Firestop

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Firestop shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Firestop offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Firestop at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Firestop? Wrong! If the Firestop is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Firestop then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Firestop? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Firestop and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Firestop wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Firestop then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Firestop site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Firestop, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Firestop, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

exposure during fire test in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was an R & D test leading to a fire-resistance rating of three hours.A firestop is a passive fire protection system of various components used to seal Penetration (firestop) in Fire-resistance rating wall and/or floor assemblies through bounding, which is based on elaborate fire testing as well as environmental testing, in some cases.

Unprotected or unbounded openings in fire separations void the fire-resistance ratings of the fire separations that contain them and thus, both in practical and legal terms, collapse the fire compartments of which these fire separations form a part, which affects the fire safety plan of the entire building. Firestops are specifically designed to restore the fire-resistance ratings of rated wall and/or floor assemblies by bounding the openings through approved firestops.

Opening types

Electrical through-penetrations
Mechanical through-penetrations
Structural through-penetrations
Unpenetrated openings (e.g. openings for future use)
Re-entries of existing firestops
Joint (building) within fire-resistance rated wall or floor assemblies
Joint (building) between fire-resistance rated wall or floor assemblies
Joint (building), where non-loadbearing wall assemblies meet floor assemblies

Image:07840drw1.jpg|Typical drawing intended to accompany a firestop specification Section 07840.Image:07840drw3.jpg|Typical drawing intended to accompany a firestop specification Section 07840.Image:Mortar_tag.jpg|Mortar (firestop) seal at a paper mill in British Columbia, Canada.

Trade jurisdiction In North American Trade union Construction, firestopping is generally performed by members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, Lanham, Maryland. The insulators are the only building trade that includes firestop installation, theory and practical firestop training within its apprenticeship program.

An agreement exists between the insulators and the electricians IBEW, which assigns firestop work from electricians to insulators, except that composite crews are required when working near live electrical conductors, whereby an electrician is required to observe and ensure the safety of the insulator.

Germany's GBA (Gütegemeinschaft Brandschutz im Ausbau) also offers an extensive passive fire protection course, resulting in a certificate designation: "Brandschutzfachkraft" (~Passive Fire Protection Expert). In Europe as well as North America, all major firestop installers with nuclear installation experience are, by background insulators first. The German trade designation is "WKSB)" (Wärme, Kälte, Schall und Brandschutz), an Acronym and initialism that stands for heat, cold, sound and fire protection. On both sides of the Atlantic, these traditions prevail for good reason, as the generic material types used and the skill sets needed are similar, between insulation and firestop installations. Exceptions to the generic rule of thumb about firestopping being insulators' work, includes firestop devices that become an integral part of the plumbing system, which must be installed by plumbers during the forming of concrete.

Materials Firestop materials include, but are not limited to the following specialised products and devices:

Intumescents
mortar (firestop)
Firestop silicones, both one-part and two-part
Firestop pillows
Mineral wool
One-, two-, and three-part firestop rubber compounds

Image:Test_in_flight.jpg|Fire test of firestop mortar, in flight.Image:Timberpen.jpg]. Holes are cut by chainsaw.Image:Mortpic.jpg]. It utilises a Germany "Kaltvergussmasse", which is an inorganic powder mixed with liquids to form a solid, through hydration.Image:Ppd_and_kfg.jpg] plastic pipe devices intended to squeeze a melting pipe shut during a fire. Openings here are oversized and have been narrowed down using a certified firestop mortar.Image:Sl_silicone_pipe_covering.jpg|Mechanical pipe through-penetrations in 2 hour slab with metallic piping, covered through the thickness of the firestops with 25mm thick Mineral wool pipe Thermal insulation with foil scrim kraft facing as vapour barrier.

