Fire retardants and product behaviour in fire tests

Fire safety aspects of polymeric materials in various types of use have led to finding effective ways to reduce the ease of ignition, flame spread and heat evolved as well as the amount of smoke, toxic and corrosive gases produced. Depending on the polymer and the end‐use application of the product, different fire‐retardant methods are used with the aim of passing criteria in fire tests related to the end‐use application. In most cases the classification criteria for reaction to fire behaviour are based on the assumption that early phase fire development is the main hazard. This means that the key elements for effective fire retardants are to delay ignition and to reduce heat release and smoke production, at least during the early part of exposure. This short review intends to summarize the different aspects of product performance in fire testing relevant for product development and classification purposes.