Skip to content Skip to a section

🌲Safety & fire class

Wood · Anisotropic cellulose composite grown as trees — carpentry, mass timber and a combustible story that codes still manage.

At a glance
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology

Quick answers

Is Wood non-combustible?

Declared reaction class in this atlas: D–B depending on product / treatment. Assemblies still need resistance tests.

Does Wood insulate?

Thermal mark 56/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: ~0.1–0.2 W/m·K along vs across grain.

What is the density band?

0.3–0.8 g/cm³ typical

How is it made?

Origin story: Palaeolithic tools; CLT 1990s Austria (Global forests / Graz).

Can it be recycled?

Circularity mark 76/100 — editorial, route-specific.

Typical melting or failure heat?

chars ~200–300 °C; does not melt

heat 32 · fire 34

Start with this section - Safety & fire class

Safety here is encyclopedia, not a workplace assessment. Name the agent: dust, isocyanate, fibre, fume, moisture, fire.

Fire class D–B depending on product / treatment is reaction language unless an assembly test is cited.

Hazards

Process energy / dust

Mills, fibres, isocyanates, metal fume or silica — name the actual agent.

In service

Corrosion, moisture, UV or creep silently retire sections.

Fire products

Smoke, drip, fibres or toxicants depend on chemistry.

Cut / puncture

Handling injuries are more common than brochure failures.

Mis-specification

The wrong grade is the most expensive hazard.

Fire class

Reaction

D–B depending on product / treatment

Resistance

Assemblies (EI, R, Type X) are not implied by the material letter.

Test families

EN 13501, ASTM E84, ISO 5660, KS F 2271 — they do not equal each other.

People vs structure

Clothing FR and steel R-ratings are different professions.

Environment

Carbon / energy

Better-than-average loop for this atlas, still not zero.

Toxics / fibres

Additives, dusts and processing aids (not always the polymer backbone) drive regulation.

Water

Process water, leachate or moisture swelling.

End of life

Sortability beats theoretical recyclability.

Handling

Store dry and labelled

Grade mix-ups scrap lots.

PPE for the actual agent

Fibres, isocyanates, UV, sharp edges — not a generic “chemicals” pictogram.

Do not improvise fire class

Coatings and cavities change the letter.

Follow the WPS / DFT / compression

Installation is in the specification.

Codes move. Recheck KS, JIS, EN, NFPA and IBC editions for the job’s jurisdiction.

Keep exploring

More in Ceramics & wood