EN ISO 14116: Protective clothing with limited flame spread

Work clothing with the EN ISO 14116 standard is made with fire-retardant materials (flame retardant). It is intended to protect the user against incidental and short-term contact with small flames where there is no major heat hazard. When clothing with this standard comes into contact with flames it will continue to burn to a limited extent. When the flame is removed the material extinguishes. When protection against the risks of heat hazard is necessary, it is recommended to wear clothing with ISO 11612.

 

What does standard EN ISO 14116 entail? EN 14116 protection limited flame spread

Work clothing with this standard can consist of multiple layers, different garments or one garment. All materials used that meet this standard must have a limited flame spread index of 1, 2 or 3 when tested in accordance with ISO 15025. The limited flame spread index is therefore divided into 3 possible levels, each with their own properties.

Levels of limited flame spread

  • Index 1: With index 1, hole formation is permitted. Index 1 is the lowest level of protection and can only be used when worn over clothing that has index 2 or 3. Clothing with index 1 may not be worn directly on the skin, such as on the neck and wrists.
  • Index 2: With index 2 the cloth sample used must extinguish before reaching the edge of the sample, but no maximum afterflame time is required. The other points are equal to index 3.
  • Index 3: (EN15025): With this test method a cloth sample (in new condition and after the maximum number of washes) is kept in flames for 10 seconds. Index 3 offers the best protection against flame spread. The afterflame or afterglow time is a maximum of 2 seconds, no holes and no melting drops may be formed. This classification is the same as classification 11611/11612 A1 .

Requirements for clothing

  • The clothing may not have turn-ups on the legs
  • There should be no conductive parts through all layers
  • The overlap between a jacket and trousers should be sufficient
  • The seam strength after 5 washes > 30 N

Instructions for cleaning clothes with standard EN ISO 14116

  • Household washing: number of washes + letter H / washing temperature
  • Industrial washing: number of washes + letter I / washing temperature
  • Dry cleaning: number of cleaning cycles + letter C / international symbol for dry cleaning

If the materials used in the clothing cannot be washed or dry cleaned, the cleaning index should be 0/0. The index in the washing label of the clothing looks as follows: limited flame spread index / cleaning index.

An example: 2 / 5H / 60 means that the clothing has a flammability index 2 and can be washed 5 times at home at 60 ºC.

Please note: do not use detergents that contain soap, but only synthetic detergents. Follow the symbols on the detergent closely.

 

Popular categories of flame retardant workwear

Work jackets