ASTM E2280-21 PDF

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE 4.1 This guide is intended for use by those undertaking the development of fire hazard assessments for upholstered seating furniture in health care occupancies. 4.2 As a guide this document provides information on an approach to development of a fire hazard assessment, but fixed procedures are not established. Section 1.7 describes some cautions to be taken into account. 4.3 A fire hazard assessment developed following this guide should specify all steps required to determine fire hazard measures for which safety thresholds or pass/fail criteria can be meaningfully set by responsible officials using the standard. 4.4 A fire hazard assessment developed as a result of using this guide should be able to assess a new item of upholstered seating furniture being considered for use in a certain health care facility, and reach one of the conclusions in 4.4.1 – 4.4.4. 4.4.1 The new upholstered seating furniture item is safer, in terms of predicted fire performance, than the one in established use. Then, the new product would be desirable, from the point of view of fire safety. 4.4.2 There is no difference between the predicted fire safety of the new item and the one in established use. Then, there would be neither advantage nor disadvantage in using the new product, from the point of view of fire safety. 4.4.3 The new upholstered seating furniture item is predicted to be less safe, in terms of fire performance, than the one in established use. Then, the new item would be less desirable, from the point of view of fire safety than the one in established use. 4.4.3.1 If the new upholstered furniture item is predicted to be less safe, in terms of fire performance, than the one in established use, a direct substitution of the products would provide a lower level of safety and the new product should not be used, without other compensatory changes being made. A new upholstered furniture product can, however, be made acceptable if, and only if, it is part of a co... SCOPE 1.1 This is a guide to developing fire hazard assessments for upholstered seating furniture, within patient rooms of health care occupancies. As such, it provides methods and contemporary fire safety engineering techniques to develop a fire hazard assessment for use in specifications for upholstered seating furniture in such occupancies. 1.2 Hazard assessment is an estimation of the potential severity of the fires that can develop with certain products in defined scenarios, once the incidents have occurred. Hazard assessment does not address the likelihood of a fire occurring, but is based on the premise that an ignition has occurred. 1.3 Because it is a guide, this document cannot be used for regulation, nor does it give definitive instructions on how to conduct a fire hazard assessment. 1.4 This guide is intended to provide assistance to those interested in mitigating the potential damage from fires associated with upholstered furniture in patient rooms in health care occupancies. 1.5 Thus, this guide can be used to help assess the fire hazard of materials, assemblies, or systems intended for use in upholstered furniture, by providing a standard basis for studying the level of fire safety associated with certain design choices. It can also aid those interested in designing features appropriate to health care occupancies. Finally, it may be useful to safety personnel in health care occupancies. 1.6 This guide is a focused application of Guide E1546, which offers help in reference to fire scenarios that are specific to upholstered furniture in health care occupancies, and includes an extensive bibliography. It differs from Guide E1546 in that it offers guidance that is specific to the issue of upholstered furniture in patient rooms of health care facilities, rather than general guidance. Appendix X11 includes some statistics on the magnitude of the potential problem in the U.S. 1.7 A fire hazard assessm...