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FIA Risk Assessor CPD Training Day

Pioneering fire protection through innovation and professionalism

Structural fire protection and

compartment wall penetrations

Niall Rowan

Technical Officer

Association for Specialist Fire Protection



Contents• What you need to do

• Modern buildings (16b & CDM regs)

• Older buldings (plan it yourself)

• Structural Fire Protection

• What is it for? How does it work?

• How do I inspect it? (and how much?)

• Where do I find more information?

• Good and bad examples

• Penetrations through compartment walls

• What are they?

• How do I inspect it? (and how much?)

• Where do I find more information?

• Good and bad examples

• Summary



Passive Fire ProtectionBuilt-in measures

• Loadbearing only (beams and columns)

• Loadbearing and separating (Walls, floors)

• Non-loadbearing separating (walls, doors, partitions, glazed screens, cavity barriers, suspended ceilings etc

• Services (penetration seals, linear gap seals (fire stopping) fire resisting ducts, fire resisting dampers, service ducts and shafts)



What you need to do

• Determine building layout

• Modern Buildings• 2007 onwards – Regulation 16b of Building Regulations applies

(Approved Document Appendix G)

• 1994 to 1997 all information should be held under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations

• Older Buildings• Information required may not be readily available

• Need to survey the premises

• Approved Document B (AD-B) provides statutory guidance for all Passive Fire Protection measures



Structural Fire Protection

To maintain the stability of the structure during the period of the fire and ensure that it does not collapse



Structural steel loses about half its strength at about 500OC.



What is Passive Fire Protection?

Built-in measures




• Services (penetration seals, linear gap seals (fire stopping) fire resisting ducts, fire resisting dampers, service ducts and shafts)



Non-reactive coating

• Spray or troweled on

• Thick

• Inert

• Usually hidden



Non-reactive board/casings

• Mechanically fixed

• Thick (10-50mm)

• Usually hidden



Reactive coating

• Spray or brushed

• Thin (1-4mm)

• Usually visible



How do I inspect it?• Impossible/impractical/unnecessary to do it all

• Are you qualified to do it?

• But checkS should be carried out on:

– Visible protection e.g. intumescents. Look for peeling

paint, lack of adhesion, corrosion, slumping, damage etc

– Concealed spaces e.g. board or spray protection. Look fordamage (as part of checks for penetration seals later)

• If all is well – record it.

• If not – you need to get the Responsible person to get a

proper survey carried out and repairs made.

• You need to know enough to know something is wrong.



• ASFP website

www.asfp.org.uk

• ASFP colour books

• Yellow book

• Guidance on:

– Products

– Testing

– Thickness

– Approvals etc

YELLOW BOOK

Fire protection forstructural steel in buildings

4th Edition

The Association for Specialist fire protection

Where can I find more information?

http://www.asfp.org.uk/



• ASFP website

www.asfp.org.uk

• Technical Guidance

Documents





ASFP Technical Guidance Documents

• TGD 1 Sprayed mineral wool (concrete floors)

• TGD 2 Sprayed mineral wool (structural steel)

• TGD 8 Junctions between diff types of protection

• TGD 9 Beams with web openings (cellular beams)

• TGD 11 On site sprayed intumescent coatings

• TGD 14 Board systems

• TGD 15 Non - reactive sprayed coatings

• TGD 16 Off site sprayed intumescent coatings



There is very little – if anything in any of these…



Good examples of Fire Protection to Steelwork



Getting it Wrong!



Too much reactive paint has resulted in slumping



5.1 Issues in Passive Fire Protection



Structural Fire Protection

To maintain the stability of the structure during the period of the fire and ensure that it does not collapse



Compartmentation

• Subdivide buildings into manageable areas of risk

• Provide adequate Means of Escape



There is a need to maintain the structures integrity to ensure that no gaps of sufficient width open up to allow penetration of hot gases and flames.

Wall

Penetration Seal

failure

Penetration



What is Passive Fire Protection?

Built-in measures




• Services (penetration seals (fire stopping) fire resisting ducts, fire resisting dampers, service ducts and shafts)



Maintaining compartmentation

“ 10.2 If a fire separating element is to be effective, every joint or imperfection of fit, or opening to allow services to pass through the element, should be adequately protected by sealing or fire stopping so that the fire resistance of the element is not impaired.”



Consider this:

• A square room 6m x 6m x 3m has a pencil hole between compartments.

• How long will it take for the smoke to fill the room to a thickness such that you cannot see your hands half a metre in front of you?

How Fast Does Smoke Travel?



Pencil Hole

< 4 minutes

6m x 6m x 3m room



Areas that allow for fire/smoke spread

Unsealed/Open Joints

Unsealed CablePenetrations

Unsealed PipePenetrations/Ducts

Doors/Windows



How do I inspect it? – 1

• Impossible/impractical/unnecessary to do it all

• Are you qualified to do it?

• But spot check should be carried out on compartment walls and penetrations through them – identifiable by:

– Information supplied under 16b Regs or CDM Regs

– Your survey

– Ends of corridors and adjacent to escape corridor walls



How do I inspect it? – 2

• Remove e.g. 1 or 2 suspended ceiling tiles along each side of the corridor and inspect any penetrations seals

• Use remote camera/video equipment

• Check your Structural Fire protection while you’re at it

• If all is well – record it.

• If not – you need to get the Responsible person to get a proper survey carried out and repairs made.

• You need to know enough to know something is wrong



• ASFP websitewww.asfp.org.uk

• PFPF websitewww.pfpf.org.uk

• ASFP colour books

• Red Book

• Guidance on products, testing, approvals etc


RED BOOK

Fire stopping & penetration seals for the construction industry

3rd Edition

The Association for Specialist fire protection


http://www.pfpf.org.uk/



Good examples of Penetration Seals



Getting it Wrong!



Poorly installed floor sealing system (held up by the plastic pipes?)



Plastic pipe through a concrete floor sealed with PU foam

(no collar)



ASFP AGM 2010

Technical Officer Review

Summary

• Looked at Structural Fire Protection & Penetration seals

• What they are, what they do and how they work

• Need to get information on building and where to get it

• Regulation 16b or CDM Regulation information

• From your own survey

• How to assess them within the context of a Fire Risk Assessment

• Examples of good and bad

• Need to get professional surveyors in if problems found

• Get more information from ASFP website



Some should know better!

“Wide-ranging fire safety breaches at CLG headquarters”

07 June 2010



Niall Rowan - Technical Officer

Association for Specialist Fire Protection

Kingsley House, Ganders Business Park,

Kingsley, Bordon, Hampshire GU35 9LU

ASFP Office Tel: +44 (0)1420 471612

ASFP Office Fax: +44 (0)1420 471611

Mobile: +44 (0) 7778 858349

E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.asfp.org.uk

This PowerPoint presentation is the copyright of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection

mailto:[email protected]
