Passive fire protection (PFP) is a critical element of fire safety within buildings, premises and facilities. Understanding the structural makeup of walls, ceilings and floors and assessing these elements alongside your passive fire protection systems, such as fire doors, fire stopping solutions, and fire dampers, is a critical exercise to perform. It will enable the responsible person to fully understand how the building will perform in a fire and ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Unlike active fire protection systems (AFP) within your building, which are required to detect, control or suppress the fire and smoke, Passive fire protection measures are integrated into the building structure itself and they work inherently to contain fire within designated compartments, providing safe evacuation routes for building users.

However, despite the potentially lifesaving role that these systems can play for occupants in the event of an emergency, many buildings suffer the same blunders when designing, installing and maintaining a passive fire protection strategy. To help you avoid dangerous pitfalls when working to improve the safety of your building, let’s explore these common mistakes in depth in this article. 

Mistake #1: Overlooking Compartmentalisation

Compartmentalisation – the process of dividing a building into fire-resistant sections using appropriately rated walls, floors, ceilings, and fire doors – is a crucial component of passive fire protection. With appropriate fire stopping measures in each compartment, the spread of fire and smoke can be contained within specific areas of the building. 

However, we frequently encounter buildings where there is an insufficient understanding of compartmentation principles. When these PFP are overlooked or improperly implemented, fire can rapidly move through the building unchecked, overwhelming escape routes and causing extensive damage. It is therefore essential that you carry out a comprehensive compartment survey if you don’t have access to this information from the original building design phase, and conduct relevant ongoing fire risk assessments to verify that compartments are both in place and intact. 

Mistake #2: Poor Installation

Improperly installed passive fire protection systems, such as fire doors, are a frequent and high-risk issue within buildings. Incorrect fire door installation can leave gaps or weaknesses that compromise the entire system’s integrity. Even if the installation was carried out with the right intentions, it is important to engage certified professionals to ensure all PFP systems are correctly surveyed, installed, and compliant with relevant standards.

A trustworthy fire door installer should be easy to identify. Look out for professionals with proven experience and relevant industry accreditations, such as the BM Trada Q-Mark certification, which is the gold standard for fire door installation. Ultimately, a passive fire protection strategy is not something that should be implemented as cheaply as possible. Passive fire protection systems are about saving lives, so take the time and make the right investment to get their installation right.

Mistake #3: Inadequate Maintenance & Inspection

It’s often thought that passive fire protection measures can simply be left to work independently of any action, but this is a wrong and dangerous assumption. Passive fire protection systems, while passive, still require regular inspections and maintenance to ensure that they remain fully functional in the event of an emergency. Damage, wear and tear and modifications are all natural occurrences when you manage a building; however, these events can undermine the integrity of fire barriers and systems if they are not addressed appropriately. 

To avoid making this PFP mistake, you should ensure that your fire doors and other systems are regularly inspected by a qualified professional who will be able to both identify and address any deficiencies. The frequency at which a fire door survey should take place will depend on the type of building and the way in which it is used. Fire door maintenance, however, should be an ongoing process with awareness across all building users of the importance of reporting any maintenance issues they may identify. 

Mistake #4: Failure To Update After Building Work Or Renovation

Building modifications, such as adding penetrations for new electrical cables or altering layouts and room uses, can render your existing passive fire protection systems ineffective. These kinds of changes often leave gaps in your fire stopping measures or disrupt the existing compartments, creating new and exposed pathways for fire and smoke to spread. 

All renovations and building projects should therefore include a compartment and PFP review as standard. When making any modifications, take the time to test and, if applicable, reinstate appropriate fire stopping by utilising people suitably qualified to do so. This wider awareness will ensure that one small change does not jeopardise the functionality of your entire passive fire protection strategy.

Mistake #5: Lack Of Training, Awareness & Understanding

A significant issue with passive fire protection is a lack of awareness among building owners, facilities managers, and even occupants. This problem includes uncertainty when it comes to who is responsible for overall fire safety and therefore the passive fire protection strategy within a building. Without a clear understanding of responsibility, PFP systems can quickly fall into neglect, increasing risk for everyone in the building.

In the UK, the Responsible Person – as defined by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – is accountable for ensuring PFP systems are up to standard. This individual should take the time to fully dissect their responsibilities and enlist the assistance of appropriate professionals to carry out any duties that they do not have the technical expertise to complete themselves. 

While it can feel daunting to hold responsibility for passive protection within a building and/or workplace, there are a number of trustworthy sources you can turn to for support in your role. At WGP Maintenance, we hold years of accredited experience in inspecting, maintaining and upgrading passive fire protection systems. If you need advice when it comes to avoiding the common mistakes outlined in this article and improving your building’s fire resistance, get in touch today.