Difference Between Flame Retardant And Fire Resistant Cables

The biggest difference between flame resistant and flame retardant fabrics lies in how each is made.

Difference between flame retardant and fire resistant cables.

Flame retardant cables can resist the spread of fire but fire rated cables maintain circuit integrity and continue to work in the presence of fire. It s about the test code. Typically flame retardant cables resist the spread of fire into a new area whereas fire resistive cables maintain circuit integrity and continue to work for a specific time under defined conditions. Without a special chemical application a fabric will not qualify as flame retardant.

Flame retardant cables are designed to resist the spread of fire into a new area. Similarly without being made of certain nonflammable fibers a fabric will not quality as fire resistant. Oxygen barrier cable also known as highly flame retardant cable. Fire resistant cables are often used to maintain circuit integrity of those vital life safety systems such as fire alarm and suppression services.

There are enormous differences between flame retardant cables and fire resistive cables. But of course we have to learn more than that. Fire and disaster planning is painstaking so it is of the utmost importance that specifiers and contractors understand when to use flame retardant and when to use fire resistant cable what the differences are and how the right choices should be arrived at. This article below will describe the differences between flame retardant and fire rated cables.

Difference between flame retardant cable and fire resistant release time 2016 05 27 14 43 hit. The main code as follow. A layer of non melting non flammable halogen free smoke free fire resistant plastic material is filled or wrapped between the cable insulated core and the cable sheath i e insulating organic is used to isolate the cable from the outside oxygen gas so that the cable is non. Iec 60322 fire resistant.

The title of iec 60331 is test for electric cables under fire conditions circuit integrity. Commonly fire resistant cable has red outer sheath jacket while flame retardant may have grey or black outer sheath jacket. Iec 60332 1 bs 4066 1 flame test on single vertical insulated wires cables. In term of cable construction it is essential to distinguish the outer sheath colour between flameretardant cable and fire resistant cable.

Due to relative low cost fire retardant cables are widely used as fire survival cables. A fire resistant cable will continue to function in the event of a fire and is also identified as a circuit integrity cable a flame retardant cable on the other hand will not propagate or convey a fire.