Fire Retardant Fabrics

Safety is also a point to consider along with design, quality, durability and comfort before purchasing fabrics.

Fire Retardant fabrics are slow to catch fire and burn. Certain fabrics are naturally fire resistant due to their natural properties, e.g. wool, acrylic, polyester and nylon. They catch fire at a much higher temperature than natural fabrics like cotton and linen.

But other types of fabrics need to be chemically treated to be fire retardant. They’re either treated with a FR spray coating or dipped in a chemical solution that absorbs into the fabric and creates a barrier between the fibers and flame. The most basic Fire Retardancy (FR) Standard is the American Standard NFPA 260/CAL 117 or the British Standard BS5852 Source 0. Higher standards would be CRIB 5 or IMO Standards, which is generally not necessarily, mean it would be burn proof. Instead, it withstands the heat and does not let it spread as quickly as compared to ordinary fabric.