Straw, a natural cellulose-based material, has become part of building elements. Eco-panels, compressed straw in a cardboard casing, is used as building insulation. Eco-panel is a secondary product with excellent insulating properties. If suitably fire-treated (insulation and covering), straw panels' fire resistance may be increased. This contribution deals with monitoring the behavior of eco-panels exposed to a small ignition initiator (flame). The samples consisted of compressed straw boards coated with a 40 mm thick cardboard. Samples were exposed to a flame for 5 and 10 min. The influence of the selected factors (size of the board, orientation of flame with the sample) were compared on the basis of experimentally obtained data: mass loss. The results obtained do not show a statistically significant influence of the position of the sample and the initiating source (flame). The results presented in the article confirm the justifiability of fire tests. As the results of the experiments prove, the position of a small burner for igniting such material is also important. Such weakness of the material can also be eliminated by design solutions in the construction. The experiment on larger samples also confirmed the justifiability of fire tests along with the need for flame retardancy of such material for its safe application in construction.
Keywords: eco-panel; fire properties; relative burning rate; small ignition initiator; straw; weight loss.