Matting firm welcomes unified fire safety standard

Based on article originally published in ERJ Jan/Feb 2016 issue.

London - Entrance Matting has been supplying to London Underground since 2007 and general manager Neil Creasey does not expect the transition from national fire safety standard BS-6853 to pan-European EN 45545-2 to be too difficult.

“The compounds which were BS-6853-compliant were not needed to be changed in order to meet EN45545,” said Creasey pointing to the standard coming into effect by March 2016.

Any rubber compound used must meet with London Underground compliancy requirements for smoke density, toxicity, flammability and flame spread, he explained

However, he said, “on a broader view the new EN standard simplifies the sharing of best practices and ensures that all experts are talking the same language.”

Entrance Matting is currently rolling out its low smoke emission matting throughout European transport networks. Catering to one fire rating would create a smoother route to market than in the past.

The company has provided four London Underground stations with fire-retardant rubber developed by the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) – Natural FR.

“The compound developed by TARRC offers a sustainable source of rubber from a renewable resource. As a natural product it is low in toxicity,” explained Creasey.