In pursuit of fire-retardant materials, vinyl ester resins were combined with commercially available fire retardants at lower loadings than that at which they are usually effective when used alone. The thermal stability and flammability of the various combinations of fire retardants were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis and cone calorimetric analysis. With some combinations, the 50% degradation temperature was improved by about 5-10ºC Different additives affected the flammability to varying extents and some combinations resulted in an enhanced fire retardancy compared to the additives used alone. The combinations that showed the best reductions in the peak heat release rate (PHRR) were further used to prepare glass reinforced resins and the flammability of those systems was also evaluated using cone calorimetry
