Normative
Standard |
  American NFPA 255 / ASTM E 84 |
Official standard: |
|
Principle |
Initially written by ASTM, the standard was adopted by NFPA and named NFPA 255 and UL 723 as American Nationals Standard (ANSI) and approved for the use by agencies of the department of Defence for listing in the DoD Index of Specifications and Standards. NFPA 255 standard refers to the test as "NFPA 255/ASTM E-84". Please note that a certificate for ASTM E-84 covers NFPA 255. NFPA 255 / ASTM E-84 is an extremely stringent test, probably the strictest in the United States as it also assesses smoke generation. The purpose of the test is to provide a comparative measurement of surface flame spread and smoke development of materials with that of a select grade red oak and reinforced cement board under a specific fire exposure conditions. |
Test method |
A 20 inch wide by 24 feet long sample is placed into a long brick tunnel (see below, side view)
and front view
When tested un-adhered, the fabric is supported by chicken wire netting. The specimen is subjected to the flames which come out of the U-shaped burner pictured in the front view for 10 minutes. During the ten minutes test duration, flame spread over the specimen surface and density of the resulting smoke are measured and recorded |
Result |
The test measures how quickly and how far the flame spreads and are calculated relative to red oak, which has an arbitrary rating of 100, and reinforced cement board, which has a rating of 0. From these numbers, a flame spread index is calculated (Class 1 being the best). Standard Classification System: Class Flame Spread Index Smoke Development Index 1 or A 0-25 0 - 450 maximum 2 or B 26-75 0 - 450 maximum 3 or C 76-200 0 - 450 maximum Anything above 200 is unrated Code officials and regulatory agencies frequently use the Flame Spread Index and Smoke Developed Index values obtained by the NFPA 255/ASTM E-84 test in the acceptance of interior finish materials for various applications. |
Testing lab |
Applied Textiles 555 76th Street, S.W. 49315 MI - Byron Center United States |
