A technical comparison of BS EN 16034 and BS 8524

An Adexon® Fire & Smoke white paper
Read time: 33 minutes

1. Introduction

Fire curtains are a critical fire safety product which, when used correctly and in adherence with current regulations, offer designers a multitude of new architectural possibilities whilst maintaining excellent fire compartmentation and protection of escape routes.

This white paper is aimed at fire engineering consultants, architects and purchasers. It outlines the regulations that apply to vertical fire curtains in the UK today (hereinafter referred to as fire curtains) and provides guidance to those responsible for procuring fire curtains.

We provide a detailed technical comparison of the two most prevalent fire curtain standards used in the UK, BS EN 16034 and BS 8524. However, it is important to know, as BSi tell us, that “standards aren’t the same as regulations and following a standard doesn’t guarantee that you’re within the relevant laws. In fact, standards rarely cite the law as legislation could change within the lifetime of the standard”¹.

The primary importance is compliance with the regulations. If you would like a deep dive into these, our white paper ‘Fire curtain regulations in the UK’² will help.

We will discuss ISO 21524, “Fire resistance tests — Elements of building construction — Requirements for active fire curtains” in another article. ISO 21524 is the only product standard used in the UK with third party certification from a Notified Body that specifically covers horizontal fire curtains.

We always advocate using third party certification to a product standard where available, as opposed to third party certification to just a product test such as the fire resistance test BS EN 1634-1:2014. There is more on this further on.

The unique and intricate design of horizontal fire curtains reinforces only using ISO 21524 third party certified products for them (horizontal fire curtains).

ISO 21524 is an excellent product standard but, unfortunately, as with BS 8524-1, it is not a harmonised standard and hence cannot offer legal compliance to the Construction Products Regulations for vertical fire curtains, hence limiting its use.

Note, for ease we mostly refer to BS 8524 Part 1 simply as ‘BS 8524’ in this white paper.

For context, in the BSi publication of BS EN 16034, the foreword of the harmonised standard states, “This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard… and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by October 2019.” BS 8524 and BS EN 16034 have a lot of cross-over meaning BS 8524 would reasonably be viewed under the category of ‘conflicting national standards’.

BSi have added a ‘National foreword’ that refers to BS 8524, “This standard [BS EN 16034] does not cover their operation deployment speeds, initiation devices or warning devices, etc. and as such should comply with BS 8524-1 and BS 8524-2″. We go over this in detail in our white paper, ‘Fire curtain regulations in the UK’². They go on to say in bold, ‘Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations‘. ‘Legal obligations’ includes compliance with the CPR for construction products as evidenced by CE mark third party certification from a Notified Body, and we also go over this in our white paper ‘Fire curtain regulations in the UK’².

2. Common Standards

As we touched on above, BS 8524 and BS EN 16034 have a lot of cross-over meaning BS 8524 would reasonably be viewed in the category of ‘conflicting national standards’ referred to in the harmonised standard foreword of the BSi publication of BS EN 16034. In reading this white paper you will see where the standards cross-over and where they have differences. The question whether to use BS 8524 in an ancillary capacity to compliment BS EN 16034 comes down to cost. You will see more by reading on.

What is BS EN 16034:2014?

In short, the scope of 16034 is to identify safety and performance requirements applicable to all products intended to be used in fire and/or smoke compartmentation or protecting escape routes, specifically doorsets, rolling shutters, openable windows and operable fabric curtains. The performance specifications include references to other standards which contain definitions for fire resistance and smoke control. BS EN 16034 is the only harmonised standard to cover vertical fire curtains.

What is BS 8524-1:2013?

Part 1 of BS 8524 specifies requirements for the design, testing and classification of active fire curtain barrier assemblies. It includes performance aspects relating to the reliability, durability, fire resistance, smoke containment and impact resistance of active fire curtain barrier assemblies, their control devices and ancillary equipment. BS 8524-2 is a code of practice related to installation and maintenance but, needless to say, it is dependent on the product being available.

Both standards are fairly comprehensive and technical, as would be expected in documents used to determine the performance criteria of a life safety critical product. In the following sections we examine the overlap of, and the significant differences between, these two standards for fire curtains.

