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No one wants this to happen.
Fire Rating – Curtains
The term ‘fire rating’ is used in New Zealand Building Code Compliance Document Fire Safety
C/AS1 to mean ‘fire resistance rating’. However Fire rating is a misleading term as all organic products are ‘combustible’ or ‘flammable’ to some degree. Fabric flammability is an important textile issue, especially for stage drapery that will be used in a public space such as a school, theatre or special event venue. Although all fabrics will burn, some are naturally more resistant to fire than others. Those that are more flammable can have their fire resistance drastically improved
by treatment with fire retardant chemicals.
Fire retardant treatment:
The flammability of fabric can be drastically reduced through the use of fire retardants. Many natural fibers, including cotton, can be topically treated with a chemical that reduces the fabric’s flammability to the extent that it becomes nearly non-combustible. During a fire, the chemical reacts with the gases and tars generated naturally by the fabric, converting the gases and tars to carbon char, thus drastically slowing the fabric’s burning rate. Some polyester fabrics are
considered permanently fire retardant. This is because fire retardant properties are built directly into the molecular structure of the fibers. Other synthetic fabrics can also be topically treated with chemicals after the manufacturing process.
Sources of flame vary from lighter (kids playing), to electric blankets to lithium batteries found in many of today’s devices and cell phones.
Many curtain materials are flammable. Many contain natural and synthetic fibres which can and do burn. You can protect yourself and your family by applying a flame retardant.
A flame-retardant solution makes the material resistant to burning when it encounters a low-energy ignition source, such as a cigarette lighter or a candle.
Curtain Clean can now apply a fire retardant to those curtains that are not flame retardant. This can be done on new or older curtains.
It is recommended that older curtains are cleaned before application of the retardant and the retardant is then applied as part of the cleaning process.
Have your curtains treated while they are here for cleaning.
Curtains can also be treated in SITU.
For more information, please call us on 0800 579 0501.