Wall mural in school - fire risk?

[Guest SharonH]

Hi
We would like to put up a wall mural in the entrance lobby of our office.

The mural is produced by a company named Photowall, they state that the material is Fire protection classified in accordance with SS024823, class 1, which is the highest classification rating according to Swedish standards.

As this would be in our foyer which is designated as a fire escape route for the building I am trying to find out which UK standard this is equivalent to.

Would you be able to help please?

Kind regards Sharon

[Tom Sutton]

The full title of the Swedish Standard is SS 24823 Fire tests - Building products - Heat release and smoke generation, which could be relevant to wall coverings but there is no equivalent British or European standard acceptable to British regulations or guides. The requirement for circulation spaces in buildings for the UK is BS 476-7:1997 (Class ‘O’) or BS EN 13501-1:2007 (B-s3, d2).

The mural most probably would be satisfactory but you would not have documented proof and it could be considered a significant finding in your fire risk assessment which could result in the enforcing authority requiring it to be removed.

I do not understand if the Swedish company is selling to member states why they do not use European standard?

Check out https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-offices-and-shops page 120 of the guide for more information.