3. Technical Similarities

Both include the same fire test

Both BS 8524-1:2013 and BS EN 16034:2014 use the same fire test standard (BS EN 1634-1:2014+A1:2018) to ascertain the fire performance of the system. The fire curtains are installed in a furnace and are subject to high temperatures (to replicate a fire scenario), following a standard heat curve to ensure test conditions are consistent (Fig 1). The standard EN 1363-1:2020 stipulates the equipment and procedures for conducting the fire test.

Once completed, the product is classified on the basis of integrity (E), radiation and integrity (EW), or insulation and integrity (EI), in accordance with the classifications in BS EN 13501 2:2007+A1:2009.

Both include the same smoke test

Both standards use the same test to ascertain smoke control, BS EN 1634-3, which determines the leakage of smoke from one side of the fire curtain to the other. Smoke leakage is measured in m3/lm/hr where the ‘lm’ is the number of linear metres around the perimeter of the product (excluding the threshold).

Both include the same cycle test

Both standards request a usage cycle test to determine the safe number of operations a system can perform during its working life. The classification is identical between the standards and is graded on a scale from class 0 (up to 499 cycles) to class 5 (200,000 cycles or more).

Both standards are considered suitable for fire curtains protecting escape routes

Efectis have certified fire curtains with “Intended use: Fire/smoke compartmentation and on escape routes” to “Harmonised standards: EN 16034: 2014 EN 13241: 2003+A2: 2016” evidencing fire curtains complying with EN 16034 are safe for use on escape routes. Efectis are an audited UKAS accredited (or equivalent) Notified Body and an authority on compliance.

Historically, BS 8524 has also been accepted as addressing the issue of escape routes. Some in the industry question the equivalence of the two standards in this regard. For example, the ASFP Black Book says “the standard [BS EN 16034:2014] omits the safety features regarded by BS 8524 as critical to secure a safe protected escape… fire and smoke resistance for the purpose of means of escape is not referred to… Consequently, ASFP is of the opinion that operable fabric curtains [referring to 16034] are not suitable for protected escape routes”³.

However, there is nothing further said as to which safety features are critical for escape routes. If it is the issue of ‘tenable area’, there is further discussion of the proximity of personnel to a fire curtain during a fire in the ‘Hot motor test’ section of this white paper (see below).

Both standards are applicable to all applications of vertical fire curtains where a person could be underneath.

BS EN 16034 refers to retail premises in its scope. You may ask, What about fire curtains outside this application?

We had this excellent question from the audience at our talk in the Innovation & Regulation Theatre at the Fire Safety Event on 27th April 2023. The talk was titled, “Fire curtain compliance in the UK: The status quo of BS 8524 and BS EN 16034” last week.

It is a good point to raise and one that requires further reading of the standard. If you read the scope of BS EN 16034 you will notice it says “requirements applicable to all fire resisting and/or smoke control products intended to be used in fire and/or smoke compartmentation and/or escape routes, which are EITHER:

industrial, commercial… etc…. OR
rolling shutters… etc… OR
pedestrian doorsets… etc…” and so on.

Without re-typing out the whole standard here (we always recommend checking the original text yourself) it goes on to give definitions in section 3:

A “doorset” is defined as a whole range of items including “rolling shutter and/ or operable fabric curtains including any frame or guide” or “rolling or folding curtain”.
An “operable fabric curtain” is defined as a “doorset with leaf constructed from woven material… which functions as a rolling shutter”

It can be seen the author is seeking to include as wide a description as possible so as to provide cover for doors with similar characteristics. What is quite plain is that a ‘doorset’ includes fire curtains, and a pedestrian doorset is therefore a fire curtain that can be passed under by a pedestrian (in simple speak). Language (English or any other) is plain in the use of ‘either’, ‘or’, and commas; a single term is relevant in isolation without being dependant on any other term, much like contracts will invariably say ‘should one clause be unenforceable it shall not render any other clauses unenforceable’.

As such, it is accurate to say the definition for a ‘doorset’ in BS EN 16034 is a “rolling shutter and/ or operable fabric curtain including any frame or guide” or “rolling or folding curtain”. It is true to read this singularly like this.

Obviously a ‘doorset’ includes many other products too.

As can be seen, BS EN 16034 does cover vertical fire curtains where a person could potentially be under it, and therefore vertical fire curtains must be CE marked to it (BS EN 16034) since 1st Nov 2019.

