Tent fabric used by seasonal children’s camps: fire risk assessment

Introduction. The use of fireproof tent fabric at children's tent camps remains a relevant problem. It may be resolved by developing a special flammability assessment methodology and criteria applicable to materials, used as the structural framework of tents. This solution will determine the choice of fabric. Aims and purposes. Materials, currently used to make tents, include natural or synthetic fabric and various polymers, that may be a fire hazard. In case of fire, safe evacuation of people may be unfeasible, although it is particularly important for children's seasonal tent camps designated for sports and leisure. Domestic regulatory documents, that are currently in force, contain solely general technical requirements applicable to travel tents or ensuring fire safety in the territory of children's tent camps, but there are neither fire safety requirements applicable to tent materials, nor any methods of their assessment. Meanwhile, there were cases of fire at children's tent camps. The purpose of this work is to establish fire safety requirements applicable to tent materials used at children's tent camps, to develop their testing criteria and methodology. The main objectives to be accomplished in order to achieve the pre-set purpose include the analysis of effective regulatory requirements and methods used to determine the flammability of tent materials, the establishment of parameters and criteria designated for their assessment and the development of a standard testing methodology. Results and discussion. Experimental studies were carried out to assess a set of flammability-related parameters of several types of fabric and polymers used to make outer/inner tents and ground sheets. It has been determined that currently used materials are fire-hazardous; therefore, it is advisable to limit the production of tents from combustible and flammable materials whose combustion may be triggered by low-calorie ignition sources, including those that can melt or release toxic combustion products. Currently used standard methods were applied to develop modified methodologies and classification criteria needed to assess the flammability of tent materials for children's summer camps; experimental studies were also carried out. Conclusions. A draft national standard has been developed; it implies the establishment of the flammability assessment methodology and criteria and restricts the use of tent materials, that are extremely hazardous in terms of the toxicity of their combustion products.