Pillows, cushions and bed linen: which ones need a reaction-to-fire class?

In short. The 1994 Italian hotel rule requires class 1 IM for upholstered furniture and mattresses, and a ministerial note of 2000 states expressly that pillows, bed bases, bed linen and quilts do not have to prove it. The 2015 Fire Prevention Code works from a wider list, which names pillows, toppers, cushions and bed linen one by one. These are two different lists, not two readings of one list: which applies to your rooms depends on which of the two routes the fire engineer has taken.

Why there is no single answer

Because fire prevention for an Italian hotel can be set up in two alternative ways. The first is the vertical technical rule: the decree of 9 April 1994, which prescribes in plain terms what hospitality premises must have. The second is the Fire Prevention Code, the decree of 3 August 2015, which reaches the same objective through performance levels and compliant solutions.

So far this is a decision for the design team, and it rarely reaches the furniture supplier. On the bed, though, it changes the shopping list, because the two texts do not name the same objects. Anyone buying pillows and linen therefore faces two answers that are both correct, and needs to know which track the hotel runs on before placing the order.

What the 1994 hotel decree requires

Clause 6.2 of the technical rule is short and precise. Point e) states that «i mobili imbottiti ed i materassi devono essere di classe 1 IM» — upholstered furniture and mattresses must be class 1 IM. Point d) states that materials liable to ignite on both faces, curtains and the like, must have a reaction-to-fire class no higher than 1.

That is where the list stops. Pillows, cushions, duvets, blankets, bedspreads: none of them is named. This is not an oversight, and it has been clarified in writing.

The 2000 note: what it actually says

Ministry of the Interior note ref. P119/4122/1 sott. 3 of 23 February 2000 addresses exactly this point. It states that for materials and furnishings not comparable to upholstered furniture or mattresses — giving as examples pillows, bed bases, bed linen and quilts — class 1 IM reaction to fire does not have to be demonstrated.

It is a sentence worth keeping to hand, because on its own it answers the question most often raised during an inspection. The contribution of those items to a fire does not disappear: it is accounted for as part of the room's fire load, which is an assessment made by the design, not a certificate to request from the linen supplier.

One distinction carries the whole thing: a pillow is not a piece of upholstered furniture. Put like that it sounds obvious, but it is precisely where the argument starts, because a pillow is padded and upholstered furniture is padded, and the words are close. Class 1 IM comes from UNI 9175, «reaction to fire of upholstered furniture subjected to the action of a small flame», and it applies to what that standard calls upholstered furniture. The rest falls outside.

And under the 2015 Fire Prevention Code?

Here the list widens, and the Ministry says so itself. The Fire Brigade Department note of 2 September 2020, ref. 11297, explains that table S.1-5 «elenca puntualmente i materiali che necessitano di requisiti di reazione al fuoco» — it lists item by item the materials that need reaction-to-fire requirements — and that those requirements are expressed in Italian classes alone because, these not being construction products, the European classification is not applicable.

The itemised list in table S.1-5 includes, among other entries, upholstered furniture — armchairs, sofas, sofa beds, mattresses, bed bases, pillows, toppers, cushions, upholstered chairs — bedding, namely blankets, bedspreads and mattress covers, non-upholstered furniture, and separately stage curtains, drapes and curtains.

One detail shows how far apart the two texts are better than any explanation: the bed base is among the items the 2000 note declares not comparable to upholstered furniture, while in table S.1-5 it appears within the list of upholstered furniture. Pillows and cushions share the same fate. This is not a contradiction by the legislator: they are two distinct regulatory systems, each internally consistent, and one of the two applies — not a mixture.

A clarification that helps when reading a specification: the table does not assign a fixed class to each object. It assigns groups of materials, and the class that falls to each group depends on the performance level attributed to the compartment in the design. That is why the correct specification line is not «pillows in class 1 IM», but a reference to the performance level set by the fire-safety design. How to write that line is covered in How to write the furniture specification for a hotel.

Why Euroclasses are not relevant

Because these items are not construction products, and the 2020 note says so in the words quoted above: the European classification is not applicable. That is why a specification will not contain — and should not look for — a B-s1,d0 Euroclass next to a cushion. It is the same boundary explained in Why a sofa has no Euroclass.

