Regardless of your work background or the industry that you’re in, whether codified or not, there exists what’s known as ‘best practices.’ These written or unwritten rules are known among experts in the field and passed down to those who work at every level. When it comes to flameproofing, the same thing applies. There are certain ways of performing flameproofing treatments that would fall under ‘best practices.’ While someone outside the field isn’t expected to know what these are, this information can be really helpful when you’re hiring a flameproofing company.
So what kind of best practices should you look for in a flameproofing company? Well, the FDNY has identified a few things as industry best practices:
- Once a fabric or item has been soaked or coated with fire retardants, it should dry for 24 hours. Once completely dry, a field flame test for flame resistance needs to be performed on it. If the item is not completely dry, it will not yield accurate results, and the items could possibly require additional flameproofing treatments.
- Even if certain fabrics or objects are marked as inherently flame resistant or non-combustible - or even if they have already been treated with fire retardants in the past, - they still must have a field flame test done on them to make sure they are indeed flame resistant. As a business owner, you want to be present when this is done so you know for sure they've passed the test. Additionally, only a C-15 Certificate of Fitness holder can perform this test (the flameproofing company should be a certificate holder).
- As a business owner, make sure you’re given instructions after flameproofing treatments for how to handle and care for the treated objects and materials. Generally, most treated items need to be treated again after washing, dry-cleaning, etc. because the handling compromises their flame-resistant capabilities. In addition to that, a new flameproofing affidavit needs to be issued if the objects have been handled.
- As the FDNY regularly posts vital and relevant information on their site - things that pertain to requirements, recommendations, new information, etc - make sure the company you choose is familiar with the FDNY site and checks it regularly.
- A quality flameproofing company should inform you of the limitations of flameproofing treatments. A treated object or material can still catch fire; the difference is that it will burn more slowly and it won’t contribute to the spread of the fire. This allows more time for firefighters to come and for a safe evacuation.
Queens Flameproofing follows all of the FDNY best practices listed above. We are committed to staying up to date on all the latest information and recommendations as well as satisfying all the requirements for our C-15 Certificate of Fitness. We publish this kind of information to the public to hold ourselves accountable as well as to provide important information to our potential customers.
If you have flameproofing needs, please call us today. We have been serving the Metro NYC area for 50 years, and we would love to add you to our list of satisfied customers. Call with questions or concerns and to receive a free, no-obligation quote: 800-972-5587.