While we all acknowledge the importance of fire safety, it’s an aspect that is frequently underestimated or overlooked, even within workplace environments. It’s a critical concern that should never be banished to the background, especially within a business context. You can work to protect your business from fires by using passive fire protection, which encompasses structural and material measures designed to contain and resist the spread of fire, smoke, and heat within a building.
Some commonly used methods of passive fire protection are firestopping, fire curtains, cavity barriers, and compartment walls and ceilings; and can help to protect your business against the threat of fire. These measures are designed to operate quietly in the background, acting as your business’s unsung heroes. In this post, we take an in-depth look at the different types of passive fire protection for your business.
Firestopping
One of the most common methods of passive fire protection is firestopping, which is also known as compartmentation. It involves using specialised materials and techniques to seal or fill any openings, gaps, or penetrations in your building components such as your floors, walls and ceilings. The main purpose of firestopping is to prevent the spread of fire, smoke, and hot gases from one compartment or area to another.
It creates a barrier that helps maintain the fire-resistant integrity of a structure, allowing occupants more time to evacuate safely and minimise the risk of property damage. The materials used for firestopping, often in the form of sealants, mortars, or wraps, are rigorously tested and rated for their ability to withstand the intense heat and flames of a fire, providing an essential element of fire safety in buildings.
Fire Curtains
Fire curtains are crucial safety devices that are designed to contain and control the spread of fires within a building. Their primary purpose is also to compartmentalise areas, creating a barrier that prevents the fire from spreading to other parts of your building.
Fire curtains are made from fire-resistant materials, and are integrated into a building’s infrastructure, often concealed within ceiling spaces. They usually descend from the ceiling space when a fire is detected, forming a barrier that blocks the flames, smoke and heat. By effectively containing the fire to its point of origin, helps to both protect people and property and allow for a safer evacuation.
Cavity Barriers
Cavity barriers also play a huge role in passive fire protection, and they are components that are strategically installed within cavities, voids and concealed spaces, serving as a barrier to prevent the rapid spread of flames and smoke. Cavity barriers are designed to compartmentalise these hidden areas, inhibiting the fire from travelling through the building’s structural voids.
They usually activate in response to elevated temperatures by expanding or sealing off the cavities to impede the fires progress, and are made from fire-resistant materials. By effectively containing the fire within the compartment where it originated, they contribute significantly to fire safety by minimising the damage caused by the fire and keeping it in one area.
Compartment Walls and Ceilings
Compartment walls and ceilings are instrumental in safeguarding buildings from the devastating effects of fires, by being strategically integrated into a buildings design to separate areas. This will help to potentially contain any fire outbreak that might happen, by confining the flames, smoke and heat to the compartment of origin.
This delays the fire’s progression, providing crucial extra time for occupants to evacuate safety. Compartment walls and ceilings not only save lives, but also mitigate the property damage by limiting the fire’s impact to a localised area.
Steel Fire Boards
Steel fire boards are specialised fire-resistant boards that are engineered with layers of steel and fire-resistant materials forming a robust barrier that is capable of withstanding extreme heat and flames. When installed, they serve as an effective means to compartmentalise areas within a building and prevent the uncontrolled spread of fire and smoke.
These boards act as a shield, insulating adjoining spaces from the fire’s reach and ensuring that it remains contained. This allows occupants valuable time to escape, whilst also protecting these escape routes from flames and smoke.
Looking to Safeguard your Business from Fires?
Looking to safeguard your business from fires, and ensure that it has all of the fire safety measures in place needed to keep your property and staff safe? Here at Firemark we cover all your fire safety needs; from installing passive fire protection, to certification, to maintenance, to surveying.
We provide a wide range of passive fire protection services, including firestopping, fire barriers, compartment walls and ceilings, and steel fire protection. During a site survey of your business, we will identify any issues with your current fire safety and if any additional fire safety is needed. The work done will all be compliant with relevant fire stopping legislation, ensuring that your property is legally fire safe and protected.
All of our workforce are approved specialists, consisting of accredited operatives who have been trained by AFSPI and have worked in the industry for over 10 years; putting us in the perfect place to protect your company. We undertake projects ranging in size from having to add a single fire SEAL, to a complete programme of compartmentation.
To learn more about our passive fire protection, please visit our website and feel free to contact us for further information on protecting your business.