there are set of characteristics that are mandatory to check before purchasing a carpet: 

1- The carpet should not catch fires easily whether these fires or flames were direct or not. 

2- carpets with low heat conduction values are natural isolators 

3- carpet classification should be suitable for the place where it will be used. For example: a residential building should use CF1 class (low smoke, limited flame spread), while a residential building needs a minimum of CF1.

4- The carpet should have the ability to resist flame spread, especially in carpets used in the exitway or hallway.

5- choose certified carpets that follow the standard tests defined by Dubai Civil Defence from trusted suppliers or the Emirates Safety Laboratory test flooring products.

Emirates Safety Laboratory (ESL)

Dubai’s Emirates Safety Laboratory (ESL) is one of the largest institutions to do tests on building materials and ensure they comply with the DCD  fire safety standards. Constractore needs an ESL certificate to build a facility or building.

 The laboratory follows not only the UAE standards, it follows international tests standards and works on a global scale. Tests like smoke controls and fire resistance for furniture and building materials are done by the Emirates safety test to ensure complying with the safety standards.

Conclusion

Fire resistant carpets are a crucial part of the fit out process. They depend on specific test standards that are defined by Dubai Civil defence to ease the process on the business owners and contractors. 

The ESL test is mandatory to start building construction because it proves that the building materials comply with the UAE and the international safety standards.

 For individuals, they can buy any carpet type without restrictions, but it is better to choose  anti-fire carpet and to commit to the tips mentioned previously.