THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIRE-RETARDANT & FIRE RESISTANT FABRICS?

Fire-resistant means that the material is naturally made from non-flammable materials. They can resist flames because of their chemical composition. 

On the other hand, fire-retardant fabrics are designed to self-extinguish when exposed to an open flame. They are chemically treated to slow down the burning process or to never burn at all. A fabric is considered flame-retardant if it takes a long time before it burns compared to other types of similar materials.

Two Types of Fire-Retardant Fabrics

A flame-retardant fabric is a textile that is retardant to burning. There are two types of fire retardant fabrics you can purchase in the market nowadays: inherently and chemically treated fabrics. 

Inherent Flame-Retardant Fabric – These fabrics have FR properties intrinsic to them. No flame-retardant properties were added to the fibres when they were engineered. They are resistant from the start and do not undergo additional treatment. Generally speaking, washing the material does not affect the materials fire resistance. 

Chemically-Treated Fabric – Textiles under this category are originally flammable materials treated with chemicals to make them flame-retardant. They are treated with flame-resistant chemicals through different methods. They can prevent the start of a fire, suppress it, or slow down its spread.

Fire-retardant textiles have revolutionised the way people live. When a property burns down, any curtains inside it are usually the main spreaders of fire because of their ignitability. However, the development of fire curtains made from flame-retardant fabrics has helped lessen the frequency of property fires. These fabrics help keep fires at bay longer and make buildings safer.