ISO/TS 3814:2014 describes the relevance of, and how to apply, the fire tests developed by ISO/TC 92/SC 1 so that they can be used effectively to reduce the hazard of fire. Each reaction-to-fire test is related to the different phases of a developing fire in buildings and transport and has to be seen in its relation to the fire scenario and phase of the fire it represents. Some reaction-to-fire tests are proposed to assess the fire hazard in those different phases.

Although ISO/TS 3814:2014 does not address smouldering combustion, this does not mean that smouldering is not important in some fire development situations. However, there are no tests in Subcommittee 1 (SC 1) which currently address this phenomenon.

ISO/TS 3814:2014 is aimed at indicating those ISO tests which produce relevant and useful data for fire safety engineering and those which do not. ISO/TS 3814:2014 is also of use to regulators, people who are performing reaction-to-fire tests including manufacturers and all people who are responsible to create, control, and assess fire safety concepts.