Low Fire-Hazard Cables
Low Fire-Hazard Cables improve Safety
The most commonly identified cause of death from a fire incident is being
overcome by gas or smoke(1) which accounts for 44% of all deaths. In 1950 the average time from ignition
of a fire to flashover was 15 minutes. A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of all combustible material in an
unclosed area. Flashover occurs when the majority of surfaces in a space are heated to the point at
which they give off flammable gases that are hot enough to sustain combustion. Now fatal conditions
can occur after 3 minutes(2).
Given these facts, we can conclude that:
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The reduction of smoke and effluent gases is relevant to saving human lives
and facilitating the work of rescue teams
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The increased use of plastics in the last 50 years has had a dramatic effect
on escape times.
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Prysmian has developed a family of Low Fire Hazard Cables that couple low flame spread and
heat release with very low emission of smoke and dangerous gases. These cables help to provide more
time to escape and a less hazardous environment for rescue teams.
Restrict the propagation of fire and the heat release
Cables are generally composed of a metallic (or glass) conductor and organic
materials for insulation and sheathing. The organic materials are combustible to various degrees.
Cables can be the means of propagation of a fire from one room to adjacent rooms; so the
control of fire propagation along cable runs has been required in some National Regulations for
many years in order to reduce this hazard. In terms of cable design, reduced propagation
performance implies the use of materials that are "self-retardant" or compounded with
"flame-retardants". Performance is determined not only on a single cable, but also on a vertically
installed bunch of cables which simulates the most onerous installation condition.
Reduce smoke production and harmful emissions
A low level of opacity of smoke produced and opacity of the effluent are basic criteria in the selection of materials that,
in the event of fire, make it possible to reduce the presence of dangerous gases and to facilitate
escape. It is essential that the production of opaque smoke and harmful emissions is as low as
possible during a fire.
The majority of deaths in a fire are due to inhaling dangerous gases. It is vital to reduce
the exposure time to these gases by facilitating safe evacuation with the best possible
visibility.
Prysmian Technology: Afumex
AFUMEX embraces a LSOH compound technology with higher performance than
traditional materials. It has been adopted by all Prysmian Companies worldwide and indicates the
outstanding reaction to fire performance of Prysmian’s cables.
AFUMEX is one of main results of the continuous activity of Research and
development of the Prysmian’s group, focused to reduce potential hazards during fire by developing
materials that limit propagation of flame, generate less smoke and emit effluent that are less
corrosive. AFUMEX is a technologically and ecologically sound answer to the problem of emissions.
Its main characteristics are:
• Limited fire propagation
• Very low emission of smoke
• Halogen free
• Ecologically sound cable
Conversion Table
Below is a list that shows the different types of standard cables and the
corresponding low fire hazard product
| STANDARD CABLES |
LOW FIRE-HAZARD CORRESPONDING CABLES |
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Conduit wiring cables - 6491X
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6491B
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Sheathed wiring cables - 6181-Y
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6181B |
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Sheathed wiring cables - 624-Y
|
624-B
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Screened wiring cables
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Afumex
LSX
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Armoured power cables 649- XLPE
|
694-
LSOH
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Flexible cables
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