Blame game - Part 6

Sub-contractors doing installation of passive fire protection SYSTEMS

OK Google…..

Sub-contractor is defined as a firm or person that carries out work for a (building) company as part of a larger project.

I will go a little deeper with my definition of a sub-contractor in terms of passive fire protection; and in keeping with previous discussion, that the sub-contractors are told to co-ordinate the installation of various building elements and services which encompass providing compliant passive fire protection measures. The responsibility for certification of these passive measures is typically delegated to the sub-contractor by the builder.

Let’s take a look at some of the building elements and services involved here.

“Fire barriers” (walls, floors, shafts, ceilings and the like)

I am using the term “fire barriers” to describe walls, floors, ceilings and so called “riser” shafts; all of which are required to have fire ratings (FRL’s).

There is a myriad of different sub-contractors who get involved here; from form workers, concrete companies, block workers, plasterboard contactors and specialist installers of proprietary fire barrier types.

I just want to touch on so called “fire rated riser shafts” quickly here. They make sense from a first principles point of views, but in practice I don’t think I have ever seen one that complies as each and every service that enters or exits the “riser’ requires effective fire stopping. I think it is more reliable to do floor-to-floor opening fire stopping and not to utilize fire rated riser shafts. Food for thought????

Historically and sadly, the wall, floor and shaft are often built with little regard to the requisite openings for reticulation of services and the fire stopping systems to be included.

It’s only when an obvious cost saving is passed onto the builder does things change in this regard.

I think back to my early days in passive fire protection and the introduction of PVC pipes for plumbing replacing cast iron and copper (don’t laugh at my age). Initially we would see core holes being cut into slabs everywhere and a retrofit (intumescent) fire collar was fixed to the underside of the slab to protect the opening. In the advent of fire, the intumescent would help close off the opening as the PVC pipe softened from the heat of the fire; thus resulting in a closed opening full of intumescent char.

What happened, was the advent of a cast-in fire collar and who would have thought, the plumber and form workers started talking together and coordinating for cast-in fire collars to be put onto the formwork prior to concrete being poured; thus avoiding costly and timely core holes!

In recent years, I invented and patented some new Trafalgar Firebox ™ products which I have called the Trafalgar slab-mount Fyrebox™, and Trafalgar cast-in Fyrebox™ respectively.

Trafalgar Cast-In Fyreboxes

Used by electrical contractor

These products help speed up construction and try to invoke more co-ordination of trades. Their acceptance is somewhat stifled by the fact that they allow multiple and different service types to pass through what I term loosely as a “fire rated hole”.

It is early days for these innovative products; everyone says they are fantastic and a MUST use; but sadly they often don’t get used as contractually the sub-contractors are typically asked to makes their own holes and do their own subsequent fire stopping.

So who pays and puts in the Firebox ™ systems?

The builder likes them for improved compliance and simplification of trade co-ordination, but does not want to purchase or certify them; so what happens? We do it poorly the way we have been for years.

Building Services Engineers if hired would love these and have a meaningful and modest role

If the Builder asks the electrician, refrigeration and plumbing sub-contractors to quote without fire stopping; that is only to run the services through Fireboxes™ provided by the Builder (wall contractor or concreter; they might get a nice surprise about the overall costs savings and of course some comfort in less holes and improved compliance if it is all conducted as it can and should be?

My point is we need a captain; the builder I think should captain the TEAM not just “bark orders”; the captain (builder) is also a player of the field.  

I feel myself getting a little carried away as I do this brain dump and I apologise if I offend anyone, but remember I believe we are all to blame in some way. Don’t take it personally or shoot the messenger when you read this

Steel fireproofing

This is where structural steel is used and is required to have an FRL (fire rating).

Here there is a requirement for structural engineer and fire proofing company to be on the same page in terms of compliance with AS4100.

I am not going to ramble on here except to say if people start looking at compliance here so rude awakening might result. AS4100 has strict requirements for minimum fire testing and requires a laboratory to do a detailed mathematical regression analyses for determination of thickness of fire proofing materials and requisite FRL. This requires fire testing of loadbearing steel with the applied fire proofing. Just because it’s pink; it does not mean it complies! It might have an AS1530 Part 4 reference but does it comply with the requirements of AS4100

Plumbing contractors

We forget that things change quickly in terms of service used in construction.

The advent of thermal insulation requirements / energy savings; developments in plastic technology, increased cost of copper and the like see changes.

The biggest change I have observed here is the use of so called “PEX” pipes for hot and cold water reticulation; and even for gas.

Google…………..

PEX stands for cross-linked polyethylene. It is a type of plastic tubing made from high-density polyethylene. It is used for radiant floor heat tubing and for water supply.

So called “PEX” pipes have much thicker walls than conventional PVC and some have aluminium foil reinforcing. This makes them a more difficult fire stopping prospect and this has seen many new passive fire protection SYSTEMS have to be fire tested and launched onto the market.

These “PEX” pipes are typically yellow.

I feel myself getting a little carried away as I do this brain dump and I apologise if I offend anyone, but remember I believe we are all to blame in some way. Don’t take it personally or shoot the messenger when you read this

Do plumber understand passive fire protection?

What training do they do?

What accreditation do they need to do the fire stopping of their services?

It’s not just “banging” on a fire collar sadly!

The Builder just sadly dumps the responsibility on the plumbers as a rule.

Electrical contractors

I feel myself getting a little carried away as I do this brain dump and I apologise if I offend anyone, but remember I believe we are all to blame in some way. Don’t take it personally or shoot the messenger when you read this

Do electrical contractors understand passive fire protection?

What training do they do?

What accreditation do they need to do the fire stopping of their services?

The Builder just sadly dumps the responsibility on the electrical contractor as a rule.

