Do office chairs need to be fire resistant?

[Guest Marklov]

Can you please tell me if all office chairs purchase should have fire resistance labels attached by law. Thank you

[Tom Sutton]

There is no particular law require office furniture to be fire resistant and labeled other than The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which requires the risk of fire, should be reduced to the lowest practical level and the spread of fire should be controlled.

Check out http://www.fira.co.uk/publications/flammability-guides and download the publications relating to non domestic and contract furniture for more information.

[Guest simon barlow]

Hi Tom Sutton,

I totally agreed what you had mentioned in the post.

Thanks for your information.

[Tom Sutton]

Glad to be of help. Tom

[Guest ConfusedChairOwner]

I hope that this thread is still open... I bought a new TopStar chair on Amazon UK about 4 years ago for use in my home office. Topstar is German and the chair has an LGA Nurnberg GS safety label on it, but I can't see any BS7177 type label. I want to give this chair away to charity now, since I don't need it, and can I do so without the BS label? - Is it covered by office or domestic fire safety regulations ? Will the GS label be accepted?  Or can I sew on a BS label before donating it? The chair itself was gently used and is in excellent condition. Thanks for any advice

[Tom Sutton]

A office in your home, because it only forms a small part of the premises, which is primarily a domestic premises therefore all upholstered furniture or furnishings is is subject to The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations.

I assume you reside in the UK, consequently subject to the regulations and if you wish to pass on any items, subject to the FFFSR, you would be defined as a supplier requiring you to ensure the upholstered chair meets the regulations. Germany is not subject the the regulations therefore the chair will not meet the required UK standards and without a permanent label issued under the UK regulations you have no proof that it meets the standards, if you pass it on to a charity you will be in breach of the law. Anyway it is unlikely the charity would accept it without a permanent label because they could be in beach of the law as well.

In the future I would suggest you ensure that all upholstered furniture or furnishings you acquire has a permanent label attached, for your own safety and if you wish to pass it on.

Check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ there is plenty of links that you may find usful if you wish to research it further.

[Guest ConfusedChairOwner]

Thanks, Mr Sutton, for the very helpful explanation.

I bought the chair brand new in late 2013 via Amazon UK. The seller is UK registered on Amazon with a UK address. Does this mean that they broke the rules when they sold the chair to me? I emailed them a few days ago asking about the fire safety label and haven't received a reply. 

[Tom Sutton]

I understand Amazon claims they do not sell the furniture they only act as agents for the seller and trading standards have been on their case with little success.

Go to FRFree's profile and check out his latest submissions.

Check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ aswell.

[Guest Andy Ranson]

Hi,

I have a question related to the above thread.  I'm trying to get clarification on the legality of the temporary use of commercial grade office chairs at an employees home during the COVID-19 situation.  I've spent ages searching the internet re this and can't find any simple answers.  As far as I can see, in a domestic environment, the covering & filling of an office chair would need to comply to BS5852 and in an office with BS7176 but I can't find a simple explanation of how the 2 BS's compare.  If an office chair complies with BS7176 :2006, is it safe to use in a home environment?

I hope that makes sense.

 

Kind regards

Andy

 

[Tom Sutton]

Furniture and fittings in a domestic premises is subject to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010 and also has to meet the testing contained in that legislation.

In non domestic premises there is no specific legislation that covers furniture, but is subject to Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005  and normally accepts furniture that meets BS 7176 but does not meet FFFSR, consequently because of this, they are not interchangeable. However if the furniture does meet the FFFSR it usually acceptable in all premises.

Check out Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home A Guide to the UK Regulations and Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the contract and non-domestic sectors

 

[Guest Bob]

Where can office chairs be purchased that are protected at crib 7?

[Tom Sutton]

As the house is most likely to be primely for domestic use, then any rooms used for an office will be considered domestic and the FFFSR will apply.

If the house is most likely to be primely used for commercial use, then the contract guidance will apply and any rooms use for domestic purposes the FFFSR will apply.