Intumescent Fire Products
Protecting the structure of a building from fire requires a serious level of protection to help reduce the risk to loss of life and keep a premises structurally sound should a fire break out. The fabric of a building should be taken into account as part of any fire risk assessment and the passive fire protection of a building should involve the use of intumescent fire products. Intumescent is a substance which expands during exposure to heat and intumescent seals and intumescent sealants play an important role in restricting the spread of fire as well as hot and cold smoke leakage.
Intumescent door seals
Intumescent door seals play a major role in restricting fire and smoke as well as protecting vital means of escape within a premises. Any door within a building that doesn’t have intumescent seals and strips fitted around the frame will threaten a protected area or room by allowing it to become smoke logged in a short space of time. Intumescent seals make a vital contribution to the safe evacuation of a building during a fire.
The selection and position of fire seals is important. Metal doors have typically not been fitted with seals because metal expands in heat sealing any gaps around the door and therefore satisfying integrity standards. Any metal door that is uninsulated should be assessed by the measurement of gaps around the door when no seal is fitted (any gap greater than 5mm requires a seal otherwise smoke strips should be installed). However, whether the door assembly is metal or wood it should be assessed to ensure it provides protection for a period of time and allows for safe exit.
Fitting intumescent seals to a door assembly alone will not guarantee a fire test pass because the hardware, frame fittings and glazing of the door are also taken into account to ensure fire resistance. However, smoke and heat leakage can be significantly reduced with fire seals thereby creating a protected environment for longer.
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| White Intumescent Seal Pack 10 x 4mm Fire & Smoke | White Intumescent Seal Pack 20 x 4mm Fire & Smoke |
Intumescent sealants
As part of a building’s fire safety, the separating walls and flooring must provide adequate levels of protection against fire for a minimum period. During construction it is sometimes necessary for the integrity of the walls and floors to be breached because of electrics, pipes or air conditioning ducts. Intumescent sealants are designed to prevent fire spreading from one area to another wherever a gap or penetration is made within fire rated construction.
Intumescent sealants should provide up to four hours of resistance against fire and be a firm but flexible seal. When exposed to fire the materials within the sealant expand to seal any gaps and prevent the spread of fire or smoke.
