Fire classificatiion of flooring products determination of the burning behaviour using a radiant heat source.

The flooring radiant panel testing method is used in the United States of America (ASTM E648, ASTM E970, NFPA 253) and in Europe (ISO/EN 9239). The European Union has made this type of fire test one of the requirements for the approval of floor coverings.

The surface radiation test method in accordance with EN ISO 9239-1 rates the burning behavior (flame propagation and smoke development) of horizontally installed floor coverings that are first exposed to a source of thermal radiation and then ignited with a pilot flame.

Commercial and contract application flooring products are tested according to these methods; certain criteria need to be met in order to obtain class Bfl, Cfl or Dfl classification. For residential products, Class Efl is generally sufficient.

Floor coverings are considered flame retardant if they meet the requirements
associated with the radiation test for fire classes Bfl and Cfl.