Ratings A common misunderstanding of firestops is that certain materials have certain Fire-resistance rating on their own. For instance, a two-hour rated pipe penetration firestop may consist of a 5 mm layer of caulking, over top of 100 mm of packed rockwool. The layman may assume that the 5 mm of the caulking provide a two hour fire-resistance rating, generically, regardless of the application. This is absolutely wrong. The mere notion underlines a fundamental misunderstanding of bounding. Materials are not individually rated. Instead, they are used as but components within an overall system or certification listing, that must provide identifiable bounding for the installed configuration. In addition, all materials in and around the firestop must conform to the tolerances shown in the certification listing that covers each such installation, including the penetrants, which may also have their very own bounding requirements apart from forming part of a certification listing for a firestop. Compatibility : Joint sealant must be at least DIN4102 B2 rated and/or be Certification listing penetration firestop to avoid auto-ignition on unexposed side.All items within a system that touch one another should have proven compatibility both under fire conditions and operational conditions. For instance, sealants should not degrade penetrants. Cold penetrants may attract dew. Such penetrants should not be in contact with sealants that easily degrade in the presence of water. Also, Joint (building) firestops may achieve very high fire-resistance ratings when tested between two concrete elements with insulation in the middle. Sealants with ratings of B2 per DIN4102 (like timber - normal combustibility) or even B3 per DIN4102 (easily ignited like polyurethane foam) can survive up to 4 hour fire tests because they are protected by rockwool on the exposed side. In reality, however, penetrants are often found within building joints, which are equally sure to conduct plenty of heat through to the unexposed side and right into the sealant. To avoid any heat induced degradation, let alone spontaneous combustion, one can simply restrict joint sealants to those that have already achieved ratings in service penetration firestops.

Common Problems and Solutions Users must understand the role of bounding and the role of firestops within passive fire protection and the role this plays within overall fire protection. Exact documentation for each construction site must exist, complete with an inventory of all firestops in a building, identification tags and a separate set of drawings showing each firestop and the bounding provided by the certification listings used for each installed firestop. Unless this documentation is called for during the planning stages, created during construction and turned over in its entirety to the owner, along with comprehensive training for maintenance purposes, the owner has no way of knowing which hole is firestopped how and why that matters to his or her ability to meet the requirements of the fire code once the building is occupied. One must be able to find the firestops, walk up to them and be able to find a current tag, that is listed on a purpose-designed inventory for each building, showing the certification listing that covers the installed firestop. Otherwise, proper repairs are but guesswork, which violates the fire code. The collection, turn-over and training of this information for the owner is too often absent and is precluded by the practice of having each trade do its own firestopping, whereby the plumber may do some, the electrician may do some, as will the drywaller, and so forth. A separate and complete firestop specification must exist, as well as a line item cost breakout during the tender stage, whereby the firestopper is one sub-contract to the general contractor, whereby one speciality firestop contractor does all firestopping on site, so that he or she can co-ordinate and collate the proper documentation for the eventual turn-over to the owner. Otherwise, up to a dozen different contractors or more could be involved, each using materials from different manufacturers, which are not interchangeable for liability and bounding reasons. With literally thousands of firestops per building, simpler is better. The owner must be given the knowledge to understand the importance and role of firestopping, passive fire protection and bounding to prevent the most common fire code violations, where firestopping is concerned.

No firestop at all Image:Unsealed1.jpg|Unsealed Pipe Penetration in 2 Hour Fire-Resistance Rated Concrete Block Wall In Pulp And Paper Mill In Ontario, Canada.Image:Unsealed2.jpg].Image:Unsealead3.jpg|Concealed and unsealed cable penetration inside a control room cabinet in Pt. Tupper, Nova Scotia, Canada.Image:Unsealed3.jpg]...Image:Drywall_firestop_problem4.jpg|Unsealed Cable Penetration, Concealed Behind T-Bar/Dropped Ceiling - A Very Common Deficiency.Image:Cambrian_college_no_firestop_1.jpg] assembly, August 2000, Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.Older buildings routinely exhibit the phenomena of having no firestops at all. In that case, a thorough inspection helps, which clearly identifies all fire barriers, vertical and horizontal, and their ratings. This should be followed by an examination of all these barriers to find all breaches, inventory them and then seal them with approved methods under the auspices of a building permit.

"Deemed-to-comply" Image:Puf.jpg|Polyurethane foam used to fill a cable tray penetration. At Browns Ferry Nuclear power plant, as seal of this nature resulted in significant fire losses.Image:Puf_removal.jpg] with no Fire test back-up or certification listing, purely as a cost-cutting measure, revealing major faults - now hard to fix.Image:Boot_firestop.jpg] applied at the wrong time, avoiding code compliance at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.Image:Cambrian_college_fireproofing_delamination_5.jpg], Canada, in a coal fired power plant, in the 1980s.The "Deemed-to-comply" variety of illegal firestops includes "homemade" remedies, where people invent their own methods without any testing back-up, let alone product certification. These are short term cost cutting measures at the expense of fire safety and code compliance. Common ploys to justify such means include focusing on approvals or listings such products may have for other uses. For instance, one may point out the the fact that one's insulation has an active listing for having a certain flamespread rating. In that example, one may point to an Underwriters Laboratories listing for the flame spread rating, which is deceiving, as UL also has listing for firestops. A UL listing for one purpose, however, does not mean it is in any way acceptable for any other purpose.

