According to VDE 0472, the test requires the cable to be thermally stressed by the application of a propane-gas burner, the flame of which shall be 125mm and/or 175mm in height. In order to achieve compliance to VDE 0472 Part 804, there should either be no flaming of the cable at all or the flame should extinguish itself after the burner is removed before it reaches the upper end of the cable being tested.
*VDE – The VDE mark (from the original name, Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker) is meant to indicate safety and quality in electrical, information, and medical technologies. The VDE Testing and Certification Institute in Offenbach, Germany, tests roughly 100,000 products from over 10,000 customers worldwide. See full article on wikipedia.
*Fire performance cables – also referred to as flame retardant cables are designed to resist the spread of fire into a new area. Fire-resistant or fire-rated cables are designed to maintain circuit integrity and continue to work for a specified period of time under defined conditions.
*BS 6387 – British Standard BS6387 covers the performance requirements and test methods for cables required to maintain circuit integrity under fire conditions.