Fire stopping
Fire stopping & penetration sealing is the process of maintaining the performance of fire resisting walls, floors and roofs which have been compromised by services or voids.
Irish Building Regulations employ the fundamental concept of compartmentation to restrict and delay the spread of fire in buildings. This method of restricting the fire, smoke and toxic gasses to the room of origin is especially important in modern buildings which tend to be constructed from, and contain a high degree of combustible products.
When services such as cables, pipes, trunking, or ductwork are installed in a building, they invariably pass through holes in fire resisting walls and floors. It is vital that the voids created to allow such penetrations are adequately sealed to re-instate the required performance of the fire compartment. This process of fire-stopping service penetrations also extends to preventing the fire spreading through any cavities within the surrounding construction or along the service – e.g. through the pipe or cable.
A typical service run could include plastic and metallic pipes, ducts, power and data-cables. Each type is likely to react differently in a fire situation and therefore the fire stopping system must be designed, manufactured and installed to cope with the characteristics of both the service and surrounding construction.
Selecting the appropriate fire-stopping system is vital to prevent a fire from compromising the fire resisting structure at its weakest point.
It therefore follows that as a minimum requirement, each service or void has to be fire-stopped to match the fire performance of the wall, floor or roof through which it passes. When considering the variables as described above and how they interact, selection of the most appropriate fire stopping system can be a complex process for the installer, but one that legally, morally and professionally he has to successfully perform.
To help with this process, Rockwool has developed a range of fire-stopping products, many of which are based on their non-combustible stone wool insulation.