Right products, wrong installation Image:Elastaseal.jpg|This firestop is missing the proprietary coating that is intended to be applied on both sides. That step was omitted as a cost-cutting measure. The seal is only listed for maximum 1.1ft² openings, a point of interest during the Select Committee on Ontario Hydro Nuclear Affairs.Image:Cp25_grand_coulee_dam.jpg|Inoperable firestop made of self-leveling intumescent caulking applied in a wall at Grand Coulee Dam.Image:Nortown.jpg] collar is applied at the bottom of the plastic pipe penetration. The problem is that the slab is not smooth and the fire can go straight through to the pipe above the collar. This firestop is inoperable.Image:Sl_silicone_lousy_packing.jpg|Self-leveling silicone caulking that should be 13mm thick - this thickness varies from 1mm to 30mm because the packing below is uneven. The City of Mississauga building inspector ordered this replaced.Image:How_clusterf.jpg|HOW Joint with uneven silicone caulking thickness, smeared into place by untrained staff. Status: inoperable.Image:Silicone_foam_sakno1.jpg|Faulty Sakno Silicone Foam Installation, Image 1 of 2Image:Silicone_foam_sakno2.jpg|Faulty Sakno Silicone Foam Installation, Image 2 of 2These pictures indicate the need for purposely trained firestop installers who know that the installed configuration must be bounded by an active certification listing. In each of the above cases, the firestops were installed by adjacent trades, either the trade that was responsible for the penetrant or the trade that was responsible for erecting the fire barrier that contains the firestop. Firestopping is a complex matter best left to those who have the resources, training and interest to match up the installed configuration with a listing. When this is not the case, firestopping is often undervalued at the time the job is tendered and in the end it becomes an afterthought, for which there is insufficient money, knowledge and interest to do it in accordance with the building code and fire code. The results lead either to remedial work or an acceptance of conditions that do not comply with applicable legislation.

Improper, unenforced specification and trade jurisdiction Image:Drywall_firestop_problem1.jpg|This case has mixed trade assignments. The plumber hangs a Sleeve (construction) before the wall is up. The drywaller mounts the sleeve, the insulator is only asked to fill between sleeve and and the pipe. The result is an Bounding mess, that was smeared in with drywall mud. Status: inoperable.Image:Firestop_spec_problem.jpg].These pictures highlight the need to ensure that firestops are not separate add-ons to mechanical, electrical, masonry, drywall and other trade contracts. All components routinely come into contact with one another. The only way to be sure that the resulting installations meet code is to have a specialist, such as a trained and experienced firestop contractor, match up the installed configurations with active certification listings that bound the installations in all respects and that proper documentation exists, not just in the form of submittals by subcontractors up the chain, which the owner never sees, but also in a comprehensive turn-over package to the owner to create the possibility that the owner can perform adequate maintenance once the building is occupied. Re-entries for tenant work typically begin while the main construction job is still being completed. This process of ensuring proper installations and practical documentation begins with a very clear specification that goes with a line item cost, as a sub-contract to the general contractor, along with the required will to enforce the matter post-tender, which is easy enough to do by making a comprehensive turn-over package for the owner for all firestops on site (mechanical, electrical, structural, architectural) with a uniform tagging plan for all openings and joints a required part of the workscope - pre-tender.Without having these essentials in place from the start, mechanical and electrical trades who are obliged to do their own firestopping routinely use the "I-was-there-first-scenario" (justification) for absolving themselves particularly of their responsibilities to properly seal drywall through-penetrations, which can be especially costly and tricky to do, as the Drywall#Fire_resistance points out. The scenario is one of shifting responsibility. The mechanical or electrical tradesperson hangs the penetrant before the drywall is installed. Anything that happens afterwards, these trades consider to be someone else's responsibility. When they were there hanging penetrants, there was no hole because there was no wall. They don't form the holes so it's not their responsibility. The drywaller's spec does not address firestopping for mechanical and electrical through-penetrations, as this is covered (in North America) under Sections 15050 and 16050 (Sleeve (construction), respectively. So, the drywaller cuts and fits as closely as possible, muds up to the penetrants with drywall mud, making the best of it, not having allowed for such elaborate firestopping work pre-tender. This has been known to happen even with combustible plastic piping. In the final analysis, everyone has an excuse why the proper firestops will not be done (at their expense) and in enough cases that is where the matter comes to an end, with the fire safety concept for the whole building in ruins. The remedy is to have a separate contract for the workscope which clearly points out how openings are formed, what sizes they shall have and who is sealing them with what and what sort of documentation is required.

