CPAI-84 flammability specification

Compiled by Juli Case

Does CPAI-84 apply to fabric screen houses? We make a product with mesh sidewalls and need to know if it falls under CPAI-84.

CPAI-84 is a flammability specification, written by IFAI as a voluntary industry specification, at a time when our name was the Canvas Products Association International (CPAI). While the title of the document (“A Specification for Flame-Resistant materials Used in Camping Tentage”) references camping tents, the definition of camping tent is quite broad:

2.1 Camping Tentage. Any portable temporary shelter or structure designed to protect people from the elements. This includes, though not exclusively, the following: camping tents; play tents (indoor and outdoor); recreational vehicle awnings; dining flies and canopies; fabric screen houses; add-a-rooms; and ice fishing tents.

Since your fabric screen house uses sidewalls of mesh, it’s possible that it might fit under an exemption described in section 2.2.2 Wall and Top Material: Note: “No-see-um” type netting or mesh materials weighing 50 g/m2 or less are exempted from the flammability requirements of CPAI-84. This netting material has not been shown to add appreciably to the flammability of the tent.

In other words, if your fabric screen house is made of mesh that is heavier than 50 g/m2, then it falls under CPAI-84.

Juli Case is IFAI‘s information and technical services manager.