What an electrical contractors does understand is the different types of cables; from small diameter 240V cables; right through to larger high voltage cables.

Cable installations through openings perform differently in fire conditions and apart from the fire stopping system employed; the number of cables, the type of cables, their proximity to each other, whether they are on a cable tray or ladder which passes through the opening all effect the fire test requirements and whether there is fire test data to allow certification.   

It’s not just “plugging up holes” around cables with fire pillows and a dab of fire sealant anymore.

What has changes and why?

In my opinion, the biggest change comes from enforcement of the insulation or temperature criteria of the FRL or fire rating.

Larger cable with decent diameter copper cores, just like PEX pipes, copper pipes, sprinkler pipes and of course cable trays and cable ladders are ductile. This means that when one side of the opening is exposed to fire; the ductile materials conduct thermal heat from the fire side to the non-fire side; this can lead to fire spread. This is why additional thermal wrap materials such as Trafalgar Fyrewrap are required.

Refrigeration / air conditioning (HVAC&R) contractors

I feel myself getting a little carried away as I do this brain dump and I apologise if I offend anyone, but remember I believe we are all to blame in some way. Don’t take it personally or shoot the messenger when you read this

Again, do HVAC&R contractors understand passive fire protection?

What training do they do?

What accreditation do they need to do the fire stopping of their services?

The Builder just sadly dumps the responsibility on the electrical contractor as a rule.

Insulated copper

Insulated copper is used to limit thermal losses by reticulation of refrigerant used in air conditioning systems.

The proximity of insulated copper pipes and the fire stopping SYSTEM requirements are poorly understood and most certification in my opinion is questionable.

Fire rating ducting and fire dampers

I am not sure why I put these together here as a sub-heading.

Typically where fire rated ducting is required, we don’t use fire dampers.

Fire rated ducting usually is ducting that plays a role when a building is in fire (alarm) or fire safety mode; some examples are kitchen exhaust or so called “GREASE” duct, smoke exhaust ducting, and ducting for supply air required in zone or sandwich pressurization smoke control systems

Fire rated of ducting can be achieved by running it in fire rated shafts, or by applied fire proofing materials such as vermiculite based fire spray systems, cladding in fire rated board systems; and most recently the last 5 years has seen a big uptake of Fyrewrap which many say is FAST; CLEAN & EASY and helps facilitate off-site pre-fabrication efforts.

Where normal ducting used for air conditioning or heating passes through a fire barrier (this is non fire rated ducting); a fire damper is required. These fire dampers can be mechanically operated fusible link type, intumescent type or motorisized dampers (typically used in smoke control systems).  

Fire dampers are a big issue for owner of existing building as compliance is problematic due to poor training / working knowledge of installers of fire dampers historically.

Fire Door contractors

A fire doorset is a defined term in AS1905 Part 1 and encompasses the wall, door frame, door leaves and all hardware.

I used to love fire doors but the requirement for speed of construction has increased to a point where I think it is hardly sustainable; and as price pressures have increased the traditional fire door industry in my opinion has suffered.

I feel myself getting a little carried away as I do this brain dump and I apologise if I offend anyone, but remember I believe we are all to blame in some way. Don’t take it personally or shoot the messenger when you read this

The fire door industry is a little broken in my humble opinion.  

The inflexibility of AS1905 Part 1, particularly in terms of approved hardware stinks of an ACCC debacle waiting to happen.

Recent acquisitions of most of the larger and somewhat independent fire door manufacturers and especially the fire door core suppliers (who typically own the fire door fire testing intellectual property) will lead to interesting times I think for the fire door industry.

Where fire doorsets suffer are that the frames are installed typically by the fire wall contractor (and there are special requirements for back filling of the fire door frames; again to avoid ductility and temperature rise via conduction through the steel door frame) whilst the fire door leaves are installed by other but usually includes fitting of door hardware.

Specialist Passive Fire Protection contractors

I thought when I set out to write this Blame Game article that it was a good idea?

I am not so sure now?

Are we just airing dirty laundry?

I have had to second guess myself a little; but………we do need to own up to our sins and come together to fix things.

I am growing a little bored of spending $250k per annum on fire testing; only to see the system cause short cuts and poor installation results; it surely isn’t too hard to change the status quo somewhat????

So what is a “Specialist Passive Fire Protection” contractor?

I am sorry but I cannot use Google here.

This is a term that industry uses and that I also tend to use.

My definition unfortunately needs to be a little convoluted; it’s Regional

Historical and ongoing inspection and testing) of passive fire protection measures. They have typically been in business for a long time and have had training from the manufacturers and suppliers of passive fire protection materials (SYSTEMS). Some sub-contractors will use a specialist passive fire protection contractor to do all or some of their passive installations and to provide SYSTEM certification of the as installed outcomes.

A GOOGLE search will unearth some of those who are well known or know how to use SEO to get a good ranking on GOOGLE!

Queensland’s occupational licensing backed by Legislative change makes the definition a little easier in QLD!

Anyone doing passive fire installation in QLD needs to licensed; one license class is as follows:

Passive Fire Protection – Fire Collars, Penetrations and Joint Sealing – Occupational

Scope of work

• Certify, install and maintain, inspect and test, fire collars, fire-rated penetrations and fire rated joint sealing

I will say that just because you’re a licensed doesn’t mean you are competent or will always act competently. Business pressures, too much work, poor supervision, time and cost constraints and lack of ongoing training can all lead to problems even for the best companies if not managed properly.

For large and complicated openings; often a so called Specialist Passive Fire Contractor is often used; they might use something like a Trafalgar Maxilite™ calcium silicate board material for example to fill a large opening and then integrate other fire stopping systems that are compatible to complete the installation in a compliant and certifiable manner.

Quite often sadly they are used for rectification works and stuff ups.