Re-entry Image:Reentry1.jpg|Re-entered Firestop MortarImage:Reentry2.jpg|Re-entered, Dislodged FirestopImage:Reentry3.jpg|Re-entered Cable Tray Penetration With Tagged Firestop Mortar Seal.Image:Reentry4.jpg|Re-entered opening that was created for future use in an electrical service room.Image:Reentry5.jpg|Re-entered Cable Tray Firestop In A Wall With Firestop Mortar, In A Pulp And Paper Mill In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. This Side Of the Pic Was Shot From The Operating Floor. The Other Side Had A Transformer And Was Open To The Outside.Firestops are often re-entered, throughout the life of a building, as the pictures show. If the entire fire protection plan of a building is to remain operable, it is imperative that a plan be in place to ensure that re-entries of firestops are done within the context of a plan that is ideally put in place during the design stage of a building. Re-entries of fire barriers by most local building codes require the application for and issuance of a building permit from the Authority Having Jurisdiction. Re-entries must be recorded and re-sealing must be done in the full knowledge of and compliance with the certification listing upon which the original installed configuration was based. This is best accomplished through maintaining simplicity, meaning that the number of trades executing firestop work and the number of firestop manufacturers used during the original construction of the building be kept to a minimum so that the number of repair materials can be kept small and manageable. Each opening should be properly tagged and correspond with documents that are collected by the design and construction team, turned over intact to the owner and be kept up to date by the owner to ensure compliance with the local fire code.Image:Mortar_reentry.jpg] preparation for proven re-entry procedure with Mortar (firestop).Image:Cp25_reentry.jpg|Fire test preparation with re-entry of firestop mortar, re-sealing using intumescent firestop caulking for fire-test-proven compatibility between mortar and caulking in the same certification listing.Image:Putty_reentry.jpg] preparation: reentry of firestop mortar with cable and re-sealing with intumescent firestop putty for fire-test-proven compatibility between mortar and putty.The above gallery shows the consideration required for proven repair procedures. These pictures are of the same test assembly shown in the Fire-resistance rating article. The close-ups show that this test established compatibility between the mortar and an intumescent caulking and an intumescent putty. This provides some variety to a building owner who is required to re-seal firestop re-entries is such a manner the the repair is still Bounding by the same certification listing.

Tagging Image:Firestop_tag_front.jpg|Firestop tag front. This identifies information necessary for proper maintanance.Image:Firestop_tag_back.jpg|Firestop tag back. This side of the tag permits keeping track of maintenance.Proper maintenance requires that firestops be tagged, clearly, on each side. The tags must contain the information necessary for bounding - both of the original installation and any re-entries. This requires knowldege of the exact certification listing that was used for each opening, be it a Joint (building) or a penetrant through-penetration seal. The owner is well advised to maintain the records centrally because operating buildings undergo routine maintenance, sometimes by contractors, sometimes by his or her own forces. It is in the owner's interest to keep things as simple as possible, keeping the number of products to a minimum, increasing the likelihood of compatibility between them, as indicated in the Re-entry paragraph above. When one walks up to a firestop, anywhere in the building, one should be able to see a proper tag and the information on the tag should correspond with a separate set of drawings and records, forming part of the owner's evidence of due diligence.

Testing and certification Acceptable certification listings include but are not limited to those available from

Underwriters Laboratories, or
Underwriters Laboratories of Canada in North America, or
Deutsches Intitut für Bautechnik in Germany, or
Efectis in Netherlands, France, Norway.

Regulations and compliance When the installed configuration is not in conformance in all respects with the tolerances of the appropriate certification listing, it is not bounded and, therefore, the rating is zero, which means that the entire fire protection plan for the building that contains such a violation of codes, is compromised. For any deviations from this principle, one is required by law to contact the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to gain acceptance of a suitable remedy.

It is, therefore, necessary to be able to match each opening in fire-resistance rated wall or floor in a building with a certification listing. There are literally thousands of listings by various certification and testing laboratories. Both the Canadian and US Underwriters Laboratories each publish separate books containing just their own listings, whose firestop manufacturers they have under contract. There are at any given time just in North America up to sixty different manufacturers, each with dozens of products, each with many listings. An architect will routinely specify up to ten different manufacturers, whose products are acceptable for use within one construction site. This means several books full of firestop possibilities for just one single building. It is, therefore, entirely logical and highly advisable to label firestops such that one can easily determine bounding, meaning that one is able to look up what listing covers which hole, both on tags on each firestop but also on the shop drawings, which then show all those openings in all the walls and floors, in such a way that they are logically numbered and cross-referenced.

