Choose Ocura to guarantee your furniture meets the stringent Crib 5 fire test

When procuring healthcare furniture, there’s a lot to think about. You have to consider comfort, functionality, ergonomics and so much more for the welfare of your staff and patients.

Fire regulation is an essential standard for all forms of healthcare furniture and failure to comply can result in legal repercussions and harm to life.

When you purchase from a healthcare furniture specialist like Ocura, all furniture has been stringently tested to meet the required standards against ignition and fire-retardancy, including the official BS 7176/BS5852 Crib 5 fire test that we’ll be explaining below.

What is the Crib 5 fire test?

If you’ve ever owned or purchased furniture for a domestic property then you should be familiar with the cigarette and match test label. This is a standard required for all furniture in compliance with The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988. Compliance with this regulation ensures all upholstery components and composites used for furniture supplied in the UK meet specified ignition resistance levels and are labelled appropriately.

The Crib 5 test is an assessment of the ignitability of upholstered seating by smouldering and flaming ignition sources. A Crib 5 stack is made of wood and looks similar to a Jenga tower. To perform the Crib 5 test, it needs to be 5 tiers high.

To complete the test, the ​‘crib’ is placed on the test furniture and ignited. If no flaming or progressive smouldering is observed on both cover and interior material, the test is recorded as ​‘no ignition’ and the material passes the test.

A Crib 5 material is not fireproof but this test guarantees that passable materials will massively lower the risk of ignition and could therefore potentially save lives.

Why you should ensure your healthcare furniture meets the correct fire regulations

• Standards for healthcare furniture are more stringent
• By law, your furniture must meet the official BS7176/BS5852 Crib 5 fire test
• Failing to comply with these standards will put lives at risk and may invalidate your insurance
• Supports the safety of patients, visitors and staff

Invest in the right choice, invest in Ocura

At Ocura, our entire seating range has been developed to exceed the stringent Crib 5 fire test. As healthcare furniture specialists, there isn’t a regulation, test or requirement that we overlook because complete peace of mind is our goal.

For a service you can rely on from a company that cares as much about the hard-working staff and patients welfare as you do, choose Ocura as your healthcare furniture supplier.