4. Technical Differences

Hot motor test

BS 8524-1 requires fire curtains to conduct a hot motor test, where the motor must operate 12 times over 30 minutes with the furnace temperature at 400°C ± 20°C.

In theory this could be seen as a good test, as it demonstrates the robustness of the curtain’s control mechanism, even under extreme conditions. However, in practice a fire curtain should never be operable if there are temperatures of 400°C on one side, as this would pose a severe-to-fatal risk to the operator and could allow the fire to pass beyond the designated compartmentation barrier and thus endanger the whole building. Additionally, the expansion of the bottom bar at 400°C is untested so it is very questionable whether the motor would be capable of moving the curtain if the bottom bar had expanded and jammed in the guides. It could be argued that the hot motor test is for applications where the motor is high above the user in a ceiling void and the fire is in that void, and then you have a situation where you still want to operate the fire curtain. This combination would be extremely rare and we would want to see data showing this occurred even 1% of the time. As such, does the test replicate a real life situation, and is the capability to operate the motor at 400° actually dangerous?

Additionally, ASFP point out Advisory Note – ASFP position on Performance Smoke Seals in Active Fire Curtains Document that no one should even be close to the fire curtain at these temperatures. “Smoke detectors will alert occupants to the fire before flash-over has occurred. The curtain will deploy, and occupants can make their escape… the limiting factor in determining the occupation time is the length of time before the radiation through the curtain will cause the escape route conditions to become untenable.”³

Hot water burns us at around 70°C and scalds us at 100°C. The emergency services would not wish to open a fire curtain with the temperature at even half of the 400°C as it would exceed the normal limits to which firefighters are trained; Characterizing a Firefighter’s Immediate Thermal Environment in Live-Fire Training Scenarios states “severe training conditions generally [exposed firefighters to] temperatures between 150°C and 200°C”⁴.

Pressure sensitive protective equipment

Clause 5.8.6 of BS 8524-1 states, “Pressure-sensitive protective equipment (PSPE). Where pressure-sensitive protective equipment is provided, such as a safety edge, it shall conform to BS EN 12453:2001, 5.1.1.6, and shall stop deployment of the barrier assembly on operation.” We are not aware that any manufacturer has ever fitted a safety edge to a fire curtain as it would mean that if the curtain hit a person escaping it would stop and not fully deploy, allowing the fire to spread. Therefore, this test also seems superfluous and somewhat questionable.

BS 8524 has a descent speed requirement

Operation deployment speeds are not unique to BS 8524-1, being also referred to in product standard ISO 21524. For example, ISO 21524, clause 7.4.1 states, “The active fire curtain shall commence deployment within 10s of receipt of an initiation signal and move to its fire-operational position in all operating modes. The active fire curtains shall have a velocity of not less than 0.03 m/s. Within 2.0 m of floor level, the velocity shall be not more than 0.15 m/s for vertical deployment or 0.3 m/s for horizontal deployment”

ISO 21524 is an excellent product standard for fire curtains and Adexon Fire & Smoke use it for horizontal fire curtains. Unfortunately, as with BS 8524-1, ISO 21524 is not a harmonised standard and hence cannot offer legal compliance to the Construction Products Regulations for vertical fire curtains, hence limiting its use.

Operation deployment speeds are also covered in harmonised standard 12101-1 for smoke curtains, clause 5.4, “Active smoke barrier types ASB1 and ASB2… shall… move… at a velocity range of between 0.06 m/s and 0.3 m/s” and “Active smoke barrier types ASB3 and ASB4… shall have a velocity range of 0.06 m/s and 0.15 m/s”.

Adhering to these guidelines is achieved by designing the motors with a maximum operating speed of 0.3 m/s or 0.15m/s as required, and factory programming the Control Panels.

Impact test

BS 8524 requires that fire curtains be able to withstand large soft body impact and crowd pressure. This is to protect against a person falling into the curtain and damaging the material, affecting its ability to stop the spread of fire.

Large soft body impact and crowd pressure is a practical test for keeping the person safe. This test is not unique to BS 8524 and can be undertaken to BS EN 1192 to determine the impact resistance of the fire curtain. This is the route Adexon has taken and recommends all manufacturers to undertake it.

It should be noted that this impact test is only a witness test and that UKAS don’t normally accept witness tests so we are unsure how, or if, it has been accredited by UKAS.

