Update on the status of Fire Curtains and Standards

Michael Skelding, General Manager & Secretary at DHF, provides an update on the debate about standards applicable to fire curtains following recent clarification from the Group of Notified Bodies in Europe.

There has been an ongoing discussion within the industry as to the relevant standards which should be applied to Fire Curtains.

The current situation is that a European Standard exists for the CE or UKCA certification of the product, EN 16034:2014. This standard is Harmonised in Europe and Designated in GB and is to be used for all fire doors where a Harmonised or Designated standard exists for the door itself. EN 13241:2003+A2:2016 is a Harmonised and Designated standard for Industrial and Commercial doors, irrespective of material.

The view of DHF and many of its members has always been that these standards would together apply to a fire curtain installed in a location in which it carries out the function of a door where vehicle or pedestrian access is possible. EN 16034 covers the fire certification requirements and EN 13241 covers construction product performance, including structural requirements.  Unfortunately, the wording in the scope clause of EN 16034 differed somewhat from the wording in the scope clause of EN 13241.  This apparent discrepancy has become a source of debate.

Within the UK, there also exists a standard purely for Fire Curtains which has recently been revised by BSI, i.e. BS 8524-1:2025. Although this standard lays down requirements on the design, specification and certification of Fire Curtains, it does not cover the requirements of the Construction Products Regulations and, as a British Standard, it is neither harmonised nor designated.

After a long delay, during which the possibility of a conflict between the British and European Standards was considered, BSI published the revised British Standard on the basis that EN 16034 was thought to have a narrower scope than that of EN 13241.   The view taken by BSI, some UK manufacturers and some certification bodies was that this meant that the majority of fire curtains could not be certified to EN 16034, being excluded from that standard’s supposed narrow scope, thus creating the need for the publication of BS 8524-1:2025 to fill the apparent gap.

The question of the scope of EN 16034 was discussed at a recent meeting of the Group of Notified Bodies (GNB) sector group SG06 in Europe following a request for clarification in this area. The question raised was whether the scope of EN 16034 should be interpreted as including all fire/smoke-resisting fabric curtains and rolling shutters (provided for access by persons and/or vehicles) covered by EN 13241.  

The response issued by SG06 confirmed that this was indeed the case. This is a most important ruling, as it means that any fire-resisting product within the scope of EN 13241 will also fall within the scope of EN 16034 for the purposes of CE/UKCA marking, notwithstanding the slight difference in wording. 

DHF fully supports this decision and believes that it vindicates its stance taken on this matter since CE certification against EN 16034 became mandatory in 2019.

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