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Fire Protection Services
At
the end of the 19th century , cities across
the U.S. were plagued by a rash of fatal fires
caused by faulty electrical equipment and wiring.
On October 8, 1871, the “Great Chicago Fire”
resulted in more than 300 deaths, 90,000 people
homeless, and property loss of US$200 million
in only two days.
In
1894, to investigate and help eliminate the
causes of the fires, William H. Merrill established
the Underwriters Electrical Bureau. Manned by
two staff members and using testing equipment
worth just US$350, the fledging bureau released
its first test report on March 24.
In
1901, the bureau that Merrill founded was incorporated
as Underwriters Laboratories. That was also the
year it built a test chamber to evaluate the fire
resistance of doors and windows. In 1903, UL conducted
the "Test for the Fire-Resistance of Doors
and Windows” and published its very first test
standard, entitled “UL10A for Tin Clad Fire Doors”.
To date, UL has accumulated more than a century
of expertise in fire protection testing.
UL's
Fire Protection Services at a Glance
The
concept of fire safety and prevention is built
on the four core measures of “product fire safety”,
“fire resistance”, “fire suppression” and “signal
and alarm system”. It is based on this fire
safety and prevention concept that UL provides
fire testing and certification services for
thousands of products—including home electrical
appliances, information technology equipment,
heaters, fuses, electronic control equipment,
wire and cable, fire-resistive building products,
smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, fire
extinguishers, automatic sprinkler systems,
life jackets and buoys, and bullet-proof glass.
- Reducing the
fire danger of electrical products by testing
on the fire enclosures, and specifying the
safety requirements under abnormal and short-circuit
operation.
- Testing of
combustible materials for controlling the
spread of a fire.
- Evaluating
the performance of smoke and heat detection
and alarm systems for ensuring their timely
alarming function.
- Testing the
fire suppression function of sprinkling systems,
and the fire resistance function of building
materials.
The above preventive
measures, combining the fire suppression efforts
of the firefighting crew through the use of extinguishing
systems and other safety equipment, effectively
control the spread of a fire and minimize the
loss of lives and properties. UL's
Fire Protection Division
UL
offers a comprehensive scope of fire protection
testing and certification services, ranging
from fire-resistive construction, fire extinguishing
equipment, fire extinguishers, to personal protective
equipment. UL's Fire Protection Division offers
conformity assessment services in the following
five areas:
UL
tests and certifies building structures and
openings, which cover architectural assemblies
(e.g. pillars, beams, floor slabs, and roofing
material), curtain walls, fire doors and fire
windows, safes and record protection equipment,
fire-resistive gates, fire-resistive air ducts,
through-penetration firestop systems and joint
systems. Table 1 shows the products and the
related safety standards
Fire
Resistance and Containment Systems
Fire
Suppression System
Building
Products and Systems
Communications
Systems
Other
Performance Evaluation and Materials Testing
Fire Resistance and Containment
Systems
UL
tests and certifies building structures and
openings, which cover architectural assemblies
(e.g. pillars, beams, floor slabs, and roofing
material), curtain walls, fire doors and fire
windows, safes and record protection equipment,
fire-resistive gates, fire-resistive air ducts,
through-penetration firestop systems and joint
systems. Table 1 shows the products and the
related safety standards.
| Items
|
Standards
|
| Fire-resistive
assemblies |
UL
263 (ASTM E119, NFPA 251, UBC 7-1), ISO
834, UL 1709 |
| Fire
door |
ANSI/
UL10C, ANSI/ UL10B, UL 1784, NFPA 252,
UBC 7-2 (1997), ASTM E2074 |
| Fire
window |
UL
9, UBC 7-4(1997), ASTM E2010 |
| Through-penetration
firestop systems |
UL
1479 (ASTM E814) |
| Joint
system |
UL
2079, ASTM E1966 |
| Safes
& record protection equipment |
UL
72 |
| Wrapping
systems |
ASTM
E1725, UL 2221, ICBO ES AC 101, SBCCI,
ISO 6944 |
Fire
Suppression System
UL
tests and certifies water-type and other fire
extinguishing systems, including sprinklers,
extinguishing system units, valves, sprinkler
piping systems, fire main equipment, fire hydrants,
fire pumps, and hand-held fire extinguishers.
