WHERE CAN YOU FIND FLAME RETARDANT FLEXIBLE FOAMS? Upholstery and mattresses (also memory foam) at home and in public places like hospitals, cinemas etc. Insulation in buildings Automotive and aviation industry: cars, busses, airplanes Public transport like railway and metro Fire under contro The steel construction of the Liège-Guillemins railway station has an intumescent coating Intumescent coatings The function of melamine used in intumescent coatings is different to that used in automotive coatings (see page 14). Manufacturers of intumescent coatings use melamine powder as a blowing agent. If fire breaks out, heat causes the coating to swell and form an insulating char layer that protects the underlying steel substrate for up to 90 or 120 minutes. Thus it prolongs time people have to escape from e.g. parking garages, hotels, airports, stadiums and other structures. An additional reason for using these coatings is that they are halogen-free. Some halogen-containing fire retardants are known to be harmful to our health and the environment. Flexible foam In the United Kingdom and Ireland, flexible polyurethane foam used in furniture and mattresses must be fire-retardant by law. When in contact with fire from e.g. a candle or a cigarette, melamine releases a non-flammable gas that starves the fire of oxygen and prevents the foam from catching fire. This way melamine helps to prevent fire from spreading rapidly, give people more time to escape and limit any damage. Unfortunately, other European countries have not followed this example of making fire-retardant furniture and mattresses mandatory. insulating char layer intumescent coating steel beam 2000 10000 heat melamine 15 image: VTwonen
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