ELECTRICAL SYSTEM SAFETY
The learning opportunity Those working within healthcare estates are encouraged to be proactive about fire safety, staying on top of changes by taking advantage of the training and education opportunities available. Legrand is supporting the industry by offering several CPDs on fire safety, covering cable pathways, compliance, and containment, that can be completed free of charge via Legrand’s Training Academy. Along with CPDs, there are other resources freