IEC TR 62222:2005

TECHNICAL IEC
REPORT TR 62222
First edition
2005-03
Fire performance of communication cables
installed in buildings
Reference number
IEC/TR 62222:2005(E)
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TECHNICAL IEC
REPORT TR 62222
First edition
2005-03
Fire performance of communication cables
installed in buildings
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– 2 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3

1 Scope and object.5

2 Reference documents.5

3 Definitions and abbreviations .7

4 Typical communication cable installations .10

5 Legislation and regulation .11

6 Research projects.13

6.1 Cable Fire Research.13
6.2 Partners in Technology [5] .13
6.3 Partners in Innovation [6].14
6.4 Fire Performance of Electric Cables [7] .14
6.5 Seven Dials [8] .15
6.6 Cable Fire Research Association .15
6.7 Insurance Industry .16
7 Fire hazards .16
7.1 Traditional approach.16
7.2 Hazard considerations .17
7.3 Current fire hazards.20
8 Test methods .20
8.1 Review .20
8.2 NFPA 262/EN 50289-4-11.20
8.3 IEC 60332-3 / EN 50266 .21
8.4 UL 1666 .21
8.5 UL1685/FT4 .21
8.6 EN 13823 (SBI) .21
8.7 General test method considerations .22
8.8 Test method conclusions .23
9 Fire performance requirements .23
9.1 Parameters.23
9.2 Heat .24
9.3 Smoke.25
9.4 Propagation.25

9.5 Ignitability.25
9.6 Damaging effects of fire effluents.25
9.7 Flaming droplets.25
9.8 Toxicity .25
10 Conclusions .26
11 Bibliography .36
Annex A Procedure for mounting cables in test method EN 13823 .27
Annex B Typical communication cable installations.28
Annex C Fire hazards / Installations / Applications / Test methods for communication
cables in buildings .29
Annex D Fire performance requirements .30
Annex E Review of test methods – Ignitability.31

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________
FIRE PERFORMANCE OF COMMUNICATION CABLES

INSTALLED IN BUILDINGS
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising

all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote

international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. However, a
technical committee may propose the publication of a technical report when it has collected
data of a different kind from that which is normally published as an International Standard, for

example "state of the art".
IEC 62222, which is a technical report, has been prepared by subcommittee 46C: Wires and
symmetric cables, of IEC technical committee 46: Cables, wires, waveguides, r.f. connectors,
r.f. and microwave passive components and accessories
The text of this technical report is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
46C/633/DTR 46C/662/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical report can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

– 4 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until

the maintenance result date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in

the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be

• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or

• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 5 –
FIRE PERFORMANCE OF COMMUNICATION CABLES

INSTALLED IN BUILDINGS
1 Scope and object
The object of this technical report is to provide recommendations for the requirements and
test methods to be specified for the fire performance of communication cables when installed

in buildings.
The recommendations relate to typical applications and installation practices for copper and
optical cables in buildings. This technical report includes an assessment of the fire hazards
presented by such installations, and describes fire scenarios that have been established and
the appropriate cable fire performances to mitigate these hazards.
The recommendations also take into account legislation and regulation applicable to the fire
performance of cables, the results of known research work and an assessment of known test
methods and their ability to measure the recommended fire performance.
Power cables are usually segregated from communication cables for electrical safety and
installed differently so they have not been addressed in this technical report.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
IEC 60332-1-1, Tests on electric and optical cables under fire conditions – Part 1-1: Test for
vertical flame propagation for a single vertical insulated wire or cable – Apparatus
IEC 60332-1-2, Tests on electric and optical cables under fire conditions – Part 1-2: Test for
vertical flame propagation for a single insulated wire or cable - Procedure for 1 kW pre-mixed
flame
IEC 60332-3-10, Tests on electric and optical cables under fire conditions – Part 3-10: Test
for vertical flame spread of vertically-mounted bunched wires or cables – Apparatus
IEC 60332-3-24, Tests on electric and optical cables under fire conditions – Part 3-24: Test for

