FPA accredited to test to new watermist standard

The FPA is currently the only UKAS-accredited test facility for BS EN 14972-17 in the UK

With the release of the new watermist standard: BS EN 14972-17:2025 – Fixed firefighting systems. Water mist systems – Test protocol for residential occupancies for automatic nozzle systems, the FPA is delighted to confirm that it has now received UKAS accreditation to test to this standard.

Explaining the reasons for the release of this new standard, which replaces BS 8458 that was withdrawn in July 2025, Suppression Manager at the FPA, Isabel Elswood said: “The purpose of BS 14972 has been to align with the European EN 14972 fire testing series to allow for harmonisation of watermist testing standards across a multinational audience in line with the UK’s duties as part of the CENLEC agreement.”

The European EN 14972 series contains 17 parts, with Part 1 covering the design, installation, inspection, and maintenance of watermist systems. Parts 2-17 then cover specific fire test protocols for different risk/building types (e.g. retail shops, offices, and garages).

The latest release covered by the new British Standard, Part 17, focuses on residential occupancies, including family dwelling/house, bed and breakfast, apartment buildings, blocks of flats, care homes, small hotels or hostels, and residential areas in hotel bedrooms and guest corridors.

BS EN 14972-17 is identical in many ways to Annex C from BS 8458, but notable differences include:

• provisions for fire testing sidewall watermist nozzles – these were unable to be tested before

• greater flexibility in fuel materials – some alternatives to Pinus Sylvestris are permitted, which has become harder to source

• ceiling height requirements – the corner test is to be completed at both 2.5m and 3.5m

• minor procedural changes for test houses.

Testing implications 
In Wales, where automatic fire suppression systems are legally required in new residential buildings, government guidance currently specifies that watermist fire performance tests should be carried out by a UKAS-accredited laboratory (or equivalent) and references BS 8458 as an acceptable standard. This is expected to be updated to BS EN 14972-17.

Whilst not mandated for the rest of the UK, third party testing conducted by a UKAS-accredited laboratory evidences the effectiveness of a system via an industry approved method.

Therefore, whilst there is no legislative requirement for systems that have previously been successfully tested to BS 8458 to now be tested to BS EN 14972, designers and installers may wish to do so to evidence that their system has been tested against the latest fire performance test standard, providing assurance of its effectiveness in a fire scenario.

Speaking about the accreditation, Elswood said, “It is a huge achievement for the FPA to be accredited in such a timely manner and places us at the cutting edge of the industry.

“It took a lot of hard work from the team involved to get to this place, from operations to compliance, and the FPA is proud to be the first in the UK to achieve accreditation and become leaders in the residential watermist testing market.”

The new BS EN 14972-17:2025 standard can be found here.

For details of testing with the FPA, visit our website here.