STANDARDS
By Networks Centre with
thanks to Mike Gilmore, MD,
e-Ready Building Ltd
www.networkscentre.com
A look at the changes in
British Standards relating
to fire performance and
telecommunications cables
On 30th November 2017, an important amendment
to BS 6701 (Telecommunications equipment and
telecommunications cabling – Specification for Installation,
Operation and Maintenance) was released: BS 6701:2016
AM1 2017. This had been anticipated by the industry
throughout the year, and this article attempts to explain
some of the relevant changes, and the reasons and
implications for stakeholders involved with data cabling
installations.
The amendment is the culmination of work that has been
going on since July 2016 by the industry, in particular by
suppliers, to ensure their telecommunication cables meet
the requirements of the Construction Products Regulations
(EU305/2011) also known as CPR.
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
EuroClass rating
Everyone in the industry should be aware that
telecommunications cables, intended for permanent
incorporation within constructions and placed on the
market after 1st July 2017, must have a EuroClass rating as
defined by BS EN 13501-6: 2014. The rating system was an
extremely positive development because it addressed all the
essential characteristics of a cable’s reaction to fire within
one template; i.e. flame propagation, heat release, smoke
production and its transparency, flaming droplets and acid
gas evolution. While these characteristics were covered by
existing BS EN standards, each aspect had to be referenced
separately e.g. BS EN 60332 standards for flame spread, BS
EN 61034 standards for smoke and BS EN 60754-2 for acid
gas.
The EuroClass utilises some of these standards. In
particular, flame spread on a single cable continues to
reference BS EN 60332-1-2, but the bunched/bundled cables
tests of the BS EN 60332-3 standards have been rejected in
favour of BS EN 50399. This differentiation of tests applied
to single versus bundled cable is particularly relevant to
telecommunications.
Cables meeting the single cable flame spread
requirements of BS EN 13501-6 are designated EuroClass
‘Eca’, but if they also meet the minimum heat release
requirements then they are classified EuroClass ‘Dca’ and
then be subjected to the additional smoke (s), flaming
droplets (d) and acid gas evolution (a) characteristics.
Cables that meet increasingly demanding bundled cable
tests for flame spread are designated as EuroClass ‘Cca’,
‘B2ca’ or ‘B1ca’ – also including the ‘s’, ‘d’ and ‘a’ sub-
classifications.
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