INSULATION
The property by which a material resists heat transfer as a result
of its low thermal conductivity. Insulating materials used in firestop
systems must be stable at high temperatures to preserve their
properties when exposed to fire. A typical example is a mineral
wool made from fibers with a melting point well above the expected
fire temperatures.
Some Myths
Compartmentation means Fire Door & Fire Wall?
Compartmentation is a method by which buildings are divided into
individual fire-resistance rated cells so that the spread of fire and
smoke can be limited to an individual cell and all other cells of the
buildings remain free of fire and smoke risk.
These compartment sizes are designed by following building code
provisions. But people often have a belief/practice that while de-
signing compartmentation Fire Doors and Firewalls must be rated
for 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours or more. But they often misunderstand
that all such compartments have utility penetration breaches cre-
ated by electric wires, electric cable tray, ducts, pipes, etc. When
such penetrations exist, they become the way from which fire and
smoke spread out of the compartment and compromise other com-
partments too. Therefore, it is important to design compartmenta-
tion by considering the following systems together:
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■ ■
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Fire Barrier
Fire Door
Fire Stops
Fire Dampers
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