vertical flame spread of vertically-mounted bunched wires or cables – Category C
IEC 60695-5-1, Fire hazard testing – Part 5-1: Corrosion damage effects of fire effluent –
General guidance
IEC 60695-5-3, Fire hazard testing – Part 5-3: Corrosion damage effects of fire effluent –
Leakage current and metal loss test method
IEC 60695-6-1, Fire hazard testing – Part 6-1: Smoke opacity – General guidance
IEC 60695-7-1, Fire hazard testing – Part 7-1: Toxicity of fire effluents – General guidance
IEC 60754 (all parts), Test on gases evolved during combustion of materials from cables
IEC 60794 (all parts), Optical fibre cables

– 6 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
IEC 61034(all parts), Measurement of smoke density of electric cables burning under defined

conditions
IEC 61156 (all parts), Multi-core and symmetrical pair / quad cables for digital

communications
ISO/IEC 11801, Information Technology – Generic cabling for customer premises

ISO/IEC 13943, Fire safety – Vocabulary

ISO 9705, Full-scale room test for surface products

EN 13823, Reaction to fire tests for building products – Building products, excluding floorings,
exposed to the thermal attack by a single burning item.
EN 13501-1, Fire classification of construction products and building elements – Part 1:
Classification using test data from reaction to fire tests.
EN 50265-2-1, Common test methods for cables under fire conditions – Test for vertical flame
propagation for a single insulated wire or cable – Part 2-1: Procedures – 1 kW pre-mixed
flame
EN 50266-2-4, Common test methods for cables under fire conditions – Test for vertical flame
spread of vertically-mounted bunched wires or cables – Part 2-4: Procedures – Category C
EN 50267-2-3, Common test methods for cables under fire conditions – Tests on gases
evolved during combustion of materials from cables – Part 2-3: Procedures – Determination of
degree of acidity of gases for cables by determination of the weighted average of pH and
conductivity
EN 50289-4-11, A horizontal integrated fire test method
CSA FT4, Canadian Standards Association, CSA 22.2 No. 03-01 “Vertical flame test – Cables
in cable trays”
CSA FT6, Canadian Standards Association, CSA 22.2 No. 03-01 “Horizontal flame and smoke
test”
NES 713 UK Ministry of Defence Standard 02-713 (NES 713), “Naval Engineering Standard –
Determination of the toxicity index of the products of combustion from small specimens of

materials”
NFPA 262, Standard method of test for flame travel and smoke of wires and cables for use in
air handling spaces. (Formerly UL 910)
UL 1666, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., “Test for flame propagation height of electrical and
optical fibre cables installed vertically in shafts”
UL 1685, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., “Standard for vertical tray fire propagation and
smoke release test for electrical and optical fibre cables”
UL VW-1, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., “VW-1 (vertical specimen) flame test – UL 1581,
Reference standard for electrical wires, cables and flexible cords”

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 7 –
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations

For the purpose of this technical report, the definitions in ISO/IEC 13943, together with the

following (some of which are based on EN 13501-1) apply.

3.1
BRE
Building Research Establishment

3.2
“Cardington” test rig
real-scale scenario for cables in horizontal hidden voids in buildings, developed by the BRE in
the Partners in Technology project [5]
3.3
CENELEC
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation
3.4
CFRA
Cable Fire Research Association [11] [16]
3.5
contribution to fire
energy released by a product influencing the fire growth
3.6
CPD
Construction Products Directive [3]
3.7
CSA
Canadian Standards Association
3.8
EN
European Standard
3.9
end use application
real application of a product in relation to all aspects that influence the behaviour of that

product under different fire situations
3.10
FEP
Polytetrafluoroethylene, Fluorinated ethylene-propylene or Polytetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoro-
propylene
3.11
fire growth rate index
FIGRA
maximum quotient of heat release rate from a specimen and the time of its occurrence
___________
Numbers in square brackets refer to the Biliography.

