Overview
ISO 13943:2008 - Fire safety - Vocabulary is an international vocabulary standard developed by ISO in cooperation with IEC (prepared by ISO/TC 92 with IEC/TC 89). It defines agreed terminology for the field of fire safety used in ISO and IEC standards and other international documents. The second edition expands and updates the first edition (≈180 terms) to reflect developments in fire safety engineering, fire testing and performance‑based design. The standard also specifies entry layout and provides comprehensive indexes and a bibliography.
Key keywords: ISO 13943, fire safety vocabulary, fire safety terminology, fire safety standards, fire safety engineering.
Key Topics
- Scope and structure: formal scope, normative references (e.g., ISO 6707‑1, ISO 10241), definition of the general term “item”, and a comprehensive list of terms and definitions.
- Entry layout and conventions: mandatory elements (entry number, preferred term, definition) and optional elements (examples, notes, admitted/deprecated terms), plus handling of national variants and word classes.
- Core fire safety terms: definitions covering combustion and fire behaviour (auto‑ignition, afterflame, char), fire dynamics (plume, ceiling jet, chimney effect), fire testing and reaction-to-fire concepts (burning behaviour, test specimen), and measurement concepts (calorimeter, heat release rate).
- Protection, detection and response: terms for alarm time, activation time, agent outlet, suppression systems, smoke control, and evacuation metrics such as Available Safe Escape Time (ASET).
- Health and hazard metrics: toxicity-related terms (acute toxicity, asphyxiant, carboxyhaemoglobin saturation) and safety concepts (acceptance criteria, behavioural scenario).
- Supporting material: bibliography, alphabetical/indexed lists including deprecated terms and systematic index.
Applications
ISO 13943 is a foundational reference for:
- Fire safety engineers developing performance‑based designs and fire models.
- Standards writers and test developers who need consistent terminology across documents.
- Building designers, architects and civil engineers integrating fire safety into the built environment.
- Testing laboratories, manufacturers and product certifiers ensuring consistent test-language and reporting.
- Regulators, insurers and emergency planners using harmonized terms for codes, guidance and incident analyses.
- Educators and researchers teaching or publishing on fire safety topics.
Related Standards
- ISO 6707‑1:2004 - Building and civil engineering vocabulary (referenced normative).
- ISO 10241:1992 - International terminology standards - preparation and layout (used for entry formatting).
- Prepared in cooperation with IEC/TC 89 (fire hazard testing).
Note: reproduction of the terms and definitions for educational or implementation purposes is permitted when unmodified and referenced to ISO 13943:2008.
