Low-smoke generation wall and ceiling materials are designed to meet all the requirements for Approval Standard 4880, Class 1 Fire Rating of Building Panels or Interior Finish Materials (i.e., no self-propagation of fire for interior wall and ceiling panels). These materials can also be certified to meet the additional requirements of Approval Standard 4882, Class 1 Interior Wall and Ceiling Materials or Systems for Smoke Sensitive Occupancies, evaluating the generation of significantly less smoke in the event of a fire when compared to traditional materials.
Facer coatings, finish materials and bonding agents utilized in wall and ceiling panels may exhibit self-propagating fire behavior and generate large quantities of smoke in the event of even a small fire. The use of FM Approved Class 1 interior wall and ceiling panels tested to Approval Standard 4880 will not allow self-propagation of a fire.
However, though fire in a smoke-sensitive occupancy that uses Class 1 Approved interior wall and ceiling panels will be small, the smoke damage can result in significant loss of stored product, in-process product, and significant downtime for the business. To address this, low-smoke wall and ceiling panels that are certified to the meet the requirements of FM 4882 provide assurance they will limit fire propagation and generate significantly less smoke than traditional wall or ceiling panels.
For occupancies that cannot tolerate smoke contamination, FM Approved low smoke wall and ceiling panels offer a unique advantage over all other certified and non-certified all and ceiling panels. These types of panels have been utilized to protect vulnerable inventory and assets in the pharmaceutical, food processing, and other industries.