# Fire testing theatre curtains when and how?



## ninjacowonskis (Aug 16, 2011)

So I was just wondering how often you are supposed to check your curtains to see if they need to be "re-proofed". I know there is that little piece of test fabric at the top of each curtain which is meant to be removed and sent in for testing or something like that. But I was wondering if there is a law or some rule that says they have to be tested every so many years.


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## Footer (Aug 16, 2011)

There is no law that says how often they need to be tested nationally. However, there is a law (NFPA 701) that says what the test is that they have to pass in order to determine them flame retardant. There are a few companies in the industry that make the chemical to treat fabric. All the manufactures that I know of state that with proper treatment the good is flame retardant for 5 years and will pass NFPA 701 at anytime within that 5 year period. In New York City, they do mandate that goods be treated every 3 years, at least according to the guy that did our goods a few weeks ago. 

So, what does that leave us at? Essentially it means all AHJs will look at your goods and decide if it will pass a test based on their last treatment date. So, if it has been longer then 5 years since your goods were last treated, its time to get them sent out and done. Its not something you can do yourself. When your goods are treated, they should be individually tagged saying the treatment date along with the company that did the treatment. Along with the goods, you should get back a certificate saying what was treated, who treated it, and when it was treated. The drapery company will also send a sample to a testing lab that will run the NFPA 701 small scale test on the good and report back the results of that test.


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## David Ashton (Aug 18, 2011)

of course if your drapes are wool they are inherently fire retardent and don't need testing.But apparently wool drapes are not very popular in the US.


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## Footer (Aug 18, 2011)

David Ashton said:


> of course if your drapes are wool they are inherently fire retardent and don't need testing.But apparently wool drapes are not very popular in the US.


 
I don't think I have ever seen or heard of wool goods. Everything here is cotton, if its IFR its all synthetic. It looks like Rose Brand does sell wool masking if you want it. However, some of the wool stuff they sell is not IFR. It looks like depending on the blend they use can change the rating.


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## Beans45601 (Aug 18, 2011)

David Ashton said:


> of course if your drapes are wool they are inherently fire retardent and don't need testing.But apparently wool drapes are not very popular in the US.


 
We *only* use good ole American cotton here!


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## FACTplayers (Aug 19, 2011)

Footer said:


> There is no law that says how often they need to be tested nationally. However, there is a law (NFPA 701) that says what the test is that they have to pass in order to determine them flame retardant. There are a few companies in the industry that make the chemical to treat fabric. All the manufactures that I know of state that with proper treatment the good is flame retardant for 5 years and will pass NFPA 701 at anytime within that 5 year period. In New York City, they do mandate that goods be treated every 3 years, at least according to the guy that did our goods a few weeks ago.
> 
> So, what does that leave us at? Essentially it means all AHJs will look at your goods and decide if it will pass a test based on their last treatment date. So, if it has been longer then 5 years since your goods were last treated, its time to get them sent out and done. Its not something you can do yourself. When your goods are treated, they should be individually tagged saying the treatment date along with the company that did the treatment. Along with the goods, you should get back a certificate saying what was treated, who treated it, and when it was treated. The drapery company will also send a sample to a testing lab that will run the NFPA 701 small scale test on the good and report back the results of that test.


 

Are you 100% positive there is no law? Maybe it is just a town ordinance, but our fire department (they hate us btw) came in a few years ago and issued a fine because our curtains inspection had expired and needed re-testing. Long story short, we were forced to replace the curtains.


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## David Ashton (Aug 20, 2011)

the majority of theatre curtains here are pure wool, it has very long life, we have some at least 50 years old, and like our sheep, it is inherently fire retardent, so never needs treating.Maybe there's a market oppurtunity here.


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## Footer (Aug 20, 2011)

FACTplayers said:


> Are you 100% positive there is no law? Maybe it is just a town ordinance, but our fire department (they hate us btw) came in a few years ago and issued a fine because our curtains inspection had expired and needed re-testing. Long story short, we were forced to replace the curtains.



Notice I said NATIONALLY. Local laws very state by state, city by city. I'm in NYS which has more producing theatres in it then any other state in the country. Because of that, we have more local authorities that know what to look for because they are trained for it in their respective academies. Also, notice they fined you for _testing_ and not _application_. There is a differance there. The system works like this: Fed says soft goods need to pass a test. Rosco/other companys make a chemical to treat the good and they say and the fire marshal approves that it when properly treated the good will pass the test for the next 5 years. Therefore, firemarshals look for goods to be treated every 5 years because it is impossible to have drapes over 5 years old that still pass the test. 


David Ashton said:


> the majority of theatre curtains here are pure wool, it has very long life, we have some at least 50 years old, and like our sheep, it is inherently fire retardent, so never needs treating.Maybe there's a market oppurtunity here.



In the states, at least in NYS, they still require IFR fabric to be tested every 5 years. Dust build up can kill the IFR rating.


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## FACTplayers (Aug 20, 2011)

Footer said:


> Notice I said NATIONALLY. Local laws very state by state, city by city. I'm in NYS which has more producing theatres in it then any other state in the country. Because of that, we have more local authorities that know what to look for because they are trained for it in their respective academies. Also, notice they fined you for _testing_ and not _application_. There is a differance there. The system works like this: Fed says soft goods need to pass a test. Rosco/other companys make a chemical to treat the good and they say and the fire marshal approves that it when properly treated the good will pass the test for the next 5 years. Therefore, firemarshals look for goods to be treated every 5 years because it is impossible to have drapes over 5 years old that still pass the test.


 
So the answer to the original question is above, and not necessarily your first answer. While it did have great information, it was a bit misleading (unless I read it wrong).


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## Blacksheep0317 (Oct 6, 2011)

Federally, no. There is no law. There are recomandations and guidelines that laywers will pull out as industry standard god forbid something happens. (See NFPA 701?) HOWEVER! Local, state, county, SOP, SOG, any other set of laws or rules you can think of, have the authority to be more stringent than that of the next higher jurisdiction. So your better off to ask around locally as to the exact time. Keep in mind this also depends on the fabric and process used for the fire retardation. A down and dirty (NOT OFFICIAL) test of your curtains? Take a small swatch, hold a lighter to it. If it holds a flame after 5 seconds of flame contact, chances are your looking at new retardant application or new curtains. This is no replacement for a actual lab test though, just a are we going to need to replace this now or pay to be told not to thing.

ALSO!

Often times, its not even the curtains that hold the flame! NFPA also suggests getting your curtains cleaned every five years, for a max of 10 times. Many times its actually the dirt and dust that burns on your curtains, esp if you are in a shared shop/stage type space.


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## Footer (Oct 6, 2011)

Blacksheep0317 said:


> Often times, its not even the curtains that hold the flame! NFPA also suggests getting your curtains cleaned every five years, for a max of 10 times. Many times its actually the dirt and dust that burns on your curtains, esp if you are in a shared shop/stage type space.


 
And thats the reason that even IFR fabric needs to be sent out every 5 years.


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