Fixing types and product descriptions

BS 8524 certificates do not include the details of the fixing types or lengths to be used, or the description or specifications of components such as the sizes of the guides or thickness and types of materials.

Even prior to the withdrawal of third party certification (read more on this in our white paper ‘Fire curtain regulations in the UK’), this lack of detail on BS 8524 certificates meant the products were particularly vulnerable as there was no way the end user could check that they are getting the product details that was originally tested. This is compounded now there is no certified auditing of what is being put on the market.

Without certified auditing, products manufactured to BS 8524 could differ from the original tested specimen in a number of ways, such as changes to the details of fabric retention in the guides, or adjustments to the position and protection of the drive motor in the barrel.

A fundamental shortcoming of the old BS 8524 fire curtain certificates was that they did not tell the end user the maximum size of fire curtains that are tested and certified. For example, the manufacturer could have passed the fire tests with a 3m x 3m fire curtain and yet could be selling fire curtains that are 6m x 6m under the same certificate.

On the other hand, BS EN 16034 certificates from a Notified Body such as Applus+ include a Technical Annexe as part of the CE marking requirements which clearly states the maximum sizes and other very significant details such as these.

Ancillary equipment testing

BS 8524 requires that any ancillary equipment (obstruction warning devices, switches, and activation devices) that are to be used in conjunction with the fire curtain must be physically tested to ensure they function as expected; this test is not performed under any heat and is conducted in a laboratory setting.

The value and benefits of this laboratory testing are open to debate, as the components used are themselves CE marked and it is the actual on-site installation of the ancillary equipment by the engineer that is critical and must be checked to ensure functionality.

Heat test for switches

BS 8524 stipulates that the switches used to retract the curtain are heated to 68°C for 5 minutes to check that the barrier stays deployed or only retracts once and subsequently re-deploys. As with the hot motor test, it is difficult to see how this test has any relevance to the safety or performance of the fire curtain; the switches would be subjected to far higher temperatures for much longer in a realistic fire scenario.

Specifying how the curtain is to be installed

BS 8524 only specifies that curtains need to be tested in one installation arrangement, and this orientation is not stated anywhere in the publicly available documentation. This is significant because the fire curtain is face fixed to the exterior of the furnace meaning the headbox and guides are only partially exposed to fire.

In practice, if the curtain is fitted the other way round, there is no test evidence that the BS 8524 curtain will provide the required fire performance. There is nothing in the publicly available documentation to say which is the correct way round, and there is nothing to stop it. Obviously, the probability of it happening is 50/50 (fit it the correct orientation or the incorrect orientation). This probability level seems a very significant risk to take with a life safety critical product.

In contrast, on the Applus+ certificates for BS EN 16034, the exact arrangement that the fire curtain is suited to is clearly stated. This stipulation of the installation arrangement is vital to ensuring the system is used in the way that has been tested so it will deliver the declared fire performance.

Gravity fail-safe requirement

BS 8524 tests that the curtain descends in a controlled manner to its fire-operational position even if mains and auxiliary power is removed or in the event of wiring corruption.

It is common practice for all fire safety products to fail in the fire-operational position to ensure fire protection is provided in every eventuality. This is why fire curtains are usually activated by the opening of a normally closed signal; then, if the wire is cut or damaged, the curtain will automatically descend into its operational position.

A gravity fail-safe test is part of most responsible manufacturers’ commissioning, servicing and maintenance procedures, ensuring that each fire curtain descends into its fire-ready position when all power is removed, and this would be a sensible addition to a future revision of BS EN 16034.

Short circuit tests

As described above, BS 8524 requires that the barrier assembly shall fall under gravity to the fire-operational position in a controlled manner, even if there is damage to the motor wire. A plethora of scenarios could damage the motor wire and result in a short circuit, such as remedial works after installation, falling debris or maintenance of other systems.

Some electrical motors can fail to descend under gravity fail-safe or fall in a controlled manner when there is a short. The motor short circuit test in BS 8524 safeguards against these instances.

Switches are also checked to ensure that, if a switch has a short circuit, the barrier will stay deployed or only retreat once and subsequently redeploy. Switches use a normally open circuit that, when closed, signals the control panel to retract the fire curtain up into the open position. This test guards against allowing switches to continuously open and close the curtain if the switch wire is shorted (i.e. the circuit is closed).

