ISO 12949 Test to Measure the Heat Dissipation Rate of Low Combustible Mattresses and Mattress Sets

EUROLAB, with its state-of-the-art accredited laboratories and expert team, provides precise and fast testing services within the scope of ISO 12949 testing. This standard provides a full-scale test method for determining the heat release rate and total heat release from a mattress or mattress and foundation.

The test sample is ignited by exposing it to a pair of gas burners simulating burning bedspreads. The measuring capability is designed for mattress sets with low flammability, i.e. the highest rate of heat release below 300 kW.

This International Standard applies to mattresses, mattresses and foundation sets. This International Standard does not apply to mattress pads, pillows, blankets or other items used on mattresses.

This International Standard is a performance standard and does not prescribe the use of any special components, fire retardant chemicals or materials, and does not specify any design features that could result in increased or decreased performance of a bedding set.

A significant reduction in bed fire fatalities can be achieved by reducing the combined peak heat dissipation rate of a mattress, bedding, and other furniture ignited by the bedspread to well below 1 MW.

Current regulation in the United States limits the peak heat release rate of a mattress and foundation to 200 kW and the total heat release to 10 MJ during the first 15 minutes of the test. Combined with the typical heat release rate of mattress covers, which usually occurs long before the peak heat release from the mattress, the overall heat release rate from the burning mattress is significantly below the value leading to room glow.

Also, as the intensity of the bed fire decreases this much, there is a concomitant reduction in the spatial extent of the heat emitted from the flames. This reduces the likelihood of other bedroom furniture being ignited by bed fire and greatly increases the time available for building occupants to recognize and escape the fire.

This International Standard considers a fire hazard scenario different from a fire hazard scenario where a cigarette ignites the bed and threatens those who may sleep in the bed with their heads close to the location of the cigarette left. The resulting deaths are mostly due to inhalation of toxic fumes from a smoldering fire and are different from deaths that would be prevented by limiting the flame intensity of a bed fire. In a few countries, mattresses are tested for cigarette ignition resistance, which reduces the likelihood of smoldering fires but rarely addresses the fire hazard addressed by this International Standard.

The attention of everyone involved in fire testing is drawn to the possibility of toxic or harmful gases being released during the combustion of test specimens so that appropriate measures can be taken to protect health.

Test procedures involve high temperatures. Therefore, hazards may exist for foreign objects or clothing to burn and ignite. Operators should wear protective clothing, helmets, face shields and respiratory equipment to avoid exposure to toxic gases.

Laboratory safety procedures should be established to ensure that tests are terminated safely. It is imperative to provide adequate means to extinguish such a fire.

EUROLAB assists manufacturers with ISO 12949 test compliance. Our test experts, with their professional working mission and principles, provide you, our manufacturers and suppliers, the best service and controlled testing process in our laboratories. Thanks to these services, businesses receive more effective, high-performance and quality testing services and provide safe, fast and uninterrupted service to their customers.