Overview
EN ISO 9239-1:2025 - Reaction to fire tests for floorings - Part 1: Determination of the burning behaviour using a radiant heat source (ISO 9239‑1:2025) specifies a laboratory method to assess the wind‑opposed burning behaviour and flame spread of horizontally mounted floor coverings when exposed to a controlled radiant heat flux gradient and ignited with pilot flames. This fourth edition (2025) supersedes EN ISO 9239-1:2010 and includes updated definitions, reporting and calculation practices (HF‑E / HF‑30 / CHF), and added guidance on smoke measurement and reporting.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Test principle: Measurements are carried out in a test chamber with a gas‑fired radiant panel producing a heat flux gradient; specimens are horizontally mounted and exposed to pilot flames.
- Scope of materials: Applicable to all types of flooring - textile carpet, cork, wood, rubber and plastics coverings, coatings, tiles, loose‑laid products and floorings with substrates, backings or underlays.
- Measured outcomes: Burning behaviour and flame spread; optional smoke development assessment (Annex A) where required.
- Specimen preparation: Rules for substrates, adhesives, underlays, tile edge securing and loose‑laid floors are included; modifications (backing, bonding, underlay) can change results.
- Data & reporting: Calculation and reporting use HF‑E and/or HF‑30 values and mean CHF where applicable; Annex D provides an example report template.
- Quality/precision: Information on test precision and repeatability is provided in Annex B.
- Apparatus & calibration: Detailed requirements for test chamber, specimen holder, radiant panel, pilot burner, instrumentation (pyrometers, thermocouples, anemometer, smoke meters) and calibration procedures are described.
Practical applications and users
Who uses EN ISO 9239‑1:2025:
- Flooring manufacturers and product developers - to evaluate and improve fire performance during design and quality control.
- Independent test laboratories - to perform standardized reaction‑to‑fire testing for certification and product data sheets.
- Fire safety engineers and specifiers - to compare products for building projects and to support compliance with national/regional fire regulations.
- Regulators, certification bodies and building authorities - to assess conformity and support classification systems.
Typical uses:
- Product classification and regulatory compliance documentation.
- Performance benchmarking and acceptance testing for contracted installations.
- Research into fire behaviour of new floor covering materials and constructions.
Related standards
- Other parts of the ISO 9239 series (see ISO catalogue) and relevant national/regional reaction‑to‑fire regulations and classification systems. Note: test results reflect laboratory reaction‑to‑fire performance and cannot alone describe full fire hazard or real fire risk for installed floors.