Only in that way, can one perform repairs, which are often necessary. Firestops get re-entered all the time, especially electrical penetrations with penetrants such as cables, conduit, etc., because people often make changes to wiring in particular. Unless one knows precisely what listing covers the firestop in question, one has little chance of being able to determine what materials to use for the repair, or if a new penetrant is even permissible to be used in a sealed opening. Some firestops are listed with repair procedures, others are not. Just because a material "sticks to itself", that does not mean there is any evidence that will hold up in a court of law, that actually proves that a repair was included in the original test. Firestops are routinely misunderstood and incorrectly installed or completely absent. Noncompliances can be deliberate or accidental. Changes to firestops require the notification and approval of the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), meaning either an acceptance by the fire prevention officer or a building permit.

Firestops must be routinely maintained and kept bounded, not because they otherwise fall apart (though some have been known to such as North American intumescents based on unprotected sodium silicate without proper DIBt approval), but mostly because of re-entries. The only way to accomplish this AND meet the code is to ensure that separate shop drawings exist, which show all fire-resistance rated wall and floor assemblies and their specific ratings. Next, all building joints and all mechanical, electrical and structural through-penetrations must be shown and numbered on the drawings. Descriptions for each opening must be kept, along with photographic evidence of proper sealing, which identifies each component and the certification listing that covers each installation. Certification listings for firestops are not complicated, but they can be lengthy, with a variety of separate detail drawings.

It is impossible to determine bounding without evidence that the installed configuration is within the tolerances of the applicable certification listing upon which the installation was based. Without this evidence, no proof of building code or fire code compliance can be deemed to exist. Hence, when approaching a firestop, one should be able to see a clear tag that identifies the opening number, which can then be cross-referenced in the overall building's inventory of firestops. Re-entries and repairs must also be documented. Opening numbers found in the field must match those found on the tags. A functional maintenance program must exist, whereby tags are used to identify repair materials and methods, especially in buildings where firestops from more than one manufacturer were used, as there is typically no proven compatibility between firestop materials from different manufacturers, which precludes bounding, which spells fire code violations. That is a very important point. Compatibility between firestops made by two different firestop manufacturers, who compete against one another, has precious little to do with whether or not the two materials bond to one another or whether or not one may in fact help to deteriorate one another. Unless both are included in ONE certification listing, meaning that both have been tested together with the intention and consent of both manufacturers, there is no identifiable bounding, meaning that liability for such a combined seals becomes the responsibility of those who performed and/or authorised the mis-match. Even two different materials made by THE SAME manufacturer, can only be combined in one firestop if a certification listing exists that sanctions the match.

Only with an organised inventory and maintenance scheme does the owner have a chance of being able to provide evidence of compliance, in the event of an inspection or a fire. Tagging is already mandatory in Germany. It is, thus, counter-productive to have multiple contractors in charge of firestopping within one building, as each can typically use different materials and listings, which may or may not be compatible with one another. Unless the contractor who is installing the firestop is an active participant in the firestop industry, meaning that his primary aim is to work in passive fire protection, chances are that bounding details are missed, which jeopardises the entire fire protection plan of the building. While it is possible to achieve the required ratings required to meet the building code using a large number of products, the result becomes hopelessly complex for the owner to maintain afterwards. If the architect permitted the use of products from six (6) different manufacturers, which is not out of the ordinary, who each have twelve (12) different products (which is also not out of the ordinary), which each have 60 listings (which is conservative), the logistics surrounding what governs just one single opening are considerable. To enable reasonable maintenance and documentation for the owner throughout the use of the building, it is necessary for the architect to have a strict master specification in place, which may have to be adjusted to the unique needs of certain buildings, ships or offshore facilities. An appropriate master specification Section 07840 should contain a wide variety of experience-based SPEC-NOTES to remind the specification writer of the requirements for all paragraphs and different project requirements. Just having a Section 07840 will not do though. Pointing each separate trade to it and having everyone do his or her own firestopping is, once again, counterproductive to producing a building where the owner is able to maintain fire code compliance. There is simply too much information to maintain otherwise, which is akin to setting the owner up for fire code violations within weeks or even days of occupancy. It is not unusual for owners to begin to re-enter firestops before the last tradesmen from the original construction have left the building. Firestoppers routinely repair firestops during the last days on the job, that have already been altered with new penetrants for tenant work. Without tagging and training of the owner, fire code compliance becomes an illusion from the first day the keys are turned over to the owner.

Trade associations United States of America:

Firestop Contractors International Association
International Firestop Council

Germany:

Gütegemeinschaft Brandschutz im Ausbau