Fire safety provision and fire retardants in karaoke building

摘要

In view of the karaoke fires occurred in Hong Kong in the past few years, the local government is trying to set up tighter fire regulations for karaoke establishments. A recent survey indicated that those karaokes established before 1996 would have timber partitions. Those existing karaokes have to be dismantled and putting in fire resistance does not necessarily imply the karaoke is safe. With the rapid development of fire retardant, applying protective coatings to the partition walls might be a better solution to the hidden fire safety problem. In this paper, fire retardant coating technology is reviewed. Chemical aspects of those products are discussed, including the classification, components and fire retardant mechanisms of the fire retardant coatings. The selection of fire retardant coatings and their innovation are introduced. Available commercial products and a survey of applications of those products are presented. The products commonly used are outlined with some samples tested after applying to timber substrates with cone calorimeter. Recommendations are made to the Authority based on the findings.