⚡ Resistance of a single vertical insulated electric wire or cable or optical fibre cable to vertical flame propagation — test piece (600 ± 25) mm in a metal screen enclosure, 1 kW pre-mixed burner at 45° at 475 mm from the upper support, flame application time 60, 120, 240 or 480 s according to diameter, measurement of the distances from the upper support to the upper and lower onset of charring to 1 mm, PN-EN 60332-1-2

Electronics and EMC PN-EN 60332-1-2

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN catalogue card of PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010 (Polish version), in full (our translation of the Polish card text): “A method is specified for testing the resistance to vertical flame propagation of a single insulated electric wire or cable or optical fibre cable during direct exposure to fire”. We read the text of the standard in the preview of IEC 60332-1-2 edition 1.1 (2015-07, consolidated version: first edition of 2004 and amendment 1 of 2015, the equivalent of PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010 with amendment A1) from the cover to Clause 6 and Figure 2; we do not have Annex A with the recommended requirements. Of the second edition IEC 60332-1-2:2025 we read only the table of contents and the foreword.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF IEC 60332-1-2:2004+AMD1:2015 (Clauses 1–6). The standard was prepared by IEC TC 20 (electric cables); it has the status of a group safety publication according to IEC Guide 104. Scope (Clause 1): procedure for testing the resistance to vertical flame propagation of a single vertical insulated conductor or cable or optical fibre cable under fire conditions; the apparatus is described in IEC 60332-1-1. The test can be carried out simultaneously with the flaming droplets test of IEC 60332-1-3 (Note 1). The 1 kW pre-mixed flame is for general use, but the procedure may be unsuitable for small conductors of total cross-section below 0,5 mm² (the conductor melts before the end of the test) and small optical fibre cables (the cable breaks) — for them IEC 60332-2-2 is recommended. Note 2: meeting the recommended requirements is not sufficient to prevent fire propagation in all installation conditions; it cannot be assumed that a bunch of cables will behave like a single sample (IEC 60332-3 series). References: IEC 60332-1-1, IEC 60695-4, IEC 60811-203 (measurement of overall dimensions), IEC Guide 104. Definitions: ignition source, char (according to ISO 13943:2008). Apparatus (Clause 4): according to IEC 60332-1-1. Sample (5.1): a piece of single insulated conductor or cable (600 ± 25) mm long; the diameter is measured according to IEC 60811-203 at three places separated by at least 100 mm, and the mean is rounded to one decimal place (5,75 → 5,8; 5,74 → 5,7) — the flame application time depends on it. Conditioning (5.2): at least 16 h at (23 ± 5) °C and (50 ± 20) % relative humidity; a conductor with a paint or lacquer finish — first 4 h at (60 ± 2) °C. Positioning (5.3): the test piece is straightened and secured with copper wire to two horizontal supports, vertically in the centre of the metal screen enclosure, so that the distance from the bottom of the upper support to the top of the lower one is (550 ± 5) mm, the bottom of the test piece is about 50 mm above the base of the enclosure and the axis is 150 mm from the sides and 225 mm from the rear. Flame (5.4.1): burner according to 4.3 of IEC 60332-1-1, the tip of the inner blue cone touches the surface of the test piece at (475 ± 5) mm from the lower edge of the upper support, burner at (45 ± 2)° to the axis of the test piece, fixed throughout; flat cables — the middle of the flat side; if an electric conductor moves so much that the result would be invalid, it is held straight by a load of about 5 N/mm² of conductor area attached (550 ± 5) mm below the upper support and is not secured to the lower one. Duration (5.4.2, Table 1): diameter D ≤ 25 mm — (60 ± 2) s; 25 < D ≤ 50 mm — (120 ± 2) s; 50 < D ≤ 75 mm — (240 ± 2) s; D > 75 mm — (480 ± 2) s; non-circular cables — equivalent diameter from the circumference; with an axis ratio below 3 — the nominal minor axis; from 3 to 16 — the sum of the axes divided by 3,14; above 16 — criteria from the product standard or agreement; flat cables with an axis ratio above 17:1 — the time is “under consideration”; after the time the burner is removed and extinguished. Evaluation (Clause 6): after all burning has ceased, the test piece is wiped clean; soot is ignored if the surface beneath is undamaged, softening and deformation of non-metallic materials too; the distance from the lower edge of the upper support to the upper and to the lower onset of charring is measured to the nearest millimetre; the onset is determined by pressing the surface with a sharp object (e.g. a knife blade) — where the surface changes from resilient to brittle (crumbling). Figures 1 and 2 show the arrangement of the test piece and the burner.