While the probability of these specific scenarios materialising is low, their potential impact is significant. Failure to deploy a fire curtain when required could result in severe consequences. For manufacturers without BS 8524, this test can be undertaken separately. This is the route Adexon has taken and recommends all manufacturers to undertake it. It would be a worthy addition to a future revision of BS EN 16034.

Reaction-to-fire test

BS 8524 requires that the curtain fabric used is tested to BS 476-6 and 476-7 and achieves a class 0 or 1 rating to determine the surface spread and propagation of flames. This test challenges the fabric alone and not the entire system.

Reaction-to-fire is a largely superfluous test, as the entire fire curtain system is tested to BS EN 1634-1, where the whole system is subjected to over 1000°C. The reaction-to-fire test may even give customers a false sense of security by neglecting all the other variables inherent in a fire curtain, such as the stitching of the fabric.

CE marking

BS EN 16034 is the only standard for fire curtains that is harmonised and can therefore be CE marked with third-party certification. This is essential for guaranteeing a product’s conformity to EU regulations, particularly for safety, health or environmental requirements.

In contrast, BS 8524 cannot be CE marked as it is not a harmonised standard.

Any product not CE marked with third-party certification has only the manufacturer’s assurance that it will perform as tested.

There is further discussion in a separate article about why, whilst third-party certification is essential, CE Marking is critical⁵, especially for life safety products such as those relating to fire.

5. What to buy?

What should you buy? BS 8524-1 fire curtains? BS EN 16034 fire curtains? Or both?

It is actually fine to use both standards and we are rightly proud (in the UK) of BS 8524-1:2013, as it was the first dedicated product standard (in the world) for active fire curtains. It probably contributes to how much we have adopted it here in the UK (understandably). However, there are two risk considerations with just using BS 8524:

1) BS 8524 third party certification expires on 9th June 2023, and a new scheme is still TBC.

Using an analogy, the risk here is, “if I made something in my garage, I’d tell you it was perfect…”, i.e. everyone says what they make it great. There is no satisfactory answer to overcome this for BS 8524 currently (without back-tracking on what has been held to for many years, that third party certification for life-safety products is a prerequisite). This means, without third party certification, you could get something different than what was tested with BS 8524 products.

2) CE marking to BS EN 16034 is legally required under the CPR for vertical fire curtains

The acid test under the CPR is, ‘if a product is covered by a harmonised standard…’ it is legally required to be CE marked to that standard. People may say there are very few prosecutions under the CPR, or that those policing it (Trading Standards and the OPSS) would simply ask the industry if BS EN 16034 applied to vertical fire curtains but this is scant comfort.

In other words, it is fine to have fire curtains compliant to both standards, but whilst it is safe and legal to have fire curtains compliant only to BS EN 16034, it is neither safe nor legal to have fire curtains only compliant to BS 8524.

Hierarchy of considerations when buying

Number 1 has to be legal compliance, and this makes BS EN 16034 the right standard for vertical fire curtains. BS EN 16034 is harmonised and covers vertical fire curtains and hence it is a requirement of the CPR to CE mark to it.

Number 2 is third party certification. The leaders in the industry are unanimous as to the necessity for third party certification from a UKAS or equivalent accredited Notified Body. For example:

ASFP say, “any passive fire protection system… should be fully backed up by third party certification for the manufactured product”⁹.

FIREX say, “We took the decision last year [2022] to make it a condition of exhibiting at FIREX that any manufacturer who provided fire safety products… they needed a third party approval of the products… we are very, very glued into and locked into third party approval as a condition… we want visitors to understand that when they come to FIREX”

Third party certification provides independent accredited Factory Production Control and auditing. Without it, anyone can manufacture products that apparently are the same as the tested specimen but there is no independent and regulated auditing of this.

The last remaining third party certification for BS 8524-1 expires on 9th June 2023.

The only third party certification available for fire curtains is:

Vertical fire curtains – BS EN 16034
Concertina fire curtains – BS EN 16034
Horizontal fire curtains – ISO 21524*

* ISO 21524 is the only standard with third party certification from a Notified Body that specifically covers horizontal fire curtains. As such, due to the unique and intricate design of horizontal fire curtains, we advocate only using ISO 21524 third party certification for horizontal fire curtains, rather than just using a fire resistance test such as BS EN 1634-1:2014.

