August 17, 2021
UL is proud to announce the construction of a new, local fire safety testing laboratory in the United Arab Emirates, specially designed to test to standards for:
- Flame retardant and fire-resistant cables
- Fire alarm cables
- Building wires with fire resistance ratings
- Fiber optic component (FOC) cables with fire resistance ratings
- Busways
Benefits of a new local laboratory
Because UL provides a local laboratory staffed with industry-leading experts, you can expect:
- Faster turnaround times: Until now, you had no option to partner with an independent laboratory for cable fire testing in the Middle East. This factor alone increased your time to market.
- Better regulation enforcement: Having a local laboratory will drive more stringent regulations for fire resistant cables in our region.
- Lower costs: A local presence with global expertise will help reduce your logistics and shipping costs to the EU and Asia markets.
- Increased choice: Customers preferring a local laboratory will now have a choice of their preferred partner.
Our new facility is specifically designed to test electrical and optical cables fire safety. For example, when cables burn, they may produce significant volumes of heat, smoke, toxic or corrosive fumes, and falling flaming materials, known as burning droplets. We can provide:
- Reaction to fire tests: Measuring how a cable reacts when exposed to fire.
- IEC 60332-3 vertical flame spread on bunched cables tests
- IEC 60332-1 vertical flame propagation on single cable or insulated wire
- Assessing acid gas emission and smoke generation
- Fire resistance tests: Evaluating cables’ circuit integrity during a fire.
- Includes tests for fire alone, fire with water, fire with mechanical shock and fire with both mechanical shock and water to demonstrate various real-life scenarios.
- For example, a fire alarm cable needs to be fire resistant. If an unsuitable cable was specified for installation with fire alarm, the unsuitable product would likely burn and degrade.
Increased regulation
The region has seen increased regulation around the fire safety of cables. Working with a trusted partner like UL can help you meet these increased demands without sacrificing time or efficiency. Our fire safety experts are knowledgeable about local requirements such as:
- Local civil defense code requirements to comply to fire resistance for cables.
- Civil defense Certificate of Compliance (CoC) for cables requiring test reports and certificates.
- Compliance to consultant specifications for construction projects in the Middle East.
- Meeting export requirements to Europe, the U.S. and Africa.
Why UL
We offer you advisory and testing services to help you meet and exceed fire safety requirements. Our research testing services for manufacturers can help you design cables that comply with the necessary fire resistance/fire reactance standards. In addition, we can help you with a Type testing report and Type examination certificate based on IEC/EN/BS standards.
