Fire-retardant materials are designed to burn slowly.

Fire-retardant materials should not be confused with fire-resistant materials. A fire resistant material is one which is designed to resist burning and withstand heat. An example of a fire-resistant material is one which is used in bunker gear worn by firefighters to protect them from the flames of a burning building.

In the United Kingdom, after two significant construction fires which resulted in a combined loss of £1,500 million, The Joint Code of Practice was introduced by the Fire Protection Association (FPA), the UK's national fire safety organisation,^[1] to prevent fires on buildings undergoing construction work. The Joint Code of Practice provides advice on how to prevent fires such as through the use of flame-retardant temporary protection materials: for example, some high quality floor protectors are designed to burn slowly and prevent the spread of fires.

Fire-retardant materials used in buildings

• Iron
• Mineral wool
• Gypsum boards
• Asbestos cement
• Perlite boards
• Corriboard
• Calcium silicate
• Sodium silicate
• Potassium silicate
• Treated lumber plywood
• Treated vegetable fiber (e.g., cotton, jute, kenaf, hemp, flax, etc..)
• Fire-retardant treated wood
• Brick
• Concrete
• Cement render
• Intumescent paint
• Glass
• Magnesium oxide (MgO)
• Geobond asbestos substitute

Fire textiles

• PBI
• Aramid - para and meta
• Flame retardant cotton
• Coated nylon
• Carbon foam (CFOAM)
• Melamine
• Modacrylic

Phasing-out

Many common brominated flame retardants are being phased-out by manufacturers.^[2]