E5.15.1 Fire Hazard Assessment, Dr. Marcelo Hirschler, Chair

This Task Group is preparing a Guide for Developing a Fire Hazard Assessment for Upholstered Furniture in Health Care Occupancies. Several drafts have been prepared and balloted at Subcommittee level, with one unresolved negative from the last Subcommittee meeting in December 2000. The document will be revised to address this negative.

E5.15.2 Open Flame Ignition of Upholstered Furniture, Dr. Kurt Reimann, Chair

The activities of this Task Group surround the efforts of the Consumer Products Safety Commission project to develop a test method to measure the resistance to open flame ignition of upholstered furniture. Several reviews of the data from the most recent interlaboratory study of the CPSC method have been presented to the Subcommittee. This Task Group is not actively developing a test method at this time. Another related activity to develop a candidate open flame ignition test method has been started by the furniture industry. However, this activity is not officially part of the E5.15.2 Task Group work program.

E5.15.3 Small Scale Fire Tests for Upholstered Furniture, Patricia Adair, Chair

This Task group addresses small-scale fire tests such as E1352 and E1353: however, at this time there is no active work program for small-scale fire tests.

This Task Group addresses test standards such E 1537, E1822, and E 1590. Depending on the subject under consideration, the various members listed above share the lead of the Task Group. Some current activities are an interlaboratory study on the E1357 and E1822 test methods for heat release of upholstered furniture and stacking chairs. Data analysis of the completed interlaboratory study is now underway. A draft Research Report of the results of the study has been prepared. A new Precision and Bias statement for E 1590 (mattresses) was successfully balloted at the ASTM E5 meeting in December 2000.

Concerns have been addressed regarding the repeatability and reproducibility of the large scale test methods for measuring heat release and other fire parameters of upholstered furniture and mattresses, based on the results of the recently completed interlaboratory studies. This subject is being discussed in E5.15 and E 5.91, Planning and Education.

E5.15.8 Cigarette Ignition Performance of Cigarettes (Fabrics), Henry Roux, Chair

This Task Group has been working diligently for several years to perfect a test method to determine the ability, or lack of ability, of cigarettes to ignite cellulose upholstery fabrics of the type used on upholstered furniture. It is a broad-based Task Group with active representation from all affected stakeholders. A draft method has been balloted in Subcommittee, and the Task Group has revised the draft to address the pertinent issues. Work is underway to coordinate a large interlaboratory study using the current draft method. A sub-task group is working on securing a reliable source of the cotton duck fabrics used for the assessment and the other required test materials.

E5.15.9 Cigarette Ignition Performance of Cigarettes (Filter Paper), Dr. Richard Gann, Chair

This is the most recently formed Task Group in E5.15. The similarities between Task Group 9 and Task Group 8 should be noted. Both Task Groups are working on test methods to assess the ignition performance of cigarettes relative to cellulose upholstery fabrics. However, Task Group 9 is using filter paper as the medium for evaluation whereas Task Group 8 is using cotton duck fabrics as the test medium. A draft test method has been balloted in Subcommittee and the negatives are in process of being addressed in a second draft.

E5.15.10 Laboratory Monitor Guidelines, Dallas Pinion, Chair

Task group 10 is developing a set of guidelines to be used for planning and conducting interlaboratory studies that are intended to become the basis of Precision and Bias statements in various test methods. A preliminary draft has been prepared.

The ASTM E05.17 Subcommittee works to be responsive to needs and interests in standards related to transportation. In the past, task groups have worked in areas such as flammability of marine and aircraft materials as well as performance measures for seats used in school buses.

Most recently, the subcommittee has completed and followed thru with theballoting of ASTM E2061 which is a standard guide designed to assist inconducting fire hazard assessments of rail passenger vehicles. This workwas carried out with input from many parties including the private, publicand government - regulatory sectors and was consistent with the intent ofrecent Federal Railway Agency regulations as well.

E05.17 is available to address the needs of interested parties in fireperformance and fire safety related issues effecting various modestransportation as well as the passengers and crew who utilize these vehicles.

Subcommittee E05.21 Smoke and Combustion Products has been considering the Roland test method, developed in Italy, which is an intermediate-scale test method for characterization of the flammability of materials. Provisions exist for measuring heat release, ignitability, and flame spread.

Subcommittee E05.22 on Surface Burning has jurisdiction over the following standards: E84, E162, E648, E970, E1317, E1321, E2058, and D2859. Currently, ballots are being processed for revisions to E84, E162, E648, and D2859. Methods E1317 and E1321 are in their fifth year and are being balloted for reapproval with no changes.

Subcommittee E05.32 on Research identifies research needs in the development of fire standards and provides a research base for the activities of the main committee and its subcommittees. Some of these activities include: the sponsoring of fire research programs where appropriate, offer a coordinated approach to problems outside the scope of other subcommittees or concerning more than one subcommittee, continuously scrutinize existing fire standards according to the results of state-of-the-art fire research, and propose the consideration of changes where appropriate, disseminate fire research information by holding research review sessions and organizing fire symposia.

The subcommittee just presented a very successful symposium- "ASTM's Role in Performance-Based fire Codes and Standards," and is currently organizing the next symposium to be presented in two years. E05.32 continues to present informative research reviews at each main committee meeting. In addition, a task group is looking into the development of a standard guide for temperature and heat flux measurements.

Subcommittee E05.33 supports all aspects of Fire Safety Engineering practice by developing and maintaining a standards infrastructure for calculation models of fire behavior and for methods of fire hazard or risk assessment. These standardized engineering techniques will allow the implementation of performance-based fire protection designs for a variety of applications.

Recent activity in E05.33 has centered on making E1546, the Standard Guide for Development of Fire-Hazard-Assessment Standards, more user-friendly. This has been accomplished through the development of two appendices. One appendix is an example of how a specific hazard assessment standard could be developed for a particular combination of occupancy type and product class (e.g., a flooring product in a hospital occupancy). Another appendix consists of a series of flow charts with step-by-step explanations to further clarify the procedures in E1546.

The subcommittee is now in the process of reaching out to building code groups and professional organizations through a series of workshops that will help direct future activities to improve or expand existing E05.33 standards or point the way toward the development of new standards. Consistent with the strategic plan of E05 and the subcommittee's scope, E05.33 also is ready to consult with all ASTM subcommittees, whether within or outside of E05, on the development of fire-related standards and the enhancement of such standards through the incorporation of E05 fire test methods.

The subcommittee welcomes participation by anyone interested in the development of fire safety engineering standards within E05 or as part of any other committee activity to meet the challenge of performance-based building/transportation/fire codes.

Subcommittee E5.91 has no individual Task Groups. Recently action was taken to add the Subcommittee Chairs and the Members at Large of the Executive Committee to the membership to increase the number of individuals participating in the Subcommittee. Some of the current activities of this Subcommittee were responses to requests from the Executive Committee (E5.90) regarding recommendations for changes in the Bylaws of E 5. One of these changes to the Bylaws will permit producer members of the committee to serve as main committee chair. Currently the Planning Subcommittee is considering changes to the standard caveats used in E5 fire standards. An administrative ballot will be circulated early in 2001 to the E5 Main Committee to determine if the committee agrees with the recommendations of the Planning Subcommittee.

The Planning Subcommittee is also discussing the need for training or education regarding the performance of certain large-scale heat release fire tests, such as E1590, E1357, and E1822. Recent interlaboratory studies have indicated that the ability of laboratories to conduct these tests can and should be improved. Preliminary plans are to implement a training course which will cover both the content of the standards and the role of the laboratories. Finding adequate funding of this type of activity is of concern.