HPL and melamine are popular finish materials on the market. Generally most of people don't know the difference between them. Just look from the finish, they are almost similar and no significant difference.
HPL should be called fire-proof board exactly, that is because fire-proof board only has strong fire-proof performance compares with other material, not really fire prevention. For HPL, the base material is MDF, Plywood or Particleboard made by pressed and sticked them with HPL. The process of HPL is cumbersome than melamine, the usage of them are also different: HPL need to spray glue cold pressing molding, then can be cut and put into use, while melamine can be directly blanking.