What is ISO 19353- Fire prevention and protection of machinery about?
ISO 19353 discusses fire prevention and fire protection against machinery. ISO 19353 is an international standard that provides for the safety of machinery against fire.
ISO 19353 is a type-B standard that specifies methods for identifying fire hazards resulting from machinery and for performing a risk assessment. ISO 19353 details basic concepts and methodology of protective measures for fire prevention and protection to be taken during the design and construction of machinery.
ISO 19353 provides guidelines for consideration in reducing the risk of machinery fires to acceptable levels through machine design, risk assessment, and operator instructions.
Note 1: ISO 19353 does not apply to:
- Mobile machinery
- Machinery used in potentially explosive atmospheres and explosion prevention and protection
- Fire detection and suppression systems that are integrated into building fire safety systems
- Machinery designed to contain controlled combustion processes, unless these processes can constitute the ignition source of a fire in other parts of the machinery
Who is ISO 19353- Fire prevention and protection of machinery for?
BS EN ISO 19353 on fire prevention and fire protection is applicable for:
Stakeholder groups representing the market players about machinery safety
- Machine engineers and manufacturers (small, medium, and large enterprises)
- Machine designers and developers
- Health and safety bodies (regulators, market surveillance, etc.)
Others can be affected by the level of machinery safety
- Machine employers (small, medium, and large enterprises)
- Machine employees (e.g., trade unions)
- Service providers like for maintenance (small, medium, and large enterprises)
Why should you use ISO 19353- Fire prevention and protection of machinery?
A fire hazard arises from the material processed, used, or released by the machinery, from materials in the vicinity of the machinery, or materials used in the construction of the machinery. It occurs if combustible materials (fuel), oxidizer (oxygen), and ignition energy (heat) are available in sufficient quantities at the same place and at the same time.
The safety of machinery against fire involves fire prevention and fire protection.
ISO 19353 reduces the risk of machinery fire to acceptable levels by providing effective guidelines for machine design and efficient risk assessment.
ISO 19353 assists in identifying fire hazards from machinery to assess the risk involved and develop measures to prevent them.
ISO 19353 assists in designing and building efficient and safe machinery that to some acceptable levels have low changes of machinery fire.
By adopting ISO 19353 you can enhance the safety of machinery for protection against fire hazards during its construction.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN ISO 19353:2019 supersedes BS EN ISO 19353:2016, which is withdrawn. The main changes with respect to the previous edition are:
- Addition of an example of a methodology for selecting and qualifying a fire detection and fire suppression system
- Annex D had been improved editorially