Table 2 shows the products and the related safety
standards.
| Extinguishing
system units |
Clean
agent: UL 2127, UL 2166, NFPA2001
Carbon
dioxide: UL 2127, UL 2166, NFPA 12
Dry
chemical: UL 1254, NFPA 17
Low
expansion foam and equipment: UL 162,
NFPA 11, NFPA 16, NFPA 20, NFPA 409
High
expansion foam and equipment: UL 139,
UL162, NFPA 11A
Wet
chemical solution: UL 300, UL 1254, NFPA
17A |
| Fire
extinguishers |
Fire
testing and rating: UL 711
Foam
fire extinguishers: UL 8
Carbon
dioxide fire extinguishers: UL 154
Dry
chemical fire extinguishers: UL 299
Gallon
stored-pressure, water type fire extinguishers:
UL 626-2-1/2
Halocarbon
clean agent fire extinguishers: UL 2129
|
| Fire
main equipment |
UL
246, Subject 327, UL 789, UL 1285,UL 1821
|
| Fire
pumps & engines |
UL
448, UL 1247 |
| Residential
sprinklers |
UL
1626, ISO 6182-10 |
| Sprinkler
piping systems |
UL
203, UL 213, Subject 852, UL 1474, UL
1821 |
| Valves
for fire protection systems |
UL
193, UL 258, UL 260, UL 262, UL 312, UL
1091 |
| Water
mist nozzle |
UL
2167, IMO 800(19) |
Building Products and Systems
UL's
fire protection services cover building products
that range from roofing materials, roofing coverings,
air ducts, speakers, acoustic insulation materials
for roofing, to interior finish materials like
wallpaper, wall coverings, carpets and curtain.
Table 3 exhibits the products and the related
safety standards.
| Items
|
Standards
|
| Air
duct, air connectors & closure system
|
UL
181, UL 181A, UL 181B |
| Combustible
materials for use in air-handling spaces
(Plenums) |
UL
723 (ASTM E84, NFPA255), UL 2043 |
| Roofing
materials |
Fire
resistance characteristics: UL 790, UL
1256
Wind
resistance: UL 580, UL 18976, UL 997
Material/product
physical performance properties: UL 55A,
UL 2218, ASTM and other nationally recognized
Standards |
| Surface
burning
characteristics of interior finish materials
& systems |
Surface
burning characteristics: UL 723
Room/building
corner tests: UL 1715 (UBC 26-3), ISO
9705 (NFPA 286), NFPA 265 (UBC 8-2), UL1040
Ignition
properties: NFPA 259, ASTM D1929
Intermediate-scale
multistory test: NFPA 285 (UBC 26-9) |
Communications Systems
UL
provides testing and certification services
for indoor wiring cables, cable tray and its
protection system. The table below shows the
related safety standards. Installation of these
communications systems should follow the United
States' National Electrical Code NEC/ NFPA70
and other related regulations.
| Items
|
Standards
|
| Telecommunications
equipment testing |
Bellcore
GR-63 (NEBS)
Materials
ignitability, wire & cable—ANSI T1.307
Fire
propagation—ANSI T1.319
Routing
assemblies—UL 2024A |
| Wire
& cable flammability testing |
Plenum
applications–NFPA 262
Riser
application–UL1666
Vertical
tray applications–UL1685, CSA FT4, IEEE
383, IEEE 1202, JIS C 3521
IEC
Test Methods–IEC 60332, Part 1 and Part
3, IEC 60754, Part 1 and Part 2, IEC 601034
|
| Wire
& Cable International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) Flammability Testing
|
IEC
61034-1, IEC 61034-2, IEC 60754-1, IEC
60754-2, IEC 60332-1, IEC 60332-3-10,
FIPEC Protocol |
Other Performance Evaluation
and Materials Testing
UL's
Fire Protection Division also works closely
with the public and private enterprises in various
research and development projects. These projects
cover:
- Large-Scale
Fire Research (100 by 100 ft movable ceiling)
- Ignition,
Smoke & Fire Effluent Testing (ASTM E136,
ASTM D1929, ASTM E662, ISO 5659, NES 711,
and NES 713)
- Cone
Calorimeter (ASTM E1354, ISO 5660, CAN/ ULC-S135,
NFPA 271, and ASTM D5485)
- Phase
Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA, UL 2167,
and IMO A19/ Resolution 800)
- Mattress
& Futon Testing (CAL TB 106, CAL TB 117,
and CAL TB 603)
-
Material
Analysis Performance Program (FTIR, TGA, DSC,
DMA)
For
over a century, UL has been actively contributing
to fire protection testing. The UL Mark is widely
recognized and accepted by contractors, building
and fire inspectors, and other code authorities.
For
additional information about Fire Protection
Certification, please,
follow
this
link.
UL
Affiliates can assist you to get the necessary
certification for this product category.
| Certification
in Latin America |
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Voluntary |
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Voluntary |
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Voluntary |
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