22/11/2022

Testing and assessing Christmas trees and Christmas decorations according to the Dutch technical agreement (NTA 8007) combined with an assessment according to Section 7.4 of the Dutch Building Decree 2012.

150 days before Christmas, a client asked us to check the reaction to fire of the Christmas trees and Christmas decorations currently sold on the Dutch market. The decorations can be classified according to the Dutch Technical Agreement NTA 8007. According to this agreement, a link will be made between the amount of decoration used in a compartment, the fire source used for testing and the reaction to fire requirements of the product.

For example, if a decoration – such as a Christmas ball ornament – has a volume of less than 0.1 m², the product can be classified under “Product Group 1”. Based on the “product group” and the situation of usage, the Dutch Building Decree 2003 stipulates a classification (A, B or C), which prescribes the fire source used for testing the product. In this example, if the Christmas ball is hung on a Christmas tree in your living room, it has to pass the small flame test with a fire source according to ISO 6941.

The Christmas ball must not manifest:

The Christmas tree in your living room, which is a decoration with a volume greater than 0.1 m², has to achieve classification B. This requires a small flame test with a fire source according to ISO 6941 and a crib 5 source according to BS 5852. The Christmas tree must not have a total burning time of more than 5 minutes.

Because the NTA 8007 refers to the Dutch Building Decree 2003, an “update” has to be made between the reference in the NTA 8007 and the currently valid Dutch Building Decree 2012 (Section 7.4). This reference has been checked by the Efectis Engineering Team, adjusted and entered in the latest test reports on Christmas decorations. This project shows the strength and cooperation between the full Efectis teams.

We would like to thank our client, Avontuur-Blachere, for the corporation in this special request. It was a strange phenomenon to test Christmas trees when it was 29 degrees and sunny outside; and even though Christmas is still a while away, the Efectis Team wishes everyone a white and Fire Safe Christmas.

If you would like to test Christmas decorations, please contact our Reaction to Fire Team (bauke.knottnerus@efectis.com).

If you would like to know more of the application of your Christmas decorations and the regulations, please contact our Engineering Team (cindy.beckers@efectis.com).