Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The performance of many combustible materials in fire can be improved by the use of flame retardant treatments. These treatments usually consist of either a surface coating or the incorporation of chemicals in the structure of the material which inhibit ignition and combustion. The improvement in the performance of materials can be judged by subjecting them to the appropriate fire tests. Materials are usually tested in a condition when the treatments are new but for continued safety it is necessary to know if their effectiveness is likely to be impaired in service. The durability of flame retardant treatments is currently receiving attention and some investigations are in hand to determine their effectiveness after known exposure in service. When materials are used inside buildings in reasonably dry and constant temperature conditions, flame retardant treatments are likely to remain effective for a long period of time. On the other hand when materials are used externally they are exposed to a wide range of humidities, variations in temperature and to sunlight. All these factors can have an appreciable effect on the useful life of materials and treatments and there is need for information on how suocessfully a flame retardant treatment could survive exposure to weather.