Structural Measures You Can Implement to Prevent the Spread of Fire in Your Building
08 August 2022One prominent cause of property damage is fire. Fire starts with an ignition, which may come from a spark generated by a faulty appliance or electrical wiring. An overheated surface can likewise create a spark that leads to fire. With the addition of oxygen and fuel, fire can eventually become huge and spread through convection, conduction, and radiation.
The speed of fire spread depends heavily on many factors. Buildings with fire-safety devices can expect the fire to spread slowly. Alternatively, those without these devices and equipment will only allow the fire to completely obliterate everything on its path in just a few minutes. The same thing may happen if a building is full of flammable and combustible materials.
Fire can be dangerous since it does not only damage property assets, but it can also claim lives. If you want to protect your building and your occupants from potential fire-related damages, here are some structural measures you must implement.
Apply Intumescent Coatings
One structural measure you can implement is to apply intumescent coatings on crucial parts of your building. Intumescent coatings utilise multiple chemical components that can help prevent the fire from spreading to other places of your property. Whenever these coatings are exposed to temperatures of up to 250 degrees Celsius, their internal components can quickly react by increasing their density. This substantial increase in density permits them to generate fireproof layers for places where they are installed.
Some intumescent coatings can be applied through spray painting, while others can be installed through thin filming coatings. These structural measures are applied to steel structures, giving them the needed durability during fire emergencies. Intumescent coatings can also be installed on concrete, timber, and composite materials.
Utilise Fire Compartmentation
Fire compartmentation is the process of dividing your property into a series of cells, sections, or units. These cells are subsequently separated with materials and structures that are fire-resistant. So, once a fire occurs in one of your building cells, it can still give others time to evacuate. It can even allow people to extinguish the fire before it spreads to nearby rooms or spaces. Flames and smoke can be conveniently contained by fire compartmentation.
This structural measure can be applied in multiple ways. For one, you can invest in firewalls and doors to minimise the chances of fire and its elements from spreading. The same function can be done by cavity barriers, with the addition of not permitting smoke and others from entering open spaces on roofs and between floor areas. Take note, however, that fire compartmentation may not be effective once some of its parts become deteriorated.
Implement Fireproofing
Fireproofing or firestopping must be done to ensure that any cavities, gaps, and holes will be covered appropriately. Failure to cover them will only allow fire elements to infiltrate the cells of your building and subsequently spread very quickly.
The process of fireproofing or firestopping can be done by using fire-resistant materials. Any openings on the doors, windows, joints, ducts, pipes, and compartments must be applied with these materials to prevent smoke, flames, and other elements from entering and spreading. This step must be conducted by a professional to avoid costly repairs.
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