Acoustic Panel Fire Ratings Explained: Euroclass and Class 0

If you last specified acoustic panels before 2025, the fire rating rules have moved, and it's worth checking your assumptions before you spec the next project. Class 0, the old British benchmark most people still reach for by habit, no longer satisfies building control on its own for new work.

What changed, and when

Class 0 came from BS 476 Parts 6 and 7, a British testing system that measured surface flame spread but never assessed a product's core combustibility, smoke production, or flaming droplet behaviour. Following the Grenfell Tower inquiry, the national classification system was removed from Approved Document B, and from 2 March 2025 a Class 0 rating alone no longer satisfies building control for new construction. Projects now need to specify against the European Euroclass system, BS EN 13501-1, instead.

Reading a Euroclass rating

A Euroclass rating has two parts. The letter, A1 through F, rates reaction to fire, how much a material contributes to fire growth. The suffixes that follow rate smoke production (s1 being the best, lowest smoke, through to s3) and flaming droplets (d0 meaning none, through to d2). A rating of B-s1,d0 means: strong resistance to contributing to fire spread, minimal smoke generation, and no flaming droplets, materially more information than Class 0 ever provided, since Class 0 had no smoke or droplet measurement at all.

What rating your project actually needs

Requirements vary by room type and building use under Approved Document B. Many offices and meeting rooms are required to achieve at least C-s3,d2 as a regulatory minimum, but a growing number of commercial projects specify B-s1,d0 as their working baseline, comfortably above the minimum and a safer position for anything used by the public or vulnerable occupants, schools, healthcare, hospitality. For genuinely high-risk applications, escape routes, high-occupancy assembly spaces, the requirement can go higher still, and should be confirmed with your building control body or fire engineer rather than assumed.

Why this isn't just a compliance checkbox

Fire performance and acoustic performance aren't automatically in tension, but they can pull against each other in material selection. Some of the most acoustically efficient low-cost foams have historically had weaker fire performance, which is part of why mineral wool, naturally fire-resistant without additional treatment, has become the default core material for many commercial-grade acoustic panels. A product's NRC figure means nothing if it can't clear the fire rating your building actually requires.

Common questions

Can I still use products rated only to Class 0? For new work, Class 0 alone is no longer sufficient for building control sign-off as of March 2025; specify against the Euroclass system instead, and check with your supplier whether their products carry current Euroclass certification.

Does every room in a building need the same fire rating? No, requirements vary by use and risk, escape routes and high-occupancy spaces typically carry stricter requirements than a standard office or meeting room.

Specifying the right product for your building

See our acoustic solutions for fire-rated product options, or book a free survey to confirm exactly what your project needs before you order.

Related product guides: acoustic wall panels, industrial acoustic panels.