What is meant by a “full-scale fire test?
A. TB 133 tests an actual article of furniture, or a furniture “mockup,” which includes all of the essential features of the finished furniture. A finished piece of furniture is placed in a test room and ignited by a gas ignition burner. Various measurements of temperature, smoke, carbon monoxide, heat generation, and weight loss of the furniture are taken. The measurements are then compared with test criteria developed by the bureau, which define acceptable fire performance. The standards does not specify how an article of furniture should be built, but only how the furniture should perform when tested by the procedure specified in TB 133. Therefore, TB 133 is known as a full-scale fire performance test.
