What You Need to Know about Fire Collars and Pipe Sleeves

Whether you are constructing a new single family home, a multi-family block of units or a commercial structure, you have got to be concerned about fire safety.  Structure fires are relatively uncommon in the UK, but that is due to strict legislation and diligent fire safety audits rather than a simple lack of fires.  And, that means that any builder, developer or landowner needs to understand and comply with the current regulations.  It is simply necessary when it comes to the health and safety of human life.

Fire Safety Legislation

Buildings in the UK are regulated by an ever updated list of building codes.  Each area of the build is covered with a separate code which is assigned a letter.  Fire safety laws fall under Part B of the building code legislation.  This relates to both the safe evacuation of people from a building in the event of fire and the containment of fire into individual compartments.  This not only enables evacuation but also allows the fire brigade to extinguish is as quickly as possible. 

Part B of the UK building codes is necessarily strict.  It dictates both the materials that can and should be used and the tests that must be passed before a building can be certified.  Without the certification from a fire safety inspector, a public building can be closed without notice and owners may even be liable for fines.  Because it is such a tightly regulated area of construction, fire protection and insulation is not usually a job for DIY teams.  Of course, that’s not to say that it isn’t possible, especially given the latest fire protection products, but as certification is required, it is always best to consult the professionals rather than having to redo the job. 

Insulating Walls and Floors

Insulation deals with the containment side of Part B in the building regulations.  And, in principle, insulating individual compartments within a building is relatively easy.  Solid insulation applied to walls and floors maintains a high level of fire and smoke stopping properties.  And, this is even easier when it applies to brick or concrete structures, as opposed to timber framework.  With technological advances in materials and fire safety in general, it is relatively easy to create a firewall that can withstand extreme temperatures without crumbling under pressure.  However, not all walls and floors are solid.  There are plenty of gaps and holes that construction teams and fire safety specialists must cover adequately to provide the type of protection that saves lives. 

Typically, the cavities created through walls and floors are filled by pipework that channel water, gas and electricity through a building – and connecting one building to others nearby.  While this ensures efficient service delivery to residents and businesses, it can also compromise the level of fire protection in these areas.  As a result, additional fire safety measures must be undertaken wherever compartments are joined to one another.  This means insulating pipes in such a way that, should a fire break out, fire and smoke cannot travel to another compartment via these pipes. 

Without this step, containment becomes compromised, rendering the entire building unsafe.  And, although pipes can be re-routed, fire safety products now make it easy to install high levels of protection without spending a fortune. 

Working with Pipe Collars

For many years, builders worked around the problem of compromised fire safety through the use of pipe collars.  These are attachments that must be fitted over individual pipes, or a collection of pipes fit through a single larger pipes.  Because fire can strike in any compartment, at any time, collars were required on both sides of the wall or floor.  The main (and indeed only) exception to this are pipes that travel through the bottom layer of solid concrete which has been poured directly over the ground.  In this instance, pipe collars are only required on the above ground side. 

When a building employees pipe collar, they are protected in the event of a fire breaking out in a compartment or group of compartments.  Once triggered by heat or flame, pipe collars expand, forcing a closure in the pipe and effectively blocking the spread of fire (provided the wall or floor has been adequately treated.  But, while pipe collars were the prime choice in fire safety for many years, new technology has rendered this item superfluous. 

The New Ultra Universal Pipe Sleeve

Where pipe collars previously needed to be applied on both sides of the wall, often requiring the cut back of other insulation, a new product which can be applied during building has made this task easier – and more cost effective.  Ultra Universal Pipe Sleeve is a superior product that offers protection to plastic and metal pipes up to 168mm in diameter.  And, it does not require the cut back of other insulation.

Ultra Universal Pipe Sleeve is sold in sheets that are made to be easy to tear. Builders must simply tear a piece that covers the complete diameter of the pipe, and that is at least as long as the aperture through the wall.  This is then wrapped over a pipe.  Overhang in a wrap is fine as long as it still fits through the wall.  However, even 1mm too short could create problems.  Insulation is held in place with special tape and then fitted through a fireproofed wall (or floor).  As long as the pipe sleeve covers enough of the pipe on both sides of the wall to apply a sealant, the job is very nearly done.  All that remains is to use a fire sealant.

In the event of a fire, Ultra Universal Pipe Sleeves will expand up to 30 times its standard thickness to force the closure of the pipe.  This process creates a solid char rendering it rather impossible for fire to pass through a protected wall.  With the containment side of the Part B building regulations adhered to, builders can move on to the other part of the equation – evacuation.  Fortunately, that too is becoming easier as more knowledge is gained, and fires take longer to spread (if they can do so at all). 