– 8 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
3.12
FIPEC
Fire Performance of Electric Cables [7]

3.13
fire situation
stage in the development of a fire, characterised by the nature, severity and size of the

thermal attack on the products involved

3.14
flaming droplets
material separating from a specimen during a fire test and continuing to flame for a minimum
period as described by the test method
3.15
HF
halogen free or Low smoke zero halogen (sometimes known as LSOH)
3.16
HR
Heat Release
3.17
HRR
Heat Release Rate
3.18
ISO
International Standards Organisation
3.19
LC
concentration or volume fraction of gas or fire effluent statistically calculated from exposure
data to produce lethality in 50 % of test animals within a specified exposure and post-
exposure time
3.20
LSPVC
Low Smoke Flame Retardant PolyVinylCchloride
3.21
NEMA
National Electrical Manufacturers Association [2]
3.22
NES
Naval Engineering Standard
3.23
NFPA¨
National Fire Protection Association
3.24
NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology [10]

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 9 –
3.25
OD
Optical Density
3.26
PCS
Gross Calorific Potential
3.27
PE
Polyethylene
3.28
PII
Partners in Innovation [6]
3.29
PIT
Partners in Technology [5]
3.30
PP
Polypropylene
3.31
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride
3.32
PVDF
Polyvinylidene Fluoride
3.33
reaction to fire
response of a product in contributing by its own decomposition to a fire to which it is exposed,
under specified conditions
3.34
reference scenario
hazard situation and environment used as a reference for a given test method

3.35
SBI
Single Burning Item test (EN 13823)
3.36
small fire attack
thermal attack produced by a small flame such as a match or lighter
3.37
smoke growth rate index
SMOGRA
the maximum quotient of smoke production rate from a specimen and the time of its
occurrence
3.38
smoke hazard
potential for injury and/or damage from smoke

– 10 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
3.39
smoke
visible part of fire effluent
3.40
SP
Smoke Production
3.41
SPR
Smoke Production Rate
3.42
THR
Total Heat Release
3.43
TSP
Total Smoke Production
3.44
UL
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
4 Typical communication cable installations
In order to define the appropriate fire test methods and performance requirements, it is
necessary to consider the fire hazards presented by typical cable installations.
During the last decade, the worldwide demand for more and more information has resulted in
increasing transmission data rates, and developments in local area networks (LANs). In
particular the growing popularity of structured cabling systems as defined in ISO/IEC 11801
has given rise to new types of installations. The generic structured wiring cabling system is a
hierarchical star network linking campus distributors to different building distributors, which in
turn link to individual floor distributors which then connect with telecommunication outlets. On
each floor, the riser cable, run in vertical shafts, connects to the floor distributor which
transmits data via the horizontal cables to each floor outlet. In a typical installation, the floor
outlets are arranged in a matrix layout spaced about 1 or 2 metres, with the horizontal cables
run in ceiling or under-floor voids. Even in a small office, this leads to a large number of
cables run in building voids, particularly near the floor distributor.

The evolution of Structured Wiring has coincided with a rapid increase in system data rates,
from 10 kbps in the early 1980’s to 600 Mbps in the late 1990’s, and on to 1,2 Gbps in the
early 2000’s. As transmission rates increase, system upgrades to higher performance cables
and components are typically necessary. Since old redundant cables are rarely removed
before new cables are installed, frequent upgrades result in a large amount of many
generations of cables accumulating in building voids.
Copper conductor cables manufactured to the IEC 61156 series and optical cables
manufactured to the IEC 60794 series are used in Structured Wiring. These standards detail
electrical and optical transmission requirements, mechanical performance and environmental
characteristics. Optical cables and communication cables operating at low voltages and
currents are not a primary cause of fires, but their widespread use means that they may be
involved in outbreaks of fire from an external source. Therefore, fire performance is one of the
most important environmental parameters to be specified.
A review of typical installations suggested that communication cable installations in buildings
are as shown in Annex B and can be grouped into the following descriptions:

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 11 –
a) In public buildings such as airports, shops and older commercial offices with solid floors,

cables are generally installed in ceiling voids with some local cabling in wall ducts.

