#3: Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Materials (SFRMs)
The establishment of a new product classification for sprayed fire protection materials has become effective as of January 2, 1996.
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) has made revisions to their product classifications of "Cementitious Mixtures" and "Fiber, Sprayed" materials. As of January 2, 1996, these individual product classifications have been withdrawn and combined to form a new single product classification called "Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Material" (SFRM). Notice of this change is referenced on page 9 of the 1996 UL Fire Resistance Directory Volume 1.
The term "Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Material" will replace all references to Cementitious Mixture and Sprayed Fiber in all UL designs published in the next printing of the directory. In addition, it is UL's intent to group all designs currently listing both "cementitious" and "sprayed fiber" materials in the 600 series of designs.
The materials will continue to be identified in the back of the UL Fire Resistance Directory as "cementitious mixtures" and "sprayed fiber" materials under the "Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Material" category. UL will identify the products in this manner to establish continuity between the old listing system and the new.
There are several reasons for this change. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries -International (AWCI) and several model building code organizations, including ICBO (Uniform Building Code) and BOCA (Building Officials and Code Administrators) have already adopted similar terminology. As of July 2, 1996, Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC) has also followed this format and incorporated the "Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Material" classification. It is anticipated that the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) MasterFormat will also reflect this change in product classification, as the AIA Master Systems Masterspec Specification already has adopted a similar category.
There also has been a past misunderstanding of what the terms "cementitious" and "sprayed fibers" actually represent. The term "cementitious" often conveys the belief that the material contains cement, when in fact, most cementitious materials do not.
Ironically, most of the materials that were included in the "Sprayed Fiber" category actually do contain cement as the binding ingredient. Due to the confusion caused by these outdated terms, UL included definitions of "cementitious" and "sprayed fiber" within the directory. These terms define the manner in which the material is mixed, conveyed and applied and not the composition, hardness or physical performance characteristics of the material.
As a manufacturer and provider of both types of fire protection materials, it is our position that product performance and physical characteristics, and not the application method, be used to identify Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Materials (SFRMs) and a quality fire protection job.