For more information about Universal Pipe Sleeves then please visit the SIG Technical Insulation website -
http://www.siginsulation.co.uk/show_prod.asp?ProdID=3046&CatID=22&SubCatID=43

Fire Protection for Your Building

Although it may not seem as though a building made almost exclusively of bricks or concrete would be susceptible to fire, that is hardly the case.  While that may have protected homes prior to the widespread installation of electricity, these days structure fires are usually not created through the spread of wood burning stoves and fireplaces.  Most modern fires are the result of faulty electrical wiring or gas leaks and explosions (or any combination of those).  That means that fire can erupt in any building at any time; and, more importantly the precautions are undertaken to prevent loss or damage to human life. 

While preventative measures can and must be taken to halt fires from starting, that does not negate the need for additional safety measures should a fire begin.  And, because this involves safety, the government takes fire measures incredibly seriously.  Fortunately, a little preparation during construction is all it takes to ensure commercial buildings and homes are as safe as they can be at all times. 

The Letter of the Law

It goes without saying that fire safety and construction must be governed in order to ensure that the population as a whole is as safe as it can possibly be.  When it comes to construction in the UK, both domestic and commercial buildings are regulated by a set of building codes.  Each area of the build is legislated by a  building code which is denoted by a letter.  Fire regulations, insomuch as they apply to construction and existing structures are controlled and monitored by Part B of the building codes.

Part B of the building codes addresses both the safe evacuation of people in the event of a fire – and the containment of fire within compartments (or buildings, as the case may be).  In order to ensure compliance to Part B, buildings must receive certification from the relevant authorities.  In commercial buildings, this is a process that must be undertaken with and during building construction or refurbishment.  Often, when it comes to smaller or single unit domestic buildings, certification can be done on completion as the premises are occupied. 

Evacuation in the Event of Fire

Although most people associate fire evacuations with the signs reminding you to take the stairs instead of the lift in the event of a fire, it certainly is a great deal more intense than that.  Evacuation procedures must be established in the architectural phase of building.  Appropriate routes and procedures must be marked out – and in the case of super high-rise buildings, multiple steps must be undertaken to ensure people are able to exit a building safely in the event of a fire.

Part of those evacuation plans will depend on the containment of fire within compartments.  And, that containment cannot lead to structural weakening until everyone (except fire crews) have been able to evacuate the building safely.  As such, evacuation cannot be mutually exclusive with containment policies and structures.

Containing Fires within Individual Compartments

Compartment can mean many different things when it comes to construction.  It can mean something as small as an electrical cupboard.  It can also mean an individual room, or set of rooms – such as flat or a group of smaller offices.  Regardless of the size of the compartment, containment ensures that a fire that starts within an individual compartment does not have the ability to spread to any other compartment. 

Walls and Floors – Once a compartment is defined, the primary structures must then be fire proofed.  The primary structures include walls, floors and ceilings.  Typically, applying fire protection to these areas is as simple as a coating or a layer of insulation.  Where and how this is applied relates directly to the design and structure of the compartment.  However, it is worth noting that each individual compartment within a building must be fireproofed along every centimetre of the parameter of that compartment. 

Windows – One of the greatest dangers associated with large structure fires is the shattering of windows and glass.  While fireproofing glass is rather difficult, special glass is used in office building that combats the high temperatures of fire.  Additionally windows reinforced with wire are used when they are located nearby primary fire escape routes. 

Pipe work Connections between Compartments – No matter what the purpose of a building – and usually regardless of its location, services such as gas, water and electricity are shared between compartments.  (There may still be a few powerless buildings that depend on well-drawn water and individual sewage tanks in remote areas.)  Unfortunately, this pipe work negates the structural fireproofing of individual compartments.  As such, pipes require their own form of insulation where they pass through the walls and floors of adjoining compartments.

Working with Pipe Sleeves

Previously, pipe collars were used to prevent the passage of smoke and fire from travelling along the pipes between compartments.  These fire safety accessories embrace pipes on either side of a fire safe wall.  In the event of a fire, collars would clamp shut, prohibiting the spread of fire through the pipes.  And, while these certainly provide adequate protection, installing them was not without some difficulties.  Primarily, this related to cost and ease of installation; pipe collars usually required the cutback of existing insulation making it a rather specialised job.

The new Ultra Universal Pipe Sleeve, however, is replacing pipe collars in the construction and refurbishment of buildings.  This product can fit any plastic and certain metal pipes up to 168mm in diameter.  It easily pulls apart to any length and width and is then fitted around individual pipes.  It is held in place using tape, then fitted through the aperture in the wall where it is sealed with special adhesives to ensure absolute protection.  In the event of a fire, Ultra Universal Pipe Sleeve expands up to 30 times its thickness to form a solid char within the exposed compartment.  This effectively blocks fire and smoke from traversing compartments via the pipe work.

The use of Ultra Universal Pipes Sleeves, as well as the other methods required to contain fires means that building occupants are given enough time to evacuate a structure fire safely – and that always goes beyond the letter of legislation; it is actually the spirit of the law.  

For more information about pipe sleeves please visit the SIG Technical Insulation website - http://www.siginsulation.co.uk/show_prod.asp?ProdID=3046&CatID=22&SubCatID=43