BS EN 14470-1:2023 sets performance and testing requirements for fire safety storage cabinets used for flammable liquids. It covers cabinet construction, fire resistance, doors, ventilation, storage levels and spill containment. Cabinets are classified according to their tested fire resistance. In the UK, the standard can support workplace fire-risk controls but does not replace the employer’s duties under DSEAR.
BS EN 14470-1 is the British Standard for fire safety storage cabinets intended for the storage of flammable liquids.
The current edition is BS EN 14470-1:2023, published by the British Standards Institution. It replaced BS EN 14470-1:2004.
The standard is a product specification. It establishes requirements for the construction and performance of qualifying cabinets and includes a type test for assessing their resistance to external fire.
No. BS EN 14470-1 is a product standard and is not itself a legal requirement for every workplace storing flammable liquids.
The principal Great Britain legislation governing fire and explosion risks from dangerous substances is the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR).
HSE guidance recognises BS EN 14470-1 as a standard providing enhanced fire performance beyond the minimum construction principles described for conventional fire-resisting cupboards and bins.
HSE also makes clear that standards exceeding the minimum requirements of UK health and safety legislation do not automatically become mandatory simply because they provide a higher level of performance.
The appropriate cabinet should therefore be selected through the workplace risk assessment and any project, insurance or organisational requirements applying to the site.
See our DSEAR Regulations 2002 guide for further information.
BS EN 14470-1:2023 applies to fire safety storage cabinets with a total internal volume of no more than 2 m³.
Cabinets within its scope can be:
The standard addresses the performance of the complete cabinet when exposed to external fire conditions.
No. BS EN 14470-1:2023 specifically excludes brick enclosures and walk-in storage rooms from its scope.
A large walk-in flammable store, external storage building or purpose-designed chemical warehouse should therefore not automatically be described as BS EN 14470-1 compliant.
These installations require assessment against the legislation, HSE guidance, fire-safety requirements and engineering criteria applicable to the particular site.
BS EN 14470-1 classifies cabinets according to their performance during the prescribed fire-resistance test.
The current 2023 classifications are:
The classification represents the performance of the tested cabinet design under the conditions specified by the standard.
It should not be interpreted as a general fire-resistance rating for the room or building in which the cabinet is installed.
No. The former Type 15 classification was removed when BS EN 14470-1 was revised in 2023.
The current edition therefore uses Type 30, Type 60 and Type 90.
Older specifications and product literature referring to Type 15 should be checked against the current BS EN 14470-1:2023 edition.
BS EN 14470-1 includes a type test designed to determine how effectively the complete cabinet protects its contents when exposed to external fire conditions.
During testing, the cabinet is exposed to controlled heating while temperatures at defined locations within the cabinet are monitored.
The resulting classification is determined by the period for which the cabinet limits the specified internal temperature increase under the test conditions.
This is a type test of the cabinet design. It is not a fire test performed separately on every cabinet produced.
The standard addresses several aspects of cabinet construction and performance in addition to the fire-resistance test.
These include:
Yes. Spill containment is one of the areas addressed by BS EN 14470-1.
The cabinet includes provision for retaining liquid released accidentally from containers stored inside it.
This does not remove the employer’s responsibility to consider:
The cabinet sump should therefore be considered as one element of the overall risk-control strategy.
BS EN 14470-1 includes requirements concerning cabinet ventilation and information that must be supplied by the manufacturer.
Whether a cabinet should be connected to a mechanical extraction system depends on factors including:
The presence of an EN 14470-1 cabinet does not remove the need to assess vapour and exposure risks.
No. BS EN 14470-1 specifies performance requirements for the cabinet itself and does not treat every flammable liquid as having identical properties.
Cabinet selection should therefore also consider information such as:
The 2023 edition replaced BS EN 14470-1:2004 and introduced several changes.
These include:
Organisations using specifications based on the 2004 edition should therefore review them against the current standard.
DSEAR requires dangerous-substance risks to be eliminated or reduced, and HSE advises that only the minimum quantity of flammable liquid needed for current work should normally be kept within workrooms or process areas.
When not in use, containers required for current activities should be closed and stored in suitable fire-resisting cabinets or bins designed to retain spills.
HSE recommends maxima of:
These figures are recommended maxima representing good industry practice rather than absolute statutory limits.
Where larger quantities are proposed, the dutyholder should be able to justify them through a robust risk assessment.
No automatic exemption should be assumed. HSE describes the 50 litre and 250 litre figures as recommended maxima for flammable-liquid storage in workrooms and explains that additional quantities need to be justified through the risk assessment.
HSE notes that cabinets with enhanced fire performance can help an employer demonstrate that the measures used to reduce risk are sufficient, but enhanced cabinet performance is not a substitute for a suitable DSEAR assessment.
Bulk stocks and containers not needed for current work should normally be kept in a dedicated storeroom or suitable external storage area.
HSE describes minimum construction principles for conventional fire-resisting cupboards and bins used for limited quantities of flammable liquids in workrooms.
These principles include fire-resisting construction, close-fitting doors and suitable spill retention.
BS EN 14470-1 goes further by testing the complete cabinet design under defined fire conditions and assigning a Type 30, 60 or 90 classification according to its tested performance.
This provides a defined and independently testable level of cabinet fire performance rather than relying only on nominal construction principles.
No. BS EN 14470-1 is a cabinet product standard, while DSEAR governs the wider workplace risks created by dangerous substances.
Employers may also need to consider:
An appropriately specified cabinet can form part of these controls but does not make the complete workplace automatically compliant.
HSG51 is HSE guidance covering the storage of flammable liquids in containers, while BS EN 14470-1 is a product standard for a particular type of fire safety storage cabinet.
A workplace may therefore use both:
See our HSG51 flammable-liquid storage guide.
The two parts of EN 14470 apply to different types of fire safety storage cabinet:
The hazards involved are different, so a cabinet designed and tested to one part should not automatically be assumed to meet the requirements of the other.
Chemstore supplies fire safety cabinets for flammable liquids designed and certified to BS EN 14470-1 for laboratory, industrial and workplace applications.
Available options include Type 90 cabinets providing 90 minutes of tested fire resistance.
View Chemstore’s Q90 90 Minute Fire Rated Cabinet.
Chemstore also supplies underbench BS EN 14470-1 cabinets for laboratories and workplaces where flammable liquids need to be stored close to the point of use.
View Chemstore’s EN 14470-1 90 Minute Fire Rated Laboratory Cabinets.
Further options are available through the Asecos safety cabinet range.
The appropriate cabinet should be selected according to the liquids, quantities, container sizes, workplace conditions and findings of the DSEAR and COSHH assessments.
The current British Standard can be obtained from the British Standards Institution.
This page provides general information about BS EN 14470-1:2023 and does not reproduce or replace the standard itself. The complete standard should be obtained from the British Standards Institution where its detailed technical requirements are required.
This information does not replace DSEAR, HSE guidance, COSHH, Safety Data Sheets, a workplace risk assessment or advice from a competent person.
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