FIRE PROTECTION

Description

The Passive Fire Protection (PFP) division was started in the year 2004, as part of the expansion program of NAFFCO. The growing market demand prompted us to launch a separate division for Passive Fire Protection, as there were not many companies, offering quality product and service in Passive Fire Protection. Hence, we felt that it is our responsibility too, to protect men and the environment from fire disasters by providing our products and services, economically. With in a short span of time, the PFP division has become one of the major divisions of NAFFCO.

One of the world's largest projects in Passive Fire protection – EMIRATES HANGAR PROJECT (Fire proofing of general steel structure) at Dubai International Airport was successfully completed by NAFFCO, and this is an ample proof of our success in accomplishing major/prestigious projects.

The Division is also associated with the most highly qualified, experienced and competent companies in the field of Passive Fire Protection.

What is Passive Fire Protection?

Why do we need Fire Protection?

The fundamental purpose of fire protection systems whether active or passive is to firstly prevent the passage and spread of smoke and fire, from one area of the building to another, to allow for the safe escape of the building occupants. Secondly, to prevent/reduce the amount of damage to the building structure, neighboring structures and reduce the risk of collapse for the emergency services.

Passive Fire Protection saves human life and protects buildings and installations from the destruction by fire.

Fire Protection for buildings

A number of fundamental requirements of fire protection are specified in approved Document B of the building regulations.

• Means of escape.
  Internal surface spread of flame to linings.
  Structural integrity of the buildings.
  Fire compartmentation.
  Access and facilities for emergency services.

Preventive fire protection is stipulated by law. The fire reaction of building materials and parts is reviewed according to certain norms in order to classify the results in defined terms. DIN 4102 stipulates different fire ratings (F30, F60 F90) that has to be considered for the erection of buildings.

Other more commercial reasons for the use of fire protection systems, is to reduce the amount of damage and prevent collapse of the building.

This in turn can help to :

• Reduce the rising cost of insurance policies
• Protect capital investment
• Reduce the possible risk to the fire fighters

What is fire protection?

A building's fire protection comes in two specific forms, Active and Passive systems:

Definitions

Passive Fire Protection Systems

Materials that are always present and do not rely on the operation of any form of mechanical device.

Active Systems

Depend on the operation of a mechanical device, active systems in the form of suppression, extinguishers, sprinkler, alarm and extract ventilation. The overall aim of Active system is to extinguish the fire by:

• Detecting the fire early and evacuate the building.
• Alerting emergency services at an early stage of the fire.
• Control the movement of smoke and fire.
• Suppress and/or starve the fire of oxygen and fuel.

Passive systems in the form of fire rated doors, barrier, ceilings and structural fire protection.

The overall aim of passive systems is to contain the fire by:

• Use of fire rated partitions and doors to prevent the fire and smoke from moving from one compartment to another.
• Delaying the collapse of the building structure.
• Delaying the growth of the fire.

Fire Protection for steel work

The need to protect the steelwork:-

In case of fire, structural steel has to fulfill its designated functioning throughout a certain period. While elements made of concrete and wood, due to their larger sectional area, may relatively long be exposed to fire without any protection, the fire resistancy of steel elements is restricted.

They already lose their load bearing capacity at temperatures of more than 500oC. There are several possibilities to temporarily prevent them from exceeding these critical temperatures. During a fire situation, the temperature within the building can rise from ambient around 20oC, upto 1000oC, As the temperature in the building increases, so does the temperature of the steel structure that supports the building. When the temperature rises, the steel sections began to lose its strength and buckle. The building regulations stipulate that structural steel should be protected against fire, to ensure that the loadbearing capacity of the steel not decreased as the temperature increases.

Three main methods are widely used to protect structural steel work against the risk of fire:

Fire proof paint

Intumescents:-

The intumescent coating is intended to provide an insulating barrier between fire and the structural steel. The insulating barrier is necessary to ensure the structural performance of the steel members at the temperatures anticipated during a fully developed fire. For intumescent coatings to provide this insulating barrier to the structural steel, two unique characteristics of the coating must be considered, coating expansion and retention of a char layer. Intumescent fire resistive coatings typically expand approximately 15 to 30 times. The more traditional insulating materials typically undergo slight shrinkage during the fire exposure. In addition, most intumescent coatings generate as like or char layer during their expansion process. As the fire exposure continues, these coatings erodes exposing the remaining intumescent coating.

This expansion process repeats itself several times during fire, depending upon coating thickness. This solvent based single component thin coating is applied by normal airless spray to give up to 02 Hours fire protection on all types of steel sections and suitable for internal and external work. Some high performance intumescents can be used in the petrochemical industries and are typically high build epoxy mastics. While more and more intumescent type paints are becoming available to the more general trades, it is imperative that there is a good understanding of fire and fire protection methods. The method of application also requires a good deal of quality control since the temperatures, humidity and film thickness of these materials during application can be critical, certainly more so than the average paint.

Cementitious :- 

Cementitious fire protection is normally spray applied using specialist equipment to protect structural steel or concrete from the effects of fire for a nominal fire resistance period.

Gypsum based sprays are sometimes considered as cementitious and may be used internally in the same way as Portland cement sprays, though most gypsums are not suitable for external or semi-external locations. Many manufacturers supply external grade products for use in damp environments such as car parking or basements. External grade products can permit early application during the construction phase of a project where the passive fire protection is exposed to the elements for a limited period. This allows the fire protection to be applied shortly after pouring of concrete floors and before walls are constructed. Spray application such as this can often be the fastest method of installing passive fire protection, thus saving both time and money. Cementitious paint can give up to 04 Hours fire protection.

FIRE STOP MATERIALS

The type of protection to use normally comes down to the following factors:

Fire proof sealants :
Fire resistant closing of all structural joints and gaps. Sealing off completely in the case of high deformation during fire.

Fire resistant partitions :
Fire retardant partition walls with Calcium Silicate board and Rockwool.

Fire pipe sleeves :
Metal pipe sleeves with inside-layers of building material which foams up in case of fire and close pipes.

Fire Protection Pillows :
Bulkhead already prevents damages through spreading of fire during construction phase. Bags are re-usable.

Penetration Seals :
Penetration sealing for walls and floors of incombustible piping with mineral fibre or ceramic tissue and flexible gaiters on both sides.

Cable Ducts :
Fire protection ducts to protect cables from fire, from the outside (E-duct) to ensure electrical operatability and to protect rescue floors from fire load, from inside of cable ducts (I-duct) to ensure usability of rescue floors.

Ventilation Ducts :
Gypsum fire protection boards to cover vertical and horizontal ventilation lines, also available as self-supporting ventilation duct.

Modular Cable Glands :
Water and gas-tight fire protection bulkhead for cables and pipes through steel frame and modular cable glands with press-screw.

Fire proofed Cable Protection:

Intumescent fire protection coating – foams up to 100 times its original thickness, also available ablative coating for outdoor use – protecting the surface from direct flames.

Other Fire Resistant products

1. Fire Door.
2. Fire rolling shutter door.
3. Fire Curtain
4. Smoke curtain
5. Illuminated fluorescent paint
6. Fire ventilation system.

Determining factors of Fire Protection measures

The type of protection to use normally comes down to the following factors:

• Fire performance required, 30/60/90/120/ or 240minutes.
• Type of steel member to be protected.
• The design and aesthetic requirements.
• Weight restrictions.
• Construction time.
• Cost considerations.
• Steel location, Internal or External