Inherent Fire Retardant Drapery

NFPA 701 Flame Retardant Drapery Fabrics

What are NFPA 701 Flame Retardant Fabrics?

Commonly used fabrics in public places, such as schools, churches, theaters and other places, are required to be "flame retardant" certified, according to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association). For draperies (pipe and drape), curtains, and similar hanging textiles, the standard that applies is NFPA 701: Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Flame Propagation of Textiles and Films.

NFPA 701 (Small Scale) testing measures the ignition resistance of a fabric after it is exposed to a flame for 12 seconds. The flame, char length, and flaming residue are recorded.

The fabric will pass the test if all samples meet the following criteria:

• An after flame of less than 2.0 seconds
• A char length of less than 6.5”
• The specimen does not continue to flame after reaching the floor of the test chamber

The fabrics below are certified as flame retardant and passed the above NFPA 701 tests.