For National Fire Prevention Week, Eric Bergman, our Senior Firestopping Consultant and Operations Manager, gave us several helpful fire safety tips for building owners and facility managers interested in evaluating their current firestop system. Here are four things to keep in mind while reviewing fire rated barrier standards:
- Evaluate your current facilities’ installed firestops. This should be done by a qualified and experienced firm that can provide a usable report detailing which of your fire rated barriers are meeting the minimum intent of the code, and the areas that need to be addressed. This can be done through a mock survey like in a healthcare platform, and pre-condition assessment, or by a third-party inspector or installer trained in proper firestop installation. Upon receiving that report, moving on to step two is recommended depending upon whether there are repairs to make.
- Develop a comprehensive repair plan (if required). Where there are a few firestop installation issues in a building, there are likely many. In these scenarios, installation issues are so all-encompassing that it may not be affordable to repair them all at once. Repair typically takes place over several projects that may take years. Our suggestion would be to design and implement a repair plan by area that can be met with in-place budgeting. It is important to keep in mind no area is more important than another, as there is no way to tell where a fire will start. Often, you will have code support for the requirement of third-party special inspections on these projects, which can assist in completing the inspection reports and reporting the repairs to your facilities’ compliance life safety drawings and submittal package. The inspection firm should be able to complete both tasks with their inspection process based on ASTM E2174 and ASTM E2393. If this is done consistently in all future builds, your plan will include all areas requiring firestop and the documentation showing exactly what was completed and where. The facility maintenance quality control staff is also a good resource for managing the repair of these barriers during any remodels or improvements.
- Don’t sacrifice safety for low costs. When repairs are needed for installed firestops, facility management will often take the most affordable approach available for addressing these repairs. Firestop installation is notably undereducated in our building world from all levels. Often the facility will hire a sealant or general contractor to make repairs only to realize later that they did not understand the full scope of work. There are several third-party qualification programs that installers can choose to be a part of – FM 4911 and UL-qualified contractors being the most advanced – that will promote the successful repair and completion of firestop installations and provide management with peace of mind that their money was well spent.
- Try to utilize only one firestop manufacturer for your facility. A common issue in buildings is the use of many different firestop manufacturers and an overlap of materials can lead to noncompliance. We also suggest using the manufacturers technical representatives in your markets to aid on the educations of systems and materials to streamline the installation process. Most of the larger manufacturers have knowledgeable and experienced representatives in all markets who can assist with answering questions about system installations and proper material selection. We suggest using their support as much as needed throughout the course of your barrier management.
Braun Intertec employs the nation’s largest team of qualified firestop inspectors under one roof and our team of Building and Structure Sciences professionals have developed comprehensive training, inspection, and reporting procedures for a wide range of structures including hospitals, schools, high-rise apartments, assisted living facilities, and more.
Want to know more about firestopping? Join our webinar with Eric on November 11th as we discuss what architects, contractors, project managers, and installers should keep in mind as they plan, construct, and maintain installed firestops for their facilities.