There are two main kinds of fire protection systems–passive fire protection and active fire protection–but most are only away of the latter. Unlike active fire protection equipment, which is designed to extinguish fires, passive fire protection services are designed to limit and contain the area that smoke and fire could damage. It’s mean to slow it down and restrict it to one area.
Passive fire protection products, such as fire retardant building materials, are important because they ensure that people have enough time to evacuate a burning building safely and also because they limit the amount of damage done to a structure.
Drywall made with gypsum is one example of passive fire protection. Gypsum is a kind of plaster, a building material with a high water content that will release vapor if it’s ever exposed to extreme heats. The vapor then effectively slows down the rate at which the plaster burns.
Passive fire protection is one reason why so many buildings are made with cement in addition to steel. While concrete won’t burn, steel will lose its integrity if its exposed to extreme heat, causing it to collapse. Concrete, instead, retains its structural integrity if its exposed to the same kinds of extreme heat.
In addition to construction materials, there are other kinds of passive fire protection products as well. Fire stops, for example, are seals that are placed around ducts, wall joints, ceilings, and–of course–doors. Fire stops are commonly made out of intumescent, which swells to several times its original shape. Naturally, this allows fire stops to block smoke and fire from spreading.
To truly protect your home or office from a fire, both passive and active fire protection systems should be place. It’s not enough to build with fire resistant materials, just as it’s not enough to rely on the building’s smoke alarms or sprinkler system, since any piece of equipment can malfunction. Layering defenses is really the only way to protect against fire hazards.
If you have any questions about active or passive fire protection, feel free to ask in the comments. Refernce materials.
