Firestop and Its Positive Effect on Your Commercial Business
Firestop is an essential part of your fire protection system in your commercial building.
You have devoted countless hours and energy to building your own business, so it makes sense you’d do anything to protect it. These days, a lot of our protective energy goes to threats that are online. This leaves many to forget about physical threats, and there is plenty to worry about in regard to your business. One common physical threat that is preventable is a building fire. Your building should have both active and passive fire protection systems. The active systems are things such as sprinklers that are used to put your fire out. The passive system is the firewalls, dampers, and doors that slow the spread of a fire. Firestop is an essential part of your fire protection system. Read on to learn about its positive effects on your commercial business.
What is Firestopping?
Firestop is the material that is used to seal openings or penetrations in fire barriers within your commercial building. Each commercial building has different fire barriers, like fire doors and firewalls, and these prevent the spread of smoke and flames. Standard walls with usual insulation won’t contain fire or any toxic fumes and smoke. Various buildings also have fire barriers in their flooring between levels so that fire and smoke do not travel upwards through a high-rise building. There are reasons that the fire barriers might have penetrations. Electrical wiring, plumbing, and Ethernet cables all have to run between the various spaces in your building, and it’s impossible to avoid any fire barriers. When the utilities go through the firewalls and floor, the firestop will seal the hole around it.
Problems with Firestop
The most severe problems with Firestop come from incorrect Firestop installations. When it isn’t installed properly, it won’t fix the breach in the firewalls. For continued firestop safety, you have to ensure the firestop is installed as soon as possible after the fire barrier is breached. In the meantime, the hole inside of your fire barrier represents a breach within your protection since smoke and fire could easily pass through to the other spaces in the commercial building.
Regulations for Firestopping
The National Fire Protection Agency regulates the installation and upkeep of any fire barriers. They specify that fire barriers have to be continuous in a building from outside wall towards outside wall or from fire barrier wall to fire barrier wall. Any gaps, missing sections, and fire barriers must create a total compartment. If there are gaps, they have to be repaired properly with the right UL system and firestopping method. Firestop that is used to plug cracks or holes in the fire barrier has to have the same fire-resistive rating as the same barrier it is being used with.
Revitalize Your Business with G&M Services
G&M Services is proud of our employees and the dedication they have for safety in the workplace. We reward our employees for displaying positive safety practices. We incorporate weekly and monthly discussions and meetings to ensure that all involved know how to handle equipment and potentially risky situations during a project. We offer services in the way of concrete drilling and sawing, concrete scanning, and Firestop. To get started with us, call today at 410-787-8828 or visit our contact page. Follow the official company page today on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
