What are the fire protection classes for floor coverings according to EN 13501?

EN 13501 is the European fire protection standard. It differs from the German fire protection standard DIN 4102 in the test criteria. Both classifications are still used, but only EN 13501 is used for building materials approved after 2001. Floor coverings are subdivided into an extra class in EN 13501 and given the suffix ‘fl’ (for flooring).

Fire protection classes help to classify materials according to their fire behavior. In principle, there are 4 levels that must be observed; non-combustible, flame retardant, normal flammability and easily flammable. This applies to both the classification according to EN 13501 and the conventional DIN 4102.

These are the 4 different fire protection classes:

• non-combustible
• flame retardant
• normal flammability
• easily flammable

Your fire protection officer can give you the best advice on which fire protection class must be complied with for the various floor coverings used at your company. It is not possible to make a general statement on this, as many different factors have to be taken into account.

For many areas with public footfall, such as hotels, theatres, public facilities or cinemas, there are often increased requirements for fire behaviour and normally a floor covering with the requirement of class Cfl – s1 according to EN 13501-1 is required.

We offer a range of anti-fatigue mats and workplace mats that are tested and certified to EN 13501-1 to meet your company’s fire safety requirements.