Regulations generally require segregation of power cables for electrical safety.

b) In general, in offices and newer commercial offices, cables are generally installed in

ceiling and under-floor voids, and wall ducts. Lighting power cables and some

communication cables are run in ceiling voids, whilst computer and telephone cables and

their associated low voltage power cables are often run in under-floor voids. Again,

regulations generally require the segregation of power cables (in conduit or trunking) for

electrical safety. In such installations, relatively shallow raised flooring provides the under-

floor voids, and forced airflow is generally not used.

c) In newer large commercial offices with extensive computer facilities, the raised flooring is

deep (1,0 to 1,5 m is not uncommon) and the void can be densely packed with
communication cables. This void can also be used for the provision of environmental air to
computer equipment.
d) Under-floor and ceiling voids can have particular airflow dynamics that should be reflected
in the test method. In general, as airflow rate increases in any given apparatus, fire
propagation increases and smoke generation reduces. However research [5] has shown
that in hidden voids, combustion proceeds to the same degree whether under forced or
natural convection.
e) A considerable amount of cables can be installed in vertical riser shafts. For convenience,
these may be the same cables as are used for horizontal runs.
f) Patch cords and work area cables, whilst not permanently installed in buildings, often
accumulate in large numbers and have been included in the scope of this technical report.
g) In many installations, there can also be a number of cables that run behind and within
walls.
h) Large buildings are being designed and constructed worldwide by large multi-national
businesses, resulting in similar architecture and distribution of utilities within the structure
with raised floors and suspended ceilings creating building voids through which fire and
smoke can spread. Over 80% of cables installed in new offices are communication cables
and that could increase the fuel load in the event of a fire, an aspect not previously
addressed by IEC cable and installation standards.
i) For the purposes of defining the fire hazards and the fire performance to be specified, the
typical installations as described above and shown in Annex B, can be categorised as:
• Horizontal installations in building voids.
• Vertical installations in riser shafts.
• General installations.
• Exposed work areas.
• Installations where protection of equipment is critical.

5 Legislation and regulation
There are many different regional and local regulations. For example:
a) In Germany the amount of cable allowed in a public building is based on PCS values of
2 2
50 MJ/m for HF cables and 25 MJ/m for PVC cables. Guidance on the calculation of
PCS is given by the German Insurers [13], but it is not clear why a greater fuel load is
allowed for HF cables than for PVC cables. Doubt can also be cast on the stated
advantages that HF cables are less flammable and extinguish within a few min when the
ignition source is removed (PVC cables do not extinguish) and have less flame
propagation because of improved flame resistance.
b) Building codes in USA have very strong fire performance requirements. Cables installed in
buildings are regulated by the National Electrical Code [12]. The fire performance
requirements are specified either in code regulations (e.g. NFPA) as well as in specific
product standards. Flame propagation and smoke are the main criteria for cables in
building voids with air movement.

– 12 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
c) In the UK, there is very little regulation for the fire performance of cables. In the Building

Regulations, the main concerns regarding fire safety are means of escape, fire spread and

access facilities for the fire service. On the other hand, the insurance industry (de-facto

legislation) recognises new requirements for cables, and the particular hazard of

communication cables in building voids [9].

