Construction of any building requires the installation of a fire prevention system. A building cannot be constructed without fire hazards prevention. Building exit systems, fire alarm systems, and fire suppression systems are among the fire protection and life safety systems. Fire protection entails the planning and execution of structural and operational measures to reduce the impact of fire on individuals and property.
We at Navair have compiled a list of the essential elements of fire protection systems for our clients’ understanding.
Fire-protection systems are classified into two types: passive fire protection and active fire protection.
Passive fire protection
The use of building components to control or limit a fire is known as passive fire protection. Walls, floors, and ceilings can all be designed and built to withstand the movement of fire and smoke.
For example, a wall with a one-hour fire resistance rating might be constructed as a barrier to prevent the spread of a standard fire for that period. These barriers are arranged to create compartmentation, which means they split the building into sections to minimise the volume and spread of a standard fire.
The most important thing to understand about compartmentation is that it does not work if the wall, floor, or ceiling contains an unprotected aperture through which fire and smoke might spread. It must be ensured that penetrations through fire-rated barriers are maintained to a minimum.
If penetration is required, it must be safeguarded according to the code to retain the barrier’s fire rating. Installing pipelines, phone lines, or data transmission cables through fire-rated obstacles frequently render them worthless.
Walls and Doors
A conventional compartmentation system includes fire-rated walls and associated fire doors to control a fire. The purpose of fire-rated walls is to prevent fire from spreading horizontally. A fire exposure on one or both sides of the wall can result in a fire rating for the wall that ranges from 20 minutes to four hours.
These walls also have fire ratings for the fire doors including fire rated wooden door and fire rated steel door, which are often lower than the wall’s fire rating. The reason for the lower rating is because the building’s resources, which work as fuel, are not situated right in front of the door. Therefore, the fire door may have less fire exposure than the wall. Although a fire door is made to prevent the spread of fire, it is useless if it is left open or rendered inoperable, and the fire-rated wall in which it is located is no longer a reliable fire barrier.
Floors and Ceilings
A floor-and-ceiling assembly that is fire-rated and establishes a horizontal barrier to stop the fire from spreading from one floor to the next is another type of compartmentation. It could be composed of concrete or protected steel floor slab, a fire-rated ceiling system, or a combination of those elements. Fire-rated floors and ceilings should have the fewest penetrations possible, much like fire-rated walls.
If penetrations occur, they must be built to the same standard as the floor or ceiling through which they pass. Closely spaced automatic sprinklers with a noncombustible, vertical smoke barrier surrounding the aperture in the ceiling are one example of such fire prevention.
Active fire-protection
Active fire protection strategies involve taking immediate, physical action to slow the spread of fire or smoke. These systems are typically fire sprinkler and smoke-control systems that respond to both manual and automatic signals to accomplish their intended function.
Active fire defence also includes fire alarm systems. They indicate the presence of fire by detecting smoke or heat and are used to operate extinguishing systems or notify inhabitants and the emergency services.
The purpose of fire sprinklers and other extinguishing devices is to eliminate or control a fire. Smoke control systems are typically designed to minimise the spread of smoke, allowing escape routes to remain open for a specified period. The fire alarm, which is activated by both the sprinkler system and manual or automatic detection devices, alerts building inhabitants and notifies emergency personnel that operate the alarm.
Engineers must consider every feasible feature of a fire protection system while designing new buildings or renovating existing structures to meet more contemporary building requirements. Smoke and fire damage can be reduced with the proper fire protection system, protecting both property and lives.