IEC 2025 EDITION (foreword). IEC 60332-1-2:2025 (edition 2.0, 2025-06) cancels and replaces the first edition of 2004 and amendment 1:2015 and is a technical revision: a) the positioning of test pieces that move out of the flame was changed (5.3); b) requirements were added (Annex A, normative; the table of contents also lists Clause 7 “Performance requirements” and Table A.1).

STATUS (cards as of 02.10.2026). The card of PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010 (Polish version, published 22-04-2010, 13 pages, price group G) has no “Withdrawn” header: Electrical Engineering Sector, KT 53 Cables and Wires, ICS 29.060.20, 29.020, 13.220.40, “Introduces: EN 60332-1-2:2004 [IDT], IEC 60332-1-2:2004 [IDT]”, “Replaces: PN-EN 60332-1-2:2005 – English version”; additional elements: amendments A1:2016-02, A11:2017-02 and A12:2021-05 in English and Polish versions. Amendments (cards without a “Withdrawn” header): PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010/A1:2016-02 (Polish version of 16-10-2018, 8 pages; introduces EN 60332-1-2:2004/A1:2015 and IEC 60332-1-2:2004/AMD1:2015), Scope: “Clause 5, the references to Table 1 and the explanations to Figure 1 and Figure 2 were changed.”; PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010/A11:2017-02 (Polish version of 05-10-2023, 6 pages; introduces EN 60332-1-2:2004/A11:2016), Scope: “Modification expressing the test results in relation to the IEC version of the standard.”; PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010/A12:2021-05 (Polish version of 18-10-2023, 6 pages; introduces EN 60332-1-2:2004/A12:2020), Scope: “Changes were made in Clause 5.3 and in Figure 2.” (our translations of the Polish card texts). The PKN search for “PN-EN 60332-1-2” (02.10.2026) also shows PN-EN 60332-1-2:2005 (English version) and does not show a standard introducing IEC 60332-1-2:2025.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read on 02.10.2026). The number 60332-1-2 appears in 8 records at 8 laboratories: AB 023, AB 044, AB 067, AB 261, AB 369, AB 1280, AB 1501, AB 1552. In the current scopes on the PCA website (read on 02.10.2026, issues from 16.07.2025 to 01.09.2026) the number appears at all 8. With the year and all three amendments (2010 + A1:2016-02 + A11:2017-02 + A12:2021-05): AB 067, AB 261 and AB 1552; AB 044 adds EN 60332-1-2:2004 with amendments A1, A11 and A12, IEC 60332-1-2:2004+AMD1:2015 and already IEC 60332-1-2:2025. Without the year: AB 023 (with the mark “N” — method used in notification activities under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011), AB 369 (with an asterisk — tests on whose results the laboratory issues opinions and interpretations), AB 1280 and AB 1501 (the latter next to UN ECE Regulation No 118, Annex 10). No row is set in bold italics. The “Laboratories” tab searches for entries BEGINNING WITH the number entered: “PN-EN 60332-1-2” shows 6 laboratories (AB 044, AB 067, AB 261, AB 369, AB 1280, AB 1552); at AB 023 the entry in the database begins with “PN-EN 60332-1-3” and at AB 1501 with “Regulamin 118 ECE UN”, so this tab does not show them — checked with a query of the tab on the production server labcoda.pl on 02.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (items in the PCA scopes). Electric cables and wires, power cables and wires, insulated wires, optical fibre cables and heating wires (AB 067), cables and wires in electrical, telecommunication and electronic products (AB 369), non-metallic materials and plastics including cables (AB 1552); tested property — “vertical flame spread along a single insulated wire or cable” with sub-items: extent and type of damage, flame spread, burning droplets (AB 023, AB 1280, AB 1501), height of the charred and the unburnt zone in mm (AB 369), extent of insulation charring (AB 067), “resistance of wires to flame propagation” (AB 044). Usually in one item with IEC/PN-EN 60332-1-1 (apparatus), 60332-1-3 (flaming droplets) and 60332-2-2 (small wires).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. Diameter: the flame application time follows from the diameter — three measurements at least 100 mm apart and rounding to 0,1 mm; a wrongly measured cable with a diameter close to 25 mm gets 60 s instead of 120 s. Non-circular cables: the diameter is decided by the axis ratio, not by the largest dimension. Evaluation: soot is wiped off and ignored, softening is ignored — the limit is charring found with a blade (transition to a brittle surface), not discolouration. Distances: both are measured from the lower edge of the upper support, not from the bottom of the test piece. Small conductors: below 0,5 mm² total cross-section and for small optical fibre cables IEC 60332-2-2 is appropriate. Bunches: the result of a single test piece says nothing about the behaviour of a bunch (IEC 60332-3 series). Edition: the Polish standard is the 2004 edition with amendments — the IEC 2025 edition changes the positioning of test pieces that move out of the flame (5.3) and introduces normative requirements; a result according to one edition is not a result according to the other.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We do not have Annex A (recommended requirements) or the text of the European amendments A11 and A12 — so we do not give limiting charring distances, nor how A11 changes the expression of the result and how A12 changes clause 5.3. Of the IEC 2025 edition we know only the list of changes from the foreword.

