Fire! Issues with Fire Separation

With several high-rise apartment fires within our region recently, fire safety is a topical issue.

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While fires are often exacerbated by the use of combustible claddings, the issue I wish to address here is the “unseen” spectre of separation.

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Fire separations are what divide buildings into compartments, arresting the spread of heat, smoke and flame between occupancies – both horizontally and vertically – and allowing the occupants time to escape.

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Concrete and masonry construction, which is our default, does the job quite well.  But what is often overlooked is the need to fire-stop penetrations through walls and floors between occupancies – at doors, shafts and services runs.

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The following are common omissions:

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• Fire collars missing from plastic pipes
• Fire wraps missing from metal pipes
• Fire transits missing from electrical ducting
• Fire transits or fire-rated doors missing from shafts
• Fire dampers missing from HVAC ducts.

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Tagging of fire doors, for the most part, isn’t mandatory – suggesting that installations might not perform as intended.

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Finally, while the presence of fire stopping material at floor level on glass curtain walls can be commonly observed, fully tested systems – which, by definition, include multiple materials and fixings – are often absent or incorrectly installed.

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Without adequate fire stops, fire will spread more rapidly than intended, putting lives at risk – even in fully sprinklered buildings.

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Were statutory authorities to audit our existing building stock, they would find this a shockingly common problem – and perhaps much more significant than is currently recognised.