Intumescent Pipe Collars

[Davo]

Reading a FS mag today, it talks about the use of pipe collars to prevent breaches of compartmentation when pipes collapse due to heat from fire

Has anyone any thoughts/experiences they would care to share, please?

davo

[CivvyFSO]

They are just intumescent collars, if they are subject to heat then they would swell up closing the gap in the compartment wall.

The problem is if we want a nice 1 hour compartment wall, people selfishly decide they want heat/computers/water/fresh air etc coming in to that compartment so we are left with non fire protected openings in our lovely wall. The only way round this is to completely protect the pipe/duct all the way through the compartment, or use intumescent collars, fire dampers etc at the line of compartmentation.

Is there some particular issue you have in mind?

[Chris Houston]

I've seen demonstrations from Rockwool about this, learnt a lot from them.  They were very keen to meet with our team of insurance surveyors and explain the need for them.  I think Hilti also are a major manufacturer.

I would say that strictly speaking any penetration in a fire wall should be protected in this way.  Sadly the majority of cabling contractors don't care in the slightest about bashing through fire breaks.  Although ultimatly the owners should require that as part of any project.

[kurnal]

Hi davo
What  plan are you hatching now?
Its straightrforward enough. If a pipe or duct penetrates a compartment wall or floor then it has to be ensured that it does not breach the integrity of the structure. Take PVC soil pipes for example. The plastic burns in a fire and leaves a hole in the floor- fire passes through. So the intumescent pipe collars/ duct fire dampers are there to seal the gap.
The Building regs ADB3 describes this in some detail and sets maximum sizes of pipes if you want to leave them unprotected. But the maximum size if I recall for unprotected plastic is only 160mm ie  domestic soil pipe.

Fortunately there werent too many dampers in Alcatraz otherwise our mutual hero would never have escaped. And IT guys are the biggest culprits in  carelesssly breaching compartment walls, even worse than sparks in my experience.

[CivvyFSO]

IT guys are indeed the worse culprits. The main issues like ducting/electrics/water/gas etc are all generally done during the main construction phase, and the construction companies are usually very familiar with the requirements of compartmentation. So once complete, building control visit, check all is ok and give you a nice certificate to say it is safe. THEN the IT guys turn up and start making holes everywhere.

[Galeon]

And we also find this on integrity testing in relation to gas extinguishing systems ,

[Psuedonym]

Check out Envirograph for info.

[IainS]

Davo,
It would be worth your while looking at the Intumescent Fire Seals Association web page at www.ifsa.org.uk

[Midland Retty]

I have just dealt with a medium sized sheltered housing scheme.

The fire alarm has recently been replaced and upgraded to L2 standard  and the emergency lighting has been completely overhauled.  Furthermore the scheme has had new fire doors installed over a period of 18 months.

Couple this with the fact it has been recently redecorated, and new kitchens are being installed on a rolling schedule for the residents it all seemed at first glance to be a well maintained and managed scheme.

Over the years however (and in particular during the modernisation works) new services have been installed around the property that have not been properly fire stopped.

Huge holes / apertures have been formed within service risers to accomdoate services that dissapear into adjacent flats all around the scheme. A cursory look above the ceiling tiles revealed a similar story in the void.

Because the scheme is riddled with several service ducts and risers which link different parts of the building with one another the building is effectively a large cullinder. Not the best recipe for a stay put policy.

My biggest suprise was to find that the fire alarm contractor had failed to provide fire stopping around his cables.

The responsible person was gutted when I pointed out the problems I'd found - she thought I would be thoroughly impressed by her new fire alarm system, emergency lighting and fire doors. And for the most part I was, they had tried their upmost to be compliant.

It just goes to show that if you don't have suitable compartmentation the fire safety strategy falls down pretty quickly, and that's regardless of how new or advanced your fire alarm system may be, or how well your shiney new fire doors shut tightly.