Method principle

A single insulated wire or cable (600 ± 25) mm mounted vertically in a metal screen enclosure is exposed to a 1 kW pre-mixed flame at 45° for a time depending on the diameter (60–480 s); after burning has ceased, the distance from the upper support to the upper and lower onset of charring, found with a blade, is measured.

Applications

• Power cables and wires, insulated wires, heating wires — 8 laboratories in the PCA scopes
• Optical fibre cables (except small ones — for them IEC 60332-2-2)
• Cables in electrical products and vehicles (AB 1501 next to UN ECE Regulation No 118)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010 (wersja polska; EN 60332-1-2:2004 IDT, IEC 60332-1-2:2004 IDT) ze zmianami PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010/A1:2016-02, /A11:2017-02 i /A12:2021-05 (wersje polska i angielska)

Title (PL)

Badania palności kabli i przewodów elektrycznych oraz światłowodowych — Część 1-2: Sprawdzanie odporności pojedynczego izolowanego przewodu lub kabla na pionowe rozprzestrzenianie się płomienia — Metoda badania płomieniem mieszankowym 1 kW

Title (EN)

Tests on electric and optical fibre cables under fire conditions — Part 1-2: Test for vertical flame propagation for a single insulated wire or cable — Procedure for 1 kW pre-mixed flame

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sample and diameter

   Piece (600 ± 25) mm; diameter at three places according to IEC 60811-203, rounded to 0,1 mm — it gives the flame time. PN-EN 60332-1-2:2010 current with amendments A1, A11, A12 (cards as of 02.10.2026).

2. Conditioning

   At least 16 h at (23 ± 5) °C and (50 ± 20) % RH; wires with paint or lacquer — first 4 h at (60 ± 2) °C.

3. Mounting

   Vertically in the centre of the enclosure, with copper wire to supports (550 ± 5) mm apart, bottom of the test piece about 50 mm above the base; if it moves — a load.

4. Flame application

   Flame cone (475 ± 5) mm from the upper support, burner at (45 ± 2)°, fixed; time according to Table 1 (60–480 s); then remove and extinguish the burner.

5. Evaluation

   After burning has ceased wipe the test piece; find the upper and lower onset of charring with a blade and measure their distances from the lower edge of the upper support to 1 mm.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• The standard (5.4) requires protection against fire or explosion, inhalation of smoke and harmful products (especially when halogenated materials burn) and harmful residues — fume extraction, gloves, goggles
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the flame application time depends on the measured diameter; the result of a single test piece does not transfer to bunched cables; the IEC 2025 edition changes the positioning of test pieces that move out of the flame (5.3)

Frequently asked questions