There is no single international fire standard for hotel furniture. In the US, upholstered furniture must meet 16 CFR part 1640, which adopts California TB 117-2013, and curtains are normally specified to NFPA 701. In the UK, hotel seating is usually specified to BS 7176 at medium hazard, which includes the Crib 5 test. In the EU, EN 1021-1 and EN 1021-2 are the common baseline, with national rules on top. In every market, the building’s fire risk assessment and the project specifier decide the level for each area.

Why the level is a project decision

Standards describe test methods and performance levels. They do not decide which level a room needs. That depends on how the building is used, its fire strategy, sprinklers, escape routes and the people who stay in it.

In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person for a hotel to carry out a fire risk assessment. Government guidance says that the findings of this assessment set the level of safety that is necessary. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent laws, and other countries have similar duties in their fire codes. In practice, the specifier writes the required level into the FF&E specification, and the manufacturer provides test evidence for that level.

United States

  • Upholstered furniture: 16 CFR part 1640 adopts California Technical Bulletin 117-2013 as the federal flammability standard. It applies to upholstered seating made, imported or reupholstered on or after 25 June 2021. TB 117-2013 is a smoulder-resistance test with a lit cigarette on cover fabrics, barrier materials and fillings.
  • Label: from 25 June 2022, each covered item needs a permanent label with the statement “Complies with U.S. CPSC requirements for upholstered furniture flammability.”
  • Mattresses: separate federal standards apply, 16 CFR part 1632 (cigarette ignition) and 16 CFR part 1633 (open flame).
  • Curtains and drapes: NFPA 701 is the usual test standard. Test Method 1 covers most curtain fabrics; Test Method 2 covers heavier materials and some coated linings. Many local fire codes refer to it.
  • Additional rules: local codes, the authority having jurisdiction or the hotel brand can add requirements, for example cigarette-ignition tests to NFPA 260 or full-scale tests for some uses. Check them with the project’s fire consultant.

United Kingdom

  • BS 7176 specifies the resistance to ignition of upholstered seating for non-domestic use. It has four hazard levels: low, medium, high and very high. Each level is a set of ignition tests.
  • BS 5852 is the test method. It uses a smouldering cigarette, a match-flame equivalent and wooden cribs. Ignition source 5, often called Crib 5, is a small wooden crib.
  • Hotels: hotel bedrooms and most public areas are usually classed as medium hazard. This means the cigarette and match-flame tests plus Crib 5. The risk assessment can put some areas at a higher level.
  • Composites: the crib test is carried out on the cover and the filling together, with any interliner that is used. A certificate therefore covers a specific combination. If the fabric, the interliner or the foam changes, the evidence may no longer apply.
  • Beds: mattresses, divans and bed bases are tested to BS 7177, which uses similar hazard levels.
  • Curtains: BS 5867-2 has three types: A, B and C, with Type C the most demanding. Type B is often regarded as suitable for non-domestic premises such as hotels, subject to the risk assessment.

European Union

There is no single EU-wide fire standard for hotel furniture.

  • EN 1021-1 (smouldering cigarette) and EN 1021-2 (match-flame equivalent) assess the ignitability of combinations of cover and filling. They are a widely used baseline. For example, the Swedish institute RISE notes that upholstered furniture in public spaces such as hotels should at least meet both parts.
  • Mattresses: EN 597-1 and EN 597-2 use the same two ignition sources.
  • National rules: many countries add their own classifications for public buildings. Italy, for example, uses its own reaction-to-fire classes for upholstered furniture. Curtain requirements also differ by country.

Projects in other regions, including the Middle East and Africa, often specify one of these systems through local fire authority rules or brand standards.

What to ask your manufacturer for

  • Test reports from an accredited laboratory for the exact combination, standard and level that you specified.
  • Confirmation of which fabric, interliner and filling were tested, and that production uses the same materials.
  • For treated fabrics, information on how the treatment performs after cleaning. Some standards require a water soak or a cleaning procedure before the test.
  • The labels required in the destination market.
  • Care instructions, because some cleaning methods can reduce the performance of treated fabrics.

Keep these documents with the FF&E records. The hotel’s fire safety management may need them for inspections and future replacements.