How to effectively fire-seal pipe and cable penetrations
Buildings must be fire safe, and people should be able to have confidence that they are. Fire and smoke spreading through the building and up the façade will threaten occupants in parts of the building remote from the fire’s start point, making escape more difficult. The safety of the building occupants and first responders depends mainly on how the building performs during a fire, including the release of thick, toxic smoke, which kills more people than the fire does. Fire-sealed pipe and cable penetrations, following local rules and regulations, could save precious minutes to evacuate.
Rules and legislation
Many regulations provide contractors with guidelines for building work, living, and other indoor environments that need to be fire safe. Occupants of buildings need to be able to vacate the premises without running into sudden obstructions and within a specific timeframe.
There are 3 factors that affect the fire safety of a building:
- The fire barrier’s rate of resistance to fire and smoke
- The nature and level of flammability of the applied construction materials
- The strength of the building construction
Seeking more oxygen, the flames will spread from the room where they started through any opening. This raises a key concern: pipe and cable penetrations through the fire-resistant walls and ceilings that divide the building into compartments. Fire and smoke should not be able to pass through these pipe and cable penetrations. So, these kinds of penetrations must be sealed in an approved way, using a fire protection system that is officially tested and approved for the specific situation.
Define the situation
It is not always easy to determine the best solution in passive fire protection. In order to correctly fire seal pipe and cable penetrations, it is important to know the:
- Type of pipe material
- External diameter of the pipe
- Wall thickness of the pipe
- Type of construction; wall or floor
- Thickness of the construction
- Size and shape of the aperture in the construction
- Required fire rating
For cables, cable bundles and cable trays, these criteria are identical. The first three are similarly defined by knowing the type and the size of the cable, the bundle and/or the cable tray.
If the pipes are insulated, this must also be defined by:
- Type of insulation material
- Insulation thickness
- The total external diameter (pipe + insulation)
Situations are usually different per building, and even within the building itself, situations can differ enormously. Sometimes pipes are installed at an angle, run side by side through a substrate or sockets are situated at the fire barrier. Most important is finding an approved, fire-safe solution and then applying it exactly as specified. Walraven’s Pacifyre® fire protection system offers a range of certified solutions. From standard to complex situations, Walraven has the experience and technical support team to help you find the best solution.