ISO 19701:2013

Overview

ISO 19701:2013 - Methods for sampling and analysis of fire effluents - defines a suite of sampling procedures and chemical analytical methods for measuring individual chemical species in fire atmospheres. The standard applies to samples extracted from test rigs, apparatus or physical fire test models and focuses on laboratory-oriented sampling and analysis (not on the fire-test design itself). It explicitly excludes aerosols and FTIR techniques and notes that some environmental gases (PAHs, dioxins, furans) will be addressed in future work.

Key technical topics and requirements

• Sampling considerations and best practice
  • Emphasis on representative sampling and quantification of losses in probes, sampling lines and filters.
  • Guidance on concentration units and conversion (mass concentration vs. volume fraction at T = 298 K, P = 1 atm).
  • Differentiation between grab (instantaneous) and integrated (average) sampling approaches.
• Sampling methods covered
  • Gas–solution absorbers (bubblers)
  • Solid sorption tubes
  • Sampling for spectrometric/spectrophotometric analysis
  • Gas bags (evacuated/filled)
• Analytical methods for specific fire gases
  • Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide by non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) techniques
  • Oxygen by paramagnetism
  • Hydrogen cyanide, HCl, HBr, HF, NOx, aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde), acrolein, sulfur dioxide (by HPIC), hydrogen sulfide, ammonia
  • Organic species by GC‑MS (e.g., carbon disulfide, nitriles), total hydrocarbons by FID
  • Metal/metalloid compounds (antimony, arsenic) by AAS or ICP
  • Annexes include methods considered unsuitable, colour‑change tubes, quantitative instrumental methods, and a continuous HF method using ion‑selective electrode
• Safety and quality
  • Strong safety precautions for handling toxic fire gases and analytical reagents.
  • Notes on uncertainty sources (sampling losses, reagent strengths, instrument limits) and reliance on best practice by qualified personnel.

Practical applications and users

ISO 19701:2013 is intended for:

• Fire test laboratories conducting material and component fire testing
• Fire safety engineers and toxicologists performing life‑safety and toxic hazard assessments
• Environmental laboratories assessing combustion effluent impact
• Instrument and sampling equipment manufacturers validating methods for fire atmospheres
• Regulators and standards bodies specifying test protocols and reporting formats

Typical uses include quantifying toxic combustion products for evacuation modelling, comparing materials for fire toxicity, and providing validated analytical procedures for research and compliance testing.

Related standards

• Normative reference: ISO 13943 (Fire safety - Vocabulary)
• The standard draws on interlaboratory studies and prior national documents (e.g., AFNOR references) and is maintained by ISO/TC 92/SC 3 (Fire threat to people and environment).

Keywords: ISO 19701:2013, fire effluents, gas sampling, fire gas analysis, NDIR, GC‑MS, HPIC, AAS, ICP, ion‑selective electrode, fire toxicology.