BEHIND THE SCENES

Successful BS EN 14972-17 Fire Suppression Tests 

Following the announcement that iCO^® became the first UK manufacturer to successfully complete fire performance testing to BS EN 14972-17, Baltic Fire Laboratory has released an in-depth interview exploring what this means for the future of residential water mist fire suppression.

The discussion focuses on how BS EN 14972-17 moves beyond guidance-based design, introducing full-scale fire scenarios and repeatable test conditions to assess system performance. This marks a shift towards evidence-based validation, providing greater clarity for specifiers, installers and approving authorities.

Interview: Fire Suppression Testing

During the two week fire testing and wider R&D programme, Guy Briscoe, iCO^® R&D Director met with Bogdan Raciega, Director at Baltic Fire Laboratory, to discuss the future direction of residential water mist fire protection across the UK and Europe. The topics covered, include:

• What BS EN 14972-17 means for specifiers, installers and building control
• The evolution from legacy standards to full-scale fire testing
• The challenges of testing water mist systems in realistic residential scenarios
• The differences between low-pressure and high-pressure water mist technologies.

Testing at Baltic Fire Laboratory

All fire testing was conducted at Baltic Fire Laboratory, an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited fire research facility specifically accredited for the BS EN 14972-17 test method. 

The BS EN 14972-17 testing and wider R&D programme included full-scale fire testing of iCO^®’s newly developed low-pressure water mist nozzles and high-pressure water mist nozzles, engineered to the same standard.

The results are now directly informing iCO^®’s ongoing product development, system design guidance and technical documentation. This ensures future solutions are underpinned by independently verified, full-scale fire test data – supporting a performance-led approach to residential fire suppression.

Water mist fire suppression nozzles designed and tested to BS EN 14972-17, delivering performance-led fire control in residential environments.