News
17.01.2025

pinfa-NA explainer video n°8: smoke toxicity

Short educational video (4 minutes) explains why all fire smoke is toxic and how flame retardants can reduce the risks. This is the 8th video in the pinfa-NA “Explainer” series explaining fire safety, fire regulations and flame retardants. This video explains that smoke is the main killer in fires, containing toxic gases and soot particles generated by the many different materials in our homes. Smoke poses particular risks for firefighters because of repeated exposure and possible accumulation of soot particles on protective clothing and equipment. Flame retardants reduce smoke by preventing fires or reducing their spread. If a fire does develop, different flame retardants can have different effects on smoke in different materials, but studies have shown that in many materials they do not increase smoke toxicity (see CREPIM study in pinfa Newsletter n°149). Also, FRs are only used in specific applications where fire protection is required (e.g. electronics) so are present in only a small percentage of materials in our homes, so have only a marginal impact on smoke if the fire does develop. “To sum it up, in a real world fire there is no such thing as safe smoke, and toxic smoke will be formed with or without the presence of flame retardants”.

pinfa-NA VOFR-CM (Value of Flame Retardant-Containing Materials) Explainer Video Series https://www.pinfa-na.org/learnfrmaterials