Fire Stopping

Buildings
Stop

This is a fire rated wall; it forms a compartment to stop the spread of fire for a period to allow the occupants to safely escape in the case of a fire. Any holes in the fire rated wall will allow fire and smoke to spread beyond it and may result in the loss of life.

Think

To ensure that the fire rated wall’s performance can be maintained, the position, size and construction of any opening should be designed in accordance with the fire wall manufacturer’s details, otherwise the fire resistance of the wall and safety of the building may be compromised.

Plan

Understand the construction of the fire wall (from the O&M manual), the size, position, and construction of the service penetration (the opening), the services being passed through the penetration and the fire stopping proposed to seal the penetration.

Check

  • That the design of the penetration is compliant with the make-up of the wall.
  • That the proposed firestopping material is third party certified and applicable to the size and type of opening and the services passing through the opening.
  • That the person designing the opening and specifying the firestopping is competent.
  • That the person constructing the service opening is competent That the person installing the fire stopping is third party certified

Record

Ensure that:

  • The new service runs are recorded on the asset register for the building.
  • The service opening is photographed and added to the asset register.
  • The fire stopped opening is photographed at every stage of the installation process.
  • The final sealed penetration should be labelled with a traceable ID from which records can be found.

If in doubt stop and seek guidance.

If anything looks damaged or incorrect, then report it to the building manager.