Fire Testing

Responsible manufacturers would warn against installing fire performance cable that is not compliant with British Standards or Approved by a third party such as BASECor LPCBIt's during the development of these high performance products that fire testing facilities take centre stage, such as Prysmian's fire testing facility in Bishopstoke which carries out in excess of 1500 tests per year, and helps set the leading FP cables apart from the rest.

There are three main tests conducted on fire performance cables - fire resistance, flame propagation and smoke emission tests. The fire resistance test measures the time that the cable continues to function under set conditions, retaining its electrical state.

Impact tests simulate falling materials in a building with water blasts used to replicate sprinklers or fire fighting hoses in a fire situation. A metal rod repeatedly impacts the cable simulating falling materials in a building.

Flame propagation tests examine how far a cable burns in a vertical position before it stops burning. Cable is fixed so that it runs vertically inside a fire testing chamber to simulate installation within a building.

Smoke emission tests involve burning cable in a smoke cube, which contains a light source at one end and a light sensor at the other. The cable is then set alight and emits smoke into the chamber. The percentage drop in the amount of light travelling from the source to the sensor is calculated and must not drop below a certain percentage depending on the test being applied.

Below are a selection of fire test videos that show the resistance to fire of a selection of our FP cables

BS 6387 : 1994

FP200 GOLD^® : BS 6387 Category C

Resistance to Fire Alone
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FP200 GOLD^® : BS 6387 Category W

Resistance to Fire and Water
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FP200 GOLD^® : BS 6387 Category Z

Resistance to Fire with Mechanical Shock
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BS 5839-1 : 2002

FP200 GOLD^® : BS EN 50200 / PH30 - STANDARD

Resistance to Fire with Mechanical Shock
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FP PLUS^TM : BS EN 50200 / PH120 - ENHANCED

Resistance to Fire with Mechanical Shock
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FP200 GOLD^® : BS 8434-1 - STANDARD

Resistance to Fire with Mechanical Shock and Water Spray
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FP PLUS^TM : BS 8434-2 - ENHANCED

Resistance to Fire with Mechanical Shock and Water Spray
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BS 7846/F2 : 2000

FP400^® : BS 7846 / F2 Category C

Resistance to Fire Alone
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FP400^® : BS 7846 / F2 Category W

Resistance to Fire with Water
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FP400^® : BS 7846 / F2 Category Z

Resistance to Fire with Mechanical Shock
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BS 7846 : 2009

FP600S

Resistance to Fire with Direct Mechanical Shock and Water Jet
Watch the video >

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