BUILDING SERVICES 2

(DDPQ2043)
TUTORIAL 2
PASSIVE FIRE FIGHTING INSTALLATION
Name : Hani Idayu Bt Hasan
I/C No : 930514-14-6236
Lecturer : Pn Raja Marzyani Bt Raja Mazlan

Definition
Passive fire protection are made to slow down a fire and
attempt to restrict the damage to a smaller space.
Limiting or slowing down the spread of flames and
smoke helps to give people more time to evacuate the
building safely. It can also limit physical or structural
damage to a building.

Passive fire fighting installation in terms of main areas:

1.

Structural fire protection

- Structural steel

2.

Compartmentation
- Fire partitions (Party wall/Fire-rated wall)
- Fire barriers ( Fire-rated floors and ceilings)

3.

Opening protection
- Fire doors
- Fire-rated glass
- Fire dampers

4.

Firestopping materials
- Fireproofing materials
- Concrete blocks

Structural Fire Protection

Guards essential structural components from the effects of fire.
When the structural fire protection is designed and applied

properly, the buildings structural integrity should be maintained

when its exposed to fire.
Type
Structural Steel
Variety of heavy steel shapes (such as the H-beams, I-beams, and
T-beams) used as load bearing members of a structural frame.
Steel loses strength when heated sufficiently. The critical
temperature of a steel member is the temperature at which it
cannot safely support its load.
However, heat transfer to the steel can be slowed by the use
of fireproofing materials, thus limiting steel temperature.

Figure 1.0 Various structural steel shapes

Figure 1.1 Metal deck and open web steel joist receiving
spray fireproofing plaster, made of polystyrene leavened
gypsum.

Compartmentation
These barriers are used to limit the spread of fire in a building

and allow safe egress.

Walls extend from a fire-rated floor to the fire-rated ceiling
above, and continue into concealed spaces for full protection.
Type
Firewall (Party wall)
Dividing partition between two adjoining buildings (or units) that
is shared by the tenants of each residence or business.
Non-structural but designed to meet established criteria for
sound and/or fire protection between residential units.
Made of non-combustible material.

 Two type of Party wall

Type A
A wall that stands astride the boundary of land belonging
to two (or more) different owners. Examples include walls
separating terraced or semi-detached houses or walls that
form the boundary between two gardens, known as a
party fence wall

Figure 2.0 Party wall type A

 Type B
A wall that stands wholly on one owners land, but is used

by two (or more) owners to separate their buildings.

Examples include where one neighbour has a structure
that leans against a wall that is owned by the other
neighbour. Only the part of the wall that is enclosed by the
lean-to is a Party Wall.

Figure 2.1 Party wall type B

Figure 2.2 Fire-Rated Floor assembly

Figure 2.4 Fire-Rated Ceiling Systems

(Zoom in for clearer view)

Opening Protection
Installed in an opening of a fire barrier to maintain its fire resistance.

Type
Fire Door
Designated as capable of resisting the passage of flame and smoke,
and providing insulation as defined in under the prescribed
conditions of test appropriate to such construction in accordance
with the current British Standard 476.
FD30 doors generally should not be less than 44mm in thickness.
FD60 doors generally should not be less than 54mm in thickness.
All Fire-resisting doors should be;
Close fitting to the frame with a maximum gap of 5 mm, but 3mm is
the accepted working gap and hung by a minimum of 1 pairs of all
metal hinges with a melting point of not less than 800 C (both nylon
and nylon bushed hinges are unacceptable)

Figure 3.1 Properties of Fire Door

Fire-rated glass
Glass that uses multi-layer intumescent technology or wire
mesh embedded within the glass.
May be used in the fabrication of fire-resistance rated windows
in walls or fire doors.

Figure 3.2 Principal of Operational of Fire-rated Glass

Fire Dampers
Used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ducts to
prevent the spread of fire inside the ductwork through fireresistance rated walls and floors.
Fire/Smoke dampers are similar to Fire Dampers in fire resistance
rating, and also prevent the spread of smoke inside the ducts.
When a rise in temperature occurs, the fire damper closes, usually
activated by a thermal element which melts at temperatures higher
than ambient but low enough to indicate the presence of a fire,
allowing springs to close the damper blades.
Fire dampers can also close following receipt of an electrical
signal from a fire alarm system utilizing detectors remote from the
damper, indicating the sensing of heat or smoke in the building
occupied spaces or in the HVAC duct system.

Figure 3.3 Fire Dampers

Firestopping Materials
These materials are used to limit fire spread through

penetrations in a fire barrier.

Type
Fireproofing materials
i.
Intumescent
- any material that expands when exposed to heat.
- delaying the spread of fire by as long as one hour.
- swells several times its original size when exposed to heat
over 300F, thus blocking the spread of fire and smoke.
- Many intumescent contain chemically bound water and are
endothermic. In this case, when exposed to fire, the
intumescent will release water. This will help cool the
surrounding areas.

Figure 4.1 Char Foam (Intumescent)

ii.

Fireproofing
- refers to the act of making materials or structures more resistant
to fire, or to those materials themselves, or the act of applying
such materials.
- Applying a certification listed fireproofing system to certain
structures allows these to have a fire-resistance rating.
Applications:
- Structural steel to keep below critical temperature ca. 540 C
- Electrical circuits to keep critical electrical circuits below 140 C
so they stay operational
- Liquified petroleum gas containers to prevent a BLEVE (boiling
liquid expanding vapour explosion)
- Vessel skirts and pipe bridges in an oil refinery or chemical plant
to keep the structural steel below critical temperature ca. 540
- Concrete linings of traffic tunnels

Figure 4.2 Fireproofing

Concrete Block
Fire resistant materials are those that will not burn and can
withstand high temperatures.
Walls and floors made with concrete block are considered
passive fire protection since concrete does not burn.
Steel, on the other hand, can lose its integrity when exposed to
high temperatures and collapse in the event of a fire.
Concrete maintains its structural integrity under high heat.

Figure 4.3 Example of Concrete Blocks

- The End -