Fire Stopping Contractors

In short, penetration sealing is a form of passive fire stopping that is used to seal joints in a building and openings caused by installing services. Penetration sealing prevents the spread of flames and smoke between fire compartments. This involves the use of:

• Intumescent mastic sealant
• Fire barriers
• Duct sleeves and wraps
• Pipe wraps and collars
• Fire pillows

Penetration sealing is necessary to remedy any gap or opening within a building’s lines of compartmentation and ensure a functional passive fire protection system. Areas requiring attention include:

• Gaps between floors, walls, windows, and doors
• Voids in dry walls and masonry walls
• Ducts which provide ventilation
• Holes made to install pipes, wires and electrical systems

By delaying the spread of fire and smoke during the event of a fire, you offer greater protection to those inside the building by retaining fire compartments. This maximises the amount of time to evacuate and allows for the emergency services to do their job. Fire stopping raises the fire safety standards of a building and therefore is hugely important.

The responsibility for regular fire safety surveys which check all parts of a passive fire protection system, including fire stopping, lies with the building’s ‘responsible person'. Generally, this is the organisation or landlord who owns or has accountability for the building. For further information on current legislation, explore our news articles.