The Loss Prevention Council is a leading authority in the field of loss prevention and

control and it publishes a “Design Guide for the Fire Protection of Buildings” [20] to allow

architects and building designers to take into account insurers’ recommendations for fire

protection. The Guide highlights the increasing numbers of cables being used in buildings,

and in particular it recommends the use of cables with enhanced fire performance in

communication rooms.
d) In South Africa, there is little or no regulation for the fire performance of cables in
dwellings and high-rise buildings. The Wiring Code provides for the segregation of power
and communication cables as well as the certification of installations by means of physical
examination and electrical testing, by accredited persons. In the Building Regulations, the
main concerns regarding fire safety are means of escape, the prevention of fire spread by
the use of firewalls, fire fighting equipment and the accessibility of the premises for
external fire fighting. In the mining industry, although not regulated, underground power
and communication cables generally have a superior fire performance.
e) In Europe, developments with respect to cables and the Construction Products Directive
may have a significant impact on the fire performance requirements for cables.
The Construction Products Directive [3] was published by the European Commission in
1989, and has six essential requirements for building products, namely Mechanical
stability, Safety in case of fire, Health and environment, Safety in use, Protection against
noise and Energy economy. For safety in case of fire, a harmonised European system for
the classification of the fire performance of building products and the corresponding test
methods has been developed. This is based on the ISO 9705 real scale reference
scenario and the EN 13823 (SBI) intermediate scale reference test.
From time to time, the Construction Products Directive (CPD) has been amended by
Commission Decisions which reflect progress in defining and testing the fire performance of
products. In a recent Decision [4], test methods and requirements are given for the
classification of the reaction to fire performance of all construction products. Products are
considered in relation to their end-use application and appeals may be made against the
appropriateness of the reference scenario or the reference test method and alternatives may
be proposed for one or both. However, any alternative intermediate reference test should be
shown to correlate with its real scale reference scenario, and should use the EN 13823 test
(modified or not) as the starting point.
In December 1998, it was decided that cables permanently installed in buildings fall within the
scope of the CPD. Since then, industry and the European Commission and its Fire Regulators
Group have been working to establish whether cables as linear products can be treated as

any other building product or whether a special classification system and test methods are
necessary.
Once the Fire Regulators Group proposals for the Classification Criteria and Test Methods
have been approved, a further Decision will be published and a mandate will be issued to
prepare product specifications for the cables involved.
A concern to the cable industry is the reluctance of the Fire Regulators Group to include
smoke production as a mandatory requirement.
It should be noted that the CPD is not intended to harmonise Regulation, or to impose
Regulation where none exists, but it is intended to harmonise the classification of the reaction
to fire of products, and the test methods used.

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 13 –
Self-Certification of cable fire performance still exists generally, but the trend is to Third Party

Certification. Third Party Certification is practised in North America, and by the Insurance

Industry, and may be required in Europe under the CPD.

6 Research projects
6.1 Cable fire research
During the last decade a significant amount of research has been undertaken. This has

provided valuable data and findings which have been taken into account when establishing

the fire performance requirements recommended in this report for communication cables

installed in buildings.
A review of known research projects indicated that those with major relevance are:
• Partners in Technology (PIT);
• Partners in Innovation (PII);
• Fire Performance of Electric Cables (FIPEC);
• Seven Dials;
• Private research;
• Cable Fire Research Association (CFRA);
• Cable industry research.
6.2 Partners in Technology [5]
The Partners in Technology (PIT) project was a UK Government and industry sponsored study
into cable fires in hidden building voids. The work included carrying out surveys to establish
typical communication cable installation scenarios and assess their fire hazards, the
development of a representative real scale scenario and the construction of a real scale test
facility against which other standard cable test methods can be referenced.
This project identified the fire hazard from communication cables installed in a high density
and placed in building voids which are often filled with many generations of cables and
provide a route for the spread of fire and smoke. A real scale test facility was developed
(known as the “Cardington” test rig) representing a 50 workstation office with 200 cables run
in a ceiling void and exposed to a typical work station fire.
Using the “Cardington” real scale test rig, six cables were tested. These were 4 pair and 25
pair cables rated as NFPA 262, IEC 60332-3C (HF) and IEC 60332-1. The work also included

