Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999)

Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999) Bs en 00003 1 1996 (1999)

BRITISH STANDARD BS EN

3-1:1996

Portable fire

extinguishers —

Part 1: Description, duration of

operation, Class A and B fire test

The European Standard EN 3-1:1996 has the status of a

British Standard

ICS 13.220.30

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the

direction of the Health and

Environment Sector Board,

was published under the

authority of the Standards

Board and comes

into effect on

15 May 1996

© BSI 11-1999

The following BSI references

relate to the work on this

standard:

Committee reference FSH/2

Draft for comment 93/301889 DC

ISBN 0 580 25853 X

Committees responsible for this British Standard

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted to Technical Committee FSH/2, Fire extinguishers, upon which the following bodies were represented:

Association of Metropolitan Authorities British Compressed Gases Association British Fire Protection Systems Association British Fire Services’ Association

Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers’ Association Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Fire Brigades Union Fire Extinguishing Trades Association Home Office

Institution of Fire Engineers London Fire and Civil Defence Authority Loss Prevention Council

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd

Trades Union Congress

Amendments issued since publication

BS EN 3-1:1996

Contents

Page

ii © BSI 11-1999

National foreword

This British Standard has been prepared by Technical Committee FSH/2 and is

the English language version of EN 3-1:1995 Portable fire extinguishers — Part 1: Description, duration of operation, class A and B fire test published by the

European Committee for Standardization (CEN)

EN 3-1 was produced as a result of international discussion in which the United Kingdom took an active part

Together with BS EN 3-2 to BS EN 3-6, BS 7863 and BS 78671) it supersedes

BS 5423:1987 which will be withdrawn on January 1st 1997

The Parts of BS EN 3: Portable fire extinguishers are as follows:

— Part 1: Description, duration of operation, class A and B fire test;

— Part 2: Tightness, dielectric test, tamping test, special provisions;

— Part 3: Construction, resistance to pressure, mechanical tests;

— Part 4: Charges, minimum required fire;

— Part 5: Specification and supplementary tests;

— Part 6: Provisions for the attestation of conformity of portable fire extinguishers in accordance with EN 3-1 to EN 3-5.

A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application

Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations.

Summary of pages

This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii, the EN title page, pages 2 to 10, an inside back cover and a back cover

This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had amendments incorporated This will be indicated in the amendment table on the inside front cover

1) In preparation.

Cross-references Publication referred to Corresponding British Standard

BS EN 3: Portable fire extinguishers

EN 3-2:1996 Part 2:1996 Tightness, tamping test, special provisions

EN 3-4:1996 Part 4:1996 Charges, minimum required fire

EN 3-5:1996 Part 5:1996 Specifications and supplementary tests

ISO 657-1:1989 BS 4848 Hot-rolled structural steel sections

Part 4:1972 Equal and unequal angles

EUROPEAN STANDARD

NORME EUROPÉENNE

EUROPÄISCHE NORM

EN 3-1

February 1996

Descriptors: Fire fighting, fire equipment, fire extinguishers, movable extinguishers, portable equipment, designation, loads, forces,

operating time, standard fire places, tests, effectiveness, testing conditions

English version Portable fire extinguishers — Part 1: Description, duration

of operation, class A and B fire test

Extincteurs d’incendie portatifs —

Partie 1: Appellation, durée de fonctionnement,

foyers-types des classes A et B

Tragbare Feuerlöscher — Teil 1: Benennung, Funktionsdauer, Prüfobjekte der Brandklassen A und B

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 1995-09-14 CEN members

are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which

stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a

national standard without any alteration

Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national

standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any

CEN member

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French,

German) A version in any other language made by translation under the

responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the

Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium,

Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,

Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and

United Kingdom

CEN

European Committee for Standardization Comité Européen de Normalisation Europäisches Komitee für Normung

Central Secretariat: rue de Stassart 36, B-1050 Brussels

© 1996 All rights of reproduction and communication in any form and by any means reserved to CEN and

© BSI 11-1999 2

Foreword

This European Standard was prepared by Technical

Committee CEN/TC 70, Manual means of fire

fighting equipment, the secretariat of which is held

by IBN

This European Standard supersedes EN 3-1:1975

This European Standard is one Part of EN 3

prepared by CEN/TC 70

This European Standard EN 3 consists of 6 Parts

and has the generic title Portable fire extinguishers

and the following different subtitles:

— Part 1: Description, duration of operation,

class A and B fire test;

— Part 2: Tightness, dielectric test, tamping test,

special provisions;

— Part 3: Construction, resistance to pressure,

mechanical tests;

— Part 4: Charges, minimum required fire;

— Part 5: Specification and supplementary tests;

— Part 6: Provisions for the attestation of

conformity of portable fire extinguishers in

accordance with EN 3-1 to EN 3-5.

