Fire safety starts here…

The stability of a building in a fire depends upon the performance of all the component parts of the structure. Buildings are designed to keep products of combustion away form building occupants, allowing them time to escape safely.
Regulations that govern the design of buildings also take into consideration the safety of fire fighters who attend an incident. Thus, if a building is adequately protected, it
should withstand a fire for a reasonable time, without collapse.
Passive fire protection if the term applied to the components of a building that ensure it offers adequate fire performance. This may apply to the fire performance of the elements themselves or to the improvement in fire performance gained by the addition of specialised materials, products of systems. The level of fire resistance offered, or the reaction of the materials, to fire may have been known for centuries, or
may be the result of the application of modern and novel technology but, as with all complex and dynamic structures, any weak links must be spotted if disaster is to be
avoided.

Stability and separation

When used within the fire safety design of a building, these materials and products generally offer either structural stability or act as fire-separating elements (or compartmentalization). In both cases, the products must provide protection for a specified period of time. Passive protection provides the time necessary for the other
parts of the fire strategy to operate. Within the strategy, the way in which an alarm is raised, the occupants react and the fire response systems (including fire fighters) operate must therefore be taken into account. Without this time, the rest of the strategy cannot work.
Insurers also have an interest in the way in which buildings perform in fire situation, not least of which is their desire to avoid total property or business loss. If occupiers can resume operations with minimal business interruption, everyone’s
interests are served. For this to happen, the spread of any fire must be restricted, if possible to the compartment of origin. In all cases, the spread of smoke and flames
can only be restricted or delayed by sound fire separating elements, and this requires regular inspection of the structure by those who know what to look for.
The performance in practice of all construction materials is dependant upon the way in which the product is installed. For this reason, it is favoured that thirdparty accreditation of both materials and installers; a principal which is also endorsed by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA), whose members have to deal with situations that arise from incomplete or badly maintained fire protection. Approved
document B of the building regulations in England and Wales recommends that all certified products and third-party accredited installers of all fire safety products should be used as a means of ensuring that products achieve the required level of performance. Building owners and regulators alike should follow this advice and follow the lead set by CFOA.
Firestopit objective with this document is to provide designers, regulators, building owners and occupiers with a simple reference guide that provides basic information on the many forms of passive fire protection found in buildings.
Often, it is not realised how much the individual elements of construction contribute to the fire performance of the complete structure, nor how the structural performance is vital to a success fire strategy. Firestopit hopes that the information provided will help all concerned to understand the ways in which these elements work together to ensure public safety.