This makes BS EN 16034 the safe standard for concertina fire curtains, and ISO 21524 the safe standard for horizontal fire curtains.

This raises the question as to future uses of BS 8524-1.

There are two considerations.

Now, and in the future.

In the future, if BS 8524-1 achieves third party certification again it can be considered safe for use for those types of fire curtains the new certification covers e.g. vertical, concertina and/ or horizontal.

However, lets first look at the status quo (a lot can happen in the future that wasn’t planned, and the best made plans don’t always come to fruition).

Where are we today with BS 8524-1?

As it stands, without offering a route to compliance with the CPR, and without being able to offer valid third party certification, BS 8524-1 can at best be used in an ancillary capacity to BS EN 16034, or ISO 21524 for horizontals.

However, as you will have seen throughout this white paper, there are pluses and minuses to BS 8524, and quite a bit of cross-over with BS EN 16034 for the essential aspects.

This then puts the question to the consumer, Do you want to pay more certification costs to use BS 8524-1 in an ancillary capacity? Are the benefits sufficient, and can they be obtained another way? There is more on this in the ‘Pros and cons’ section lower down.

Third party certification isn’t cheap so for a manufacturer to have two sets of certification that overlap for the essential tests means either the same product has to be sold for a higher price, or the delivery service or the product quality has to be cut.

A number of components are manufactured in the same places for different fire curtain companies.

In the future…

Lets consider the scenario where BS 8524-1 is successfully revised in the future and achieves the backing of a Notified Body, and third party certification is again available for it; could we then use BS 8524-1 on its own?

Well, the answer is, No, for vertical fire curtains; vertical fire curtains have to be CE marked to BS EN 16034. The answer is also likely, No, for horizontal fire curtains as these are a very niche market and there may not be enough demand to commercially justify a Notified Body developing a BS 8524 scheme for them.

This leaves concertina fire curtains as the only configuration of fire curtain that could potentially be used for BS 8524-1 on its own, even when the new and revised BS 8524-1 is available and a scheme has been created and accredited and certification undertaken.

Pros and cons

Finally, we can look at the pros and cons of the two standards in comparison, as a ‘nice-to-have’, once legal compliance and third party certification criteria have been accounted for.

Having summarised where you should and shouldn’t use BS 8524-1 and BS EN 16034, either on their own or in tandem, let’s look quickly at the merits or otherwise of the two standards in comparison.

BS 8524 has three additional beneficial tests/ stipulations* which BS EN 16034 doesn’t have:

the ‘Gravity fail-safe requirement’,
‘Short circuit tests’, and
‘Descent speed requirement’.

On the flip side, BS 8524 has a number of downsides which BS EN 16034 doesn’t have. These downsides of BS 8524-1 vary in seriousness and potential liability.

Downsides of BS 8524 when compared with BS EN 16034 include:

superfluous and arguably dangerous tests:
- Hot motor test;
- Pressure sensitive protective equipment;
- Ancillary equipment testing;
- Heat test for switches; and
- Reaction-to-fire test;
unable to comply with the legal requirements of the CPR CE/ UKCA mark;
lack of traceability and transparency of paperwork i.e. no public details on:
- product dimensions tested and certified;
- fixings used;
- materials or components tested; and
- orientation tested (it is 50/50 it is the right way round);

*we advocate these tests be taken independently and the descent speed be adhered to by designing the motors with a maximum operating speed of 0.3 m/s or 0.15m/s as required, and factory programming the Control Panels.

Some of these downsides may be corrected in a new and revised version of BS 8524-1 which we would welcome.