What to ask the supplier, in practice

It depends on the item, and that is the useful part.

• Mattresses and upholstered furniture: always a class 1 IM document, referring to the finished product in the exact combination being bought, not to the materials taken one by one. The documents that should arrive are listed in Hotel furniture: which documents should arrive.
• Curtains: class no higher than 1, because point d) names them expressly.
• Pillows, cushions, toppers, duvets, bed linen: the question to put to the designer, before ordering, is which rule the project is built on. Under the 1994 technical rule, class 1 IM does not have to be demonstrated; under the 2015 Code those items are on the list and the class required follows from the performance level.
• In every case: get the answer in writing. It is one line of email, and it prevents a dispute during the inspection, when the goods are already in the rooms and replacing them costs time.

One clarification that saves telephone calls: the linen supplier cannot answer this question in place of the designer. They can say what they sell and with which document, not which rule applies to the hotel. The choice between the two systems belongs to the fire-safety design.

Why it pays to decide early

Because the moment this question arrives is almost always the same: with the supply closed and the rooms made up. At that point there are two options, and both cost. Replace the pillows and blankets with items that carry the required document, or have the fire-safety design supplemented. The first costs money, the second costs calendar, and on a hotel project the calendar is the heaviest line of all: compliant, certified products delivered on time mean a fast opening, and a hotel that opens sooner starts invoicing sooner. Dates are built backwards, as explained in When to order hotel furniture to open on time.

The same reasoning applies to care homes and student housing, where the reference rules are different again: they are set out in Care home furniture: which fire class and in Student housing furniture standards.

How we work

Brianform was founded in 1982 in Brianza and is a brand of Sibilia S.r.l. It makes sofas, armchairs, tables and made-to-measure furniture for hotels and residences, working wood, marble, iron and upholstery in-house. On upholstered pieces and mattresses we work with leathers and fabrics certified to class 1 IM where the project requires it, and the test is run on the assembly that is actually delivered. The seating is in the collections; the Contract page explains how we follow projects through. Brianform and Stoneform are two brands of the same company, with in-house production and no intermediaries. It starts from contact.

Frequently asked questions

Do hotel pillows have to be fire retardant in Italy?

It depends on the rule the project is built on. Under the 1994 technical rule, the ministerial note of 23 February 2000 states expressly that class 1 IM does not have to be demonstrated for pillows. Under the 2015 Fire Prevention Code, pillows are among the materials listed in table S.1-5.

Does bed linen need a certificate?

Under the 1994 technical rule, no: the 2000 note names bed linen and quilts among the materials not comparable to upholstered furniture or mattresses. In table S.1-5 of the Code, bedding — blankets, bedspreads, mattress covers — is an entry in its own right.

Why does a mattress need class 1 IM and a pillow does not?

Because class 1 IM comes from UNI 9175, which covers upholstered furniture, and the mattress is named expressly by the 1994 technical rule alongside upholstered furniture. A pillow, according to the 2000 note, is comparable neither to upholstered furniture nor to a mattress.

Does my hotel follow the 1994 decree or the 2015 Code?

The fire-safety design says so, not the furniture supplier. It is the question to put to the designer or the technical office before ordering mattresses, pillows and linen, and it is worth having the answer in writing.

Is a Euroclass needed for cushions and bedding?

No. The ministerial note of 2 September 2020 explains that for these materials the requirements are expressed in Italian classes only because, these not being construction products, the European classification is not applicable.

Talk to us The contract division

The measures and standards cited on this page are Italian Ministerial Decree 9 April 1994 and its clause 6.2, Ministry of the Interior note ref. P119/4122/1 sott. 3 of 23 February 2000, Ministerial Decree 3 August 2015 (Fire Prevention Code) and table S.1-5 of chapter S.1, the Fire Brigade Department note of 2 September 2020 ref. 11297, UNI 9175 and Ministerial Decree 26 June 1984. The choice of applicable rule and the reaction-to-fire requirements of any individual project remain the responsibility of the fire-safety design and of the appointed professional.