calorimeter testing.
The conclusions were:
a) A fire hazard exists for communication cables in high-density installations in building
voids.
b) Building voids provide a route for the spread of fire and smoke.
c) Building voids are often filled with many generations of cables.
d) The “Cardington” test rig is a suitable real scale scenario for evaluating the fire hazard
from cables installed horizontally in hidden building voids.
e) The best performance in the “Cardington” tests was achieved by NFPA 262 (EN 50289-4-
11) rated cables. It was found that IEC 60332-3C and IEC 60332-1 rated cables can
produce severe fires and IEC 60332-3C rated HF cables can produce significant smoke.

– 14 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
6.3 Partners in Innovation [6]

The objective of the UK Government and industry sponsored Partners in Innovation (PII)

project was to assess existing test methods and make recommendations for the reaction-to-

fire testing of communication cables. Nine types of cables were tested in six different test

methods. The cables comprised a variety of PVC and HF sheathed structured wiring cables
with either enhanced fire performances or rated to IEC 60332-3C. An enhanced fire

performance optical cable was included. These cables were tested in the “Cardington” real-

scale test, the CPD large-scale scenario ISO 9705, EN 50289-4-11 (the horizontal test

equivalent to NFPA 262), EN 13823 (SBI), IEC 60332-3 and IEC 61034 series.

The research findings included correlations between the test methods, as well as fire

performance ranking of the cables tested. The conclusions were as follows:
a) The “Cardington” test rig is a suitable real scale reference scenario.
b) EN 50289-4-11 has a very good correlation to the “Cardington” test rig and should be used
to assess cables for installation in high-risk areas.
c) EN 13823 (SBI) has a good correlation to the “Cardington” test rig but is not suitable
without further work on cable sample loading and mounting configuration.
d) IEC 60332-3 has a poor correlation to the “Cardington” test rig and should not be used for
high-risk applications but it can be used for vertical shafts and general applications.
6.4 Fire Performance of Electric Cables (FIPEC) [7]
This was a European Commission and industry funded project set up to develop methods for
measuring the fire performance of cables. The database generated by the project covered
some fifty cables. The majority of these were power cables, with a few telephone cables and
only one data cable.
The most frequently used test methods to assess the fire performance of cables in Europe are
IEC 60332-3 and IEC 60332-1. An objective of this study was to provide a means by which
Fire Engineering considerations may be introduced to the cables sector of the European
marketplace.
Applying the information developed by the FIPEC programme it was found possible to modify
the existing IEC 60332-3 test to include heat release and smoke measurement. Changes to
sample mounting, the option of a backboard with a more powerful ignition source and an
increased airflow provide a better discrimination between cable performances.
Part of the FIPEC study was to determine the sensitivity of the various test parameters
utilized for the IEC 60332-3 test. This demonstrated that the most significant variable was in
cable mounting. It was concluded that consideration of non-metallic materials content (the
basis by which the quantity of cable sample to be mounted is selected) does not necessarily
provide a risk hierarchy. When discussing the “influence of layers” the report states “cable
loading derived categories do not correspond with a risk hierarchy, e.g. a 7 l/m loading may
not necessarily be a more severe test than a 1,5 l/m loading. These categories should be
unambiguously separate from the inferences of risk assessment.”
The two scenarios (test methods) derived through the FIPEC study do not take non-metallic
materials content into account when determining the quantity and configuration of cable
sample to be mounted for fire testing. Instead, cable diameter is the prime determinant with,
in every instance, a designated separation between adjacent cable samples. Cables having a
diameter greater than 5 mm were mounted in a single spaced row, and smaller cables were
mounted in non-twisted spaced bundles.
In test method Scenario 1, considered to be slightly more severe than IEC 60332-3, the
ignition source is 20 kW and the airflow is increased. In test method Scenario 2, considered to

TR 62222  IEC:2005(E) – 15 –
be more severe than IEC 60332-3, the ignition source is 30 kW, the airflow is increased and a

non-combustible backboard is added.