6. Summary of key points to consider

Some of the key points from the above:

“standards aren’t the same as regulations and following a standard doesn’t guarantee that you’re within the relevant laws”¹ (BSi)
BS EN 16034 is the only harmonised standard available for fire curtains and hence the only standard available to CE mark fire curtains to.
‘Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations‘ (BSi)
BS 8524 and BS EN 16034 have a lot of cross-over meaning BS 8524 would reasonably be viewed in the category of ‘conflicting national standards’ referred to in the harmonised standard foreword of the BSi publication of BS EN 16034.
The question whether to use BS 8524 in an ancillary capacity to compliment BS EN 16034 comes down to cost.
BS 8524 certificates do not include critical product details. Even prior to the withdrawal of third party certification this meant the products were particularly vulnerable as there was no way the end user could check that they are getting the product details that was originally tested. This is compounded now there is no certified auditing of what is being put on the market.
Without certified auditing, products manufactured to BS 8524 could differ from the original tested specimen in a number of ways, such as changes to the details of fabric retention in the guides, or adjustments to the position and protection of the drive motor in the barrel.
BS 8524 fire curtain certificates do not tell the end user the maximum size of fire curtains that are tested and certified. For example, the manufacturer could have passed the fire tests with a 3m x 3m fire curtain and yet could be selling fire curtains that are 8m x 3m under the same certificate.
BS EN 16034 certificates from a Notified Body such as Applus+ include a Technical Annexe as part of the CE marking requirements which clearly states the maximum sizes and other significant details.
BS 8524 only specifies that curtains need to be tested in one installation arrangement, and this orientation is not stated on the certification. If the curtain is fitted the other way round, there is no test evidence that the BS 8524 curtain will provide the required fire performance. The probability of it happening is 50/50 (fit it the correct orientation or the incorrect orientation). This probability level seems a very significant risk to take with a life safety critical product.
The Applus+ certificates for BS EN 16034 state the exact arrangement that the fire curtain is suited to which ensures the system is used in the way that has been tested.
Does the BS 8524 hot motor test replicate a real life situation, and is the capability to operate the motor at 400° actually dangerous?
The BS 8524 pressure sensitive protective equipment test seems superfluous and somewhat questionable
The reaction-to-fire test may give customers a false sense of security by neglecting all the other variables inherent in a fire curtain, such as the stitching of the fabric.

The following matrix highlights the most significant technical similarities and differences between BS EN 16034 and BS 8524:

7. Conclusion

The No.1 consideration is legal compliance. This makes CE marking to BS EN 16034 mandatory for vertical fire curtains since 1st Nov 2019.

No.2 is third party certification. The industry leaders are unanimous as the importance of this. This makes BS EN 16034 the safe standard for concertina fire curtains, and ISO 21524 the safe standard for horizontal fire curtains.

As such you need to consider, is the benefit of using BS 8524-1 in an ancillary role worth the additional cost? Do you want to pay additional certification costs, for BS 8524-1?

Third party certification isn’t cheap otherwise everyone would have it, and for a manufacturer to have two sets of certification means either:

the same product has to be sold for a higher price, or
the delivery service has to be cut, or
the product quality has to be cut.

In the future, if third party certification is again available for a new and revised BS 8524-1, could we then use BS 8524-1 on its own?

Well, the answer is ‘No’ for vertical fire curtains; vertical fire curtains have to be CE marked to BS EN 16034. The answer is also likely ‘No’ for horizontal fire curtains as these are a very niche market and there may not be enough demand to commercially justify a Notified Body developing a scheme for BS 8524 horizontal fire curtains. This is accentuated with ISO 21524 already being in use for horizontal fire curtains.

Important: Old BS 8524 certification is absent important details. As an example, you could buy a BS 8524 fire curtain that is 8m x 3m in size and there is nothing on the public documentation to tell you that it has only been tested to 3m x 3m. This could have unknown consequences in a fire.

In contrast, BS EN 16034 provides traceability, assurance, and transparency with third-party certification, and CE marking for vertical fire curtains.

From the detailed discussion of the standards above we can see that BS EN 16034 includes the essential performance that the end-user needs from a fire curtain, with a simple and proven structure that makes the explicit details readily available for everyone to see.

This white paper was written by the team at Adexon Fire & Smoke in October 2022 (revised 24th April 2023). It includes the views of the Adexon team and its intention is to raise awareness and standards in the fire safety industry.

If you have a question for the team or would like to give feedback to this white paper or find out more, please get in touch.

8. Additional reading

For an example of going above and beyond legal compliance, read, ‘Are cold smoke seals in fire curtains a cause for concern?’⁶

If you are interested in impact testing, read why the design of the fabric retention and the durability of fire curtain designs is paramount, ‘Fabric retention design on fire curtains – why does it matter?’⁷

If you would like a deep dive read on the regulations applicable to fire curtains, you can find this in our white paper ‘Fire curtain regulations in the UK’²