Quick Guide to Fire Retardant Foams and Their Applications
May 21st, 2013Fire safety is something that reaches into pretty much every sector of scientific research, engineering research and foam production like ours. We all learn about fire safety basics in school – make sure electrical sockets don’t get wet, never leave a flame unattended, etc. – but there’s a lot more to it these days.
Foams, although an exceptionally useful, adaptable modern material, can be very flammable unless engineered appropriately. In somewhere like the home, a car engine or a factory floor, that’s a dangerous thing!
Here’s a quick guide to some of the fire retardant foams we produce and the uses they see once they’ve left the factory floor.
Which Foams are fire Retardant?
Polyurethane non-flammable foams are grouped under the banner “class O” and are designed to meet industry standards of non-burnable specifications. But we know from experience that most clients want a foam producer that can create products that are fire retardant regardless of application.
Take the example of something like soft furnishings. Strict regulations are in place to prevent manufacturers from producing and selling soft furnishings that don’t meet the Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety Regulations 1988. Last year we reported that these are amongst the strictest fire safety guidelines in the world for polyurethane foams.
Fire Retardant Foam Applications
As a leading UK foam company, we’re seeing a superb spread across various sectors like eco living in terms of fire retardant foam uses. Did you know you can use fire retardant class O foams to build wall panels in eco-friendly buildings? It’s even possible to en
gineer fire-retardant, noise-cancelling foam wall panels. But where else might you see fire-retardant foams?
Machinery and Engines
Fire-retardant foams have come on a lot in the past decade. It’s now common to find an exceptionally diverse range of foam products everywhere from our own factory floor machinery to your car engine.
In terms of vehicles, we’ve seen a lot of new developments in sound control, specifically noise-reducing foams to make your ride as smooth and noise-free as it can be. And how is this possible? With noise-cancelling, fire-retardant foams. We may use cars every day, but it’s always worth remembering that they’re essentially large dangerous machines. Fireproofing as much of the car as possible isn’t just something car manufacturers can opt into, it’s part of safety regulations and is something we have superb insight into as a foam manufacturers with longstanding business relationships in the automotive industry.
Home Furnishings
We’ve already mentioned how your new sofa isn’t allowed to be produced unless it meets various UK legislative standards. But did you know your bed also falls under the same fire-retardant UK foam producer regulations? Your mattress and all coverings – including foam products – needs to be compliant in order to legally be produced and sold in the UK.
Pretty much everything in your home that falls under the soft furnishings banner must be in line with the same regulations to minimise the risk of fires spreading in the home.