Conclusions of relevance include:

a) The current method and procedures by which cable performance is determined produces a

prescriptive requirement that does not enable a graded classification of fire hazard, nor

the provision of data by which fire hazard may be assessed.

b) IEC 60332-3 is not sensitive enough to differentiate between cables with reasonable fire

properties, and those with very good properties needed for high hazard or high-density

telecommunication cable installations.

c) The parameter that has the most effect on the test results is the method of mounting the
tested cables.
NOTE Although the FIPEC project included only one data cable, private research [16] on 13 structured wiring
cables has shown that although not as sensitive as NFPA 262 or EN 50289-4-11, with appropriate cable mounting
configurations and performance boundaries, Scenario 2 can differentiate the higher performing products.
6.5 Seven Dials [8]
This project is an investigation into a fire at the “Seven Dials”, a five storey building in
London. The building was completely destroyed. Heat and smoke was a major problem, and
the Fire Brigade had difficulty in locating the seat of the fire. Cables in the ceiling void were
very old PVC sheathed polyethylene insulated coaxials.
Tests were carried out in the real scale “Cardington” test rig with replica cables and also with
enhanced fire performance versions. The results confirmed the need for enhanced fire
performance cables in such installations.
Subsequent private research [14] involved testing another enhanced fire performance coaxial
cable (diameter 7,2 mm) in the “Cardington” test rig to investigate the conditions that arise
inside ceiling voids when a fire occurs in the room below and to measure the effect on cables
installed in the ceiling void. Again the results confirmed the need for enhanced fire
performance cables in such installations.
The Seven Dials project is significant since it is a detailed investigation into an actual fire
involving communication cables in hidden horizontal building voids.
6.6 Cable Fire Research Association
The Cable Fire Research Association (CFRA) is an international Trade Association which
researches and promotes the use of cables and cable-making materials for the enhancement
of fire safety. Established in 2001, it formalises and improves awareness of the results of

research by its members over the previous 10 years. It is made up of cable producers and
suppliers of materials to the cable industry and has Chapters operating in Canada, China,
Europe, Japan and USA.
Prompted by the conclusions of the PII and FIPEC projects, the CFRA has conducted
research to further investigate the effects of sample selection and mounting configurations
when cables are tested on ladders. The conclusions are shown in Table 1.
Mindful of the CPD appeals procedure, work has also been undertaken to investigate the
sample mounting configuration in the EN 13823 (SBI) test. This has shown that with the
procedure described in Annex A (cables mounted 1 layer touching), the SBI test is suitable for
assessing and discriminating various levels of fire performance with communication cables.

– 16 – TR 62222  IEC:2005(E)
Table 1 Sample selection and mounting

Selection/Mounting Conclusions

1,5 l/m in multiple layers Material test rather than a cable test.

e.g. IEC 60332-3C Large number of cables (e.g. 160) makes the test

labour intensive.
1 layer spaced Not representative.

e.g. FIPEC Problems with repeatability and reproducibility.

1 layer spaced bundles Not representative.

e.g. FIPEC Problems with repeatability and reproducibility.

1 layer touching Representative, repeatable and reproducible.

Private research by CFRA members since 1991 [11] [16] and their participation in the PIT, PII
and Seven Dials projects has lead the CFRA to conclude:
a) Communication cables in high concentration horizontal building voids present a fire hazard
that is not adequately addressed by existing cable standards.
b) The “Cardington” test rig is an appropriate real-scale reference scenario for cables in
horizontal building voids.
c) Smaller scale or intermediate tests should integrate as many reaction-to-fire parameters
as possible.
d) EN 50289-4-11 has the best correlation to the “Cardington” test rig and should be used to
assess cables for high-risk areas.
e) SBI has a good correlation to the “Cardington” test rig and can be used to assess the fire
performance of cables when
...