This European Standard shall be given the status of

a national standard, either by publication of an

identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by

August 1996, and conflicting national standards

shall be withdrawn at the latest by January 1997

According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal

Regulations, the national standards organizations

of the following countries are bound to implement

this European Standard: Austria, Belgium,

Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,

Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,

Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and

the United Kingdom

Contents

Page

4 Description of an extinguisher 3

5 Specifications and tests of

6 Duration of operation and

Annex A (normative) Duration

Annex C (normative) Measurement

Figure B.1 — Front view (identical

Figure B.2 — Side view (variable according to size of fire) Example

EN 3-1:1996

1 Scope

This standard specifies the characteristics of

description, of duration of operation, of residual

charge and of the efficiency test applicable to

portable fire extinguishers

2 Normative references

This European Standard incorporates by dated or

undated references, provisions from other

publications These normative references are cited

at the appropriate places in the text and the

publications are listed hereafter For dated

references, subsequent amendments to or revisions

of any of these publications apply to this European

Standard only when incorporated in it by

amendment or revision For undated references the

latest edition of the publication referred to applies

EN 3-2:1995, Portable fire extinguisher —

Part 2: Tightness, tamping test, special provisions

EN 3-4:1995, Portable fire extinguisher —

Part 4: Charges, minimum required fire

EN 3-5:1995, Portable fire extinguisher —

Part 5: Specifications and supplementary tests

ISO 657-1:1989, Hot rolled steel sections —

Part 1: Equal leg angles, Dimensions

ISO 4470:1981, Sawn timber: determination of the

average moisture content of a lot

3 Definitions

For the purposes of this standard the following

definitions apply

3.1

extinguisher

appliance containing an extinguishing agent which

can be expelled by the action of internal pressure

and be directed on to a fire This pressure may be

stored pressure or by the release of an auxiliary gas

3.2

portable extinguisher

extinguisher which is designed to be carried and

operated by hand and which in working order has a

mass of not more than 20 kg

3.3

extinguishing medium

the substance contained in the extinguisher which

causes extinction

3.4 charge of an extinguisher

mass or volume of the extinguishing agent contained in the extinguisher The charge of appliances based on water is expressed in volume (litres) and that of other appliances in mass (kilograms)

3.5 duration of operation

the time during which the extinguishing agent is discharged, without any interruption in the discharge and with valve fully opened not including the residual propellant gas

4 Description of an extinguisher

An extinguisher shall be described by the type of extinguishing medium it contains At present, there are:

— water type extinguishers;

— foam type extinguishers;

— powder type extinguishers;

— carbon dioxide type extinguishers;

— halogenated hydrocarbon type extinguishers Halons employed in extinguishers shall comply with the regulations in force in the country in which the appliances are to be used

5 Specifications and tests of extinguishers

Extinguishers for testing shall be stored for at least 24 h at a temperature of 20 °C ± 5 °C before the tests are carried out and shall be maintained within this temperature range until tested

Prior to this storage period, all powder type extinguishers shall be prepared in accordance with

clause 5 of EN 3-2:1995, except for the tests defined

in clause 3 of EN 3-5:1995.

6 Duration of operation and residual charge

6.1 Duration of operation 6.1.1 Minimum duration

The duration of operation shall be greater than or equal to the appropriate value given in Table 1 when the extinguisher is tested according

to Annex A

Table 1

6.1.2 Spread of measurements

The duration of operation of each extinguisher shall

not be less than ± 15 % of the mean value when

three extinguishers are tested in accordance

with Annex A

6.2 Residual charge

The residual charge of extinguishing medium shall

not be more than 10 % of the nominal charge when

tested in accordance with Annex A

6.3 Commencement of discharge

For stored pressure units, the discharge of the

extinguishing medium agent shall commence

within 1 s of the control-valve being opened

For extinguishers which are activated by a single

operation (in accordance with 4.1 of EN 3-5:1995) of

the control valve, the discharge of the extinguishing medium shall commence within 4 s of the control valve being opened

7 Efficiency Tests

7.1 General

An extinguisher satisfies the requirements when two fire tests of a series are extinguished A series is complete after three fires, or when the first two fires are extinguished or not Each series shall be completed before the next is commenced There is no restriction on the number of series that may be carried out on the same type of extinguisher without modifications, but a series consists of consecutive

fires and results shall not be discounted (see B.1).

7.2 Class A fire tests

The class A fire test rating shall be determined in

accordance with B.2.

Prior to the fire test, the moisture content of the wood shall be checked in accordance with Annex C

7.3 Class B fire tests

Class B fire test shall be achieved in accordance

with B.3.

Charge (X) of the extinguishing

medium contained Minimum duration of operation

NOTE See Table 4 EN 3-4:1995, for minimum duration

requirements related to fire rating.

EN 3-1:1996

Annex A (normative)

Duration of operation test

NOTE See 6.1.1.

A.1 Method of Test

Hold the extinguisher in its normal working

position (i.e hand-held) and keep it immobile for the

duration of the test

For those extinguishers supplied with a trigger and

an independent activation system, pressurize when

the trigger is closed Open this trigger 6 s after the

commencement of pressurization of the equipment

For extinguishers which are activated by a single

operation (see 4.1 of prEN 3-5:1995) of the control

valve, open the control valve and leave open for the

duration of the test

Annex B (normative)

Fire test

B.1 General

NOTE See 7.1.

To carry out these tests the operator shall be

dressed in normal work-wear, having no special

heat proofing characteristics The use of a helmet,

gloves and approved non-reflective visor is allowed

Cartridge type extinguishers shall be pressurized

during the period of pre-combustion

B.2 Class A test fire

NOTE See 7.2.

B.2.1 Characteristics

Class A test fires shall consist of a crib of wooden

sticks supported on a metal frame 250 mm

high, 900 mm wide and of a length equal to that of

the test fire The metal frame (see Figure B.1

and Figure B.2) shall be constructed

from (50 × 50) mm2 angle sections as specified in

ISO 657-1

Test fires greater than 27A shall be constructed

using smaller fire, sizes (fires, frames and trays),

see Table B.1 The ends of the longitudinal sticks

shall touch

Table B.1

To provide adequate support for the wooden sticks for fires larger than 13A, metal cross members shall

be added to the frame positioned as for 8A and 13A fires

For example a 21A frame shall have cross members positioned 800 mm from each end

The wooden sticks shall be of Pinus silvestris

containing 10 % to 15 % of moisture by mass; they shall be sawn and of square section of

side (39 ± 2) mm The density of the wood shall

be 0,40 kg/dm3 to 0,65 kg/dm3 The wooden sticks are to be stacked in fourteen layers on the metal frame, as shown in Figure B.1 and Figure B.2

The sticks in each layer shall be spaced at regular intervals with gaps of 6 cm between the sticks

The sticks laid transversely (layers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14) shall have a fixed length of (500 ± 10) mm The sticks laid longitudinally (layers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13) shall have fixed lengths which vary

according to the test fire as given in Table B.2, again with a limit deviation of ± 10 mm

NOTE When the test fire is constructed using smaller fires, the tolerance applies to the length of the individual sticks.

A fire size beyond 55A shall not be accepted (see Table B.2)

Each test fire is designated by a number followed by the letter A The designating number of the test fire represents:

— the length of the test fire in decimeters, i.e., the length of the wooden sticks arranged in the longitudinal direction of the test fire;

— the number of 500 mm wooden sticks for each layer arranged in the transverse direction of the test fire

Table B.2

Fire size Fire construction

Designation of test fire wooden sticks in each Number of 500 mm

transverse layer

Length of test fire

m

NOTE Each test fire is designated by a number in a series in which each term is equal to the sum of the two preceding terms, i.e this series is equivalent to a geometrical progression having

a common ratio of about 1,62 The additional fire 27A and 43A represent the product of the preceding term and 1,62.

B.2.2 Test Conditions

The test fire shall be located indoors and shall be

sheltered from draughts The test chamber shall not

impede the natural development of the test fire or

effective fire fighting

The lighting tray shall have a width of 600 mm and

a depth of 100 mm

The length of the tray shall be 100 mm greater than

the fire size In the case of multiple frames being

used to construct the fire, it is accepted that the

overall length will be increased by 200 mm

to 300 mm

The lighting tray shall be placed symmetrically

beneath the crib forming the test fire

Water shall be added to the tray to a depth

of 30 mm Heptane of a quality identical to that

used for the Class B fires (in accordance with 7.3)

shall then be added, the quantity being sufficient to

give a burning time of 2 min 30 s

The heptane is ignited

After the fire has burnt for 2 min, the tray shall be

withdrawn from beneath the crib

The crib shall then be permitted to burn for a further 6 min, making a total pre-burn time

of 8 min, at which the test fire is established and extinction may be commenced

The operator shall then bring the extinguisher into use, and direct the jet on the test fire while moving round it at his own discretion in order to obtain the best result The entire contents of the extinguisher may be discharged either continuously or in successive bursts

The maximum extinguishing time shall not exceed 5 min for fires up to and including 21A and 7 min for fires of a greater size The operator shall indicate when the extinguisher is fully discharged or when the fire is extinguished within the permitted time

In both cases the fire shall be observed for 3 min from that point

For the test to be successful, it is essential that all flames shall be extinguished and that there shall be

no recurrence of flames during the 3 min observation period