Part 1: Architect’s Guide 1 - 43 Table 6.1 European classification for building materials Class Comment A1 non-combustible products No contribution, even in highly developed fire. Must automatically satisfy other less stringent classes A2 non-combustible and not very combustible products Class B + little contribution to fire load and to development of fire in event of very developed fire B combustible products Item C with even stricter criteria C combustible products Item D with stricter criteria D combustible products Product resisting attack of small flame for longer period. Capable of undergoing thermal attack from isolated object on fire with delayed and limited heat release E combustible products Products capable of resisting attack by small flame without substantial spread F unclassified products No fire reaction performance defined The system provides additional classifications, as given in Table 6.2. Table 6.2 Additional classes Production of inflamed smoke Production of droplets or debris S1 low smoke production d0 absence of inflamed droplets S2 medium smoke production d1 no inflamed droplets exceeding 10 seconds S3 no limit required d2 inflamed droplets (persistence > 10 seconds) 6.2.3 Fire resistance Resistance to fire is the ability of a building element to continue to perform its intended function in fire. The fire resistance classification of a building element is defined by: Standardized criteria (see Table 6.3) Degree of fire resistance (duration, expressed in minutes, before reaching criteria) It measures the fire performance of the classified element. Requirements for fire resistance of building elements are expressed in terms of a classification criterion and a time for which the criterion must be satisfied. Table 6.3 Classification for building elements Criteria Definitions R Mechanical resistance: ability to resist thermal attack from fire without loss of structural stability E Air tightness in a fire: ability to prevent spread of flames and hot gases I Thermal insulation: ability to prevent increase in temperature of side not exposed to fire W Thermal radiation: ability not to emit thermal radiation greater than 15 kW/m² The classification of a construction element may be: R, RE, E, REI or EI, followed by the time in minutes -15, 30, 60, 90, 120 minutes, etc. Additional criteria and criteria specific to certain facilities are also given - see Table 6.4.
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