How Fire Stopping Material Helps You Pass Building Inspections

Com­mer­cial fires con­sti­tute bil­lions of dol­lars of dam­age each year, all while putting occu­pants at risk of injury or death. As such, pre­vent­ing this dev­as­ta­tion should be a pri­ma­ry pri­or­i­ty for facil­i­ties of all kinds. Fire stop­ping mate­ri­als and meth­ods pro­vide a pow­er­ful way to stop the spread of flames, min­i­miz­ing struc­tur­al dam­age and giv­ing occu­pants more time to find safe­ty. Let’s go over how installing and main­tain­ing fire stop­ping mate­r­i­al in your facil­i­ty will help you pass inspec­tions and main­tain the high­est safe­ty standards.

How Installing Fire Stop­ping Mate­r­i­al Will Help You Pass Inspections

What Is Fire Stop­ping Material?

Fire stop­ping is a form of pas­sive fire pro­tec­tion (PFP). Accord­ing to the Inter­na­tion­al Firestop Coun­cil (IFC), fire stop­ping mate­ri­als refer to sub­stances, con­struc­tions, and sys­tems designed to ​“resist or stop the spread of flame and its by-prod­ucts through open­ings in rat­ed walls, floors, or floor/​ceiling assem­blies.” Fire stop­ping prod­ucts are typ­i­cal­ly made from com­po­nents such as intu­mes­cents, cemen­ti­tious mor­tars, sil­i­cone, firestop pil­lows, min­er­al fibers, and rub­ber compounds.

What Is a Fire Stop­ping Inspection?

A fire stop­ping inspec­tion is a peri­od­ic facil­i­ty exam­i­na­tion pro­vid­ed by con­struc­tion and code enforce­ment spe­cial­ists to ensure the prop­er adher­ence to all rel­e­vant fire resis­tance rat­ings, specif­i­cal­ly when pen­e­tra­tions breach walls and floors.

These con­trac­tors pay mind to a num­ber of fire stop stan­dards and will con­duct var­i­ous tests to make sure all mate­ri­als are func­tion­al and in the right posi­tions. In 2012, the Inter­na­tion­al Build­ing Code (IBC) deter­mined that fire stop inspec­tions be manda­to­ry for high-risk facil­i­ties. To this day, enforce­ment of these inspec­tions is strict and applic­a­ble to many com­mer­cial and indus­tri­al facil­i­ties and projects. As such, it pays to know whether your facil­i­ty is sub­ject to these manda­to­ry inspec­tions and how to stay compliant.

Which Facil­i­ties Are Con­sid­ered High-Risk?

Three cat­e­gories of build­ings are deemed ​“high-risk” by the IBC: III, IV, and high-rise build­ings. Those in risk cat­e­go­ry III include pub­lic build­ings such as schools, deten­tion facil­i­ties, and assist­ed liv­ing cen­ters. Risk cat­e­go­ry IV includes hos­pi­tals, fire and res­cue build­ings, avi­a­tion con­trol tow­ers, pow­er sta­tions, and police sta­tions. Any build­ing that exceeds 75 feet in height is deemed a high-rise build­ing – many urban apart­ment and office build­ings fall into this cat­e­go­ry. While a man­u­fac­tur­ing plant, fac­to­ry, or ware­house might not be con­sid­ered high-risk by these met­rics, they may still be sub­ject to manda­to­ry fire stop inspec­tions. More­over, receiv­ing these inspec­tions peri­od­i­cal­ly is impor­tant for keep­ing tabs on your building’s com­pli­ance and fire safe­ty rat­ings. Regard­less, you always want to make sure your facil­i­ty is out­fit­ted with the prop­er fire pro­tec­tion sys­tems and materials.

Kaloutas Can Help You Pass Fire Stop Inspections

Most facil­i­ty own­ers and man­agers are already acute­ly aware of the impor­tance of fire pro­tec­tion and pre­ven­tion. That said, adher­ing to all rel­e­vant reg­u­la­tions is eas­i­er said than done. It helps to have experts on your side who know the ins and outs of fire­proof­ing, fire stop­ping, and the like. At Kaloutas, our expe­ri­ence and ser­vice offer­ings are far-reach­ing, and fire­proof­ing is just one of many cat­e­gories of ser­vices we offer our clients. To learn more about us and all that we do, con­tact us online or give us a call at 978−532−1414 today.