The Municipality of Toronto is where furniture for common areas is required to pass CAL TB 133 or ASTM E1537. Other municipalities have not at this moment required this level of testing, however all municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area such as Durham, Vaughan, Peel, York, Halton and Hamilton require at a minimum for the fabric to pass CAL TB-117 or CAN/ULC S109 flame spread tests.
All common areas that are not sprinklered require furniture to have fire rated fabric. Lobbies and Corridors that are a means of egress are required to pass or meet CAL TB-133 or ASTM E1537 in The municipality of Toronto. In other words, if you have to pass the furniture to escape a burning building, this is in the means of egress and must pass the required burn test.
You can order fire rated furniture that will meet the fire inspector’s requirements. First, ask the inspector which test the furniture must meet specifically. Then, our designers can help you to select pieces of furniture that will meet the space and construction requirements. Upon delivery, we will provide you with documentation to maintain on site in the management office and to present to inspectors. Some inspectors will require tags on the bottom of the furniture to indicate the specific burn tests or flammability rating of the furniture.
You can also place only hard furniture however this is undesirable for the vast majority of condominium or apartment buildings.
The requirements for fire rated fabrics in these spaces depends on the room’s capacity, which varies with each building. Our designers can advise on your particular building. But to be on the safe side, we recommend furniture with fabric that passes CAL TB-117 at a minimum.
California Technical Bulletin 117 (or CAL TB-117) is a flammability test for fabrics and films.
Canadian Underwriters Laboratory of Canada S109 (or CAN/ULC S109 ) is the same test as the above. In Canada, both are generally acceptable, depending on how stringent your specific inspector demands the tests to be passed. Our fabrics meet both of these tests.
California Technical Bulletin 133 (Or CAL TB 133) is a flammability test for a complete piece burn tested in its entirety. The test measures things like flame spread speed, toxins released and amount of smoke.
ASTM E1537 is a similar test and generally inspectors will accept both.
In general, if a chair was burned and passed the required test, all other pieces in the collection, whether a sofa or a bench, would pass the test if the exact same components were burned in their entirety. This means the fabric, foam and frame of the furniture is constructed in an identical fashion in the collection. Only the colour of the fabric can be modified. Folio can provide sample documents to your inspector for their approval.
Fire rated furniture is expensive. And replacing perfectly good furniture is not a pleasant or desirable option. So can they be reupholstered instead?
Theoretically yes. However this is rarely done because 1. The cost can be as much as buying a new piece when all costs are factored in from pickup to replacement of specific components and in some cases rebuilding whole pieces and 2. Often the frames used in older furniture are of unknown origin, can be particle board, or not made of the solid wood construction required to be considered fire rated.
All components of the furniture must be of solid wood or metal construction. Hardwoods are the safest, slowest burning woods and will be acceptable as the frame of the furniture. Plywood with hardwood components is also acceptable. But please check with your specific inspector.
Folio Interiors has put together the largest collection of pre-tested furniture available to make it easy to select pieces that will satisfy the most strict inspector in the GTA. The pieces are available through Trellis Contract furniture. The furniture is made in the USA or locally, in the GTA. No retail stores offer fire tested furniture that will pass the TB-133 requirements.
Folio Interiors, together with Trellis Contract, offer furniture that is only of commercial quality. This means the frames are heavier and robustly built, with foam, metal springs and hardware built to last. The fabrics used in our furniture meet a minimum of 80,000 double rubs for durability and are generally easy to clean and maintain.
When choosing a fire rated fabric, choose based on the utility of the piece. Lighter colours will show more staining and be more difficult to keep clean.Soft fabrics provide a more cozy feel while faux leathers are sophisticated and the easiest to maintain. Some faux leathers we offer are very advanced, with textures that mimic fabrics, even linen and silk!
Folio Interiors, together with Trellis Contract, offer furniture that is only of commercial quality. This means the frames are heavier and robustly built, with foam, metal springs and hardware built to last. The fabrics used in our furniture meet a minimum of 80,000 double rubs for durability and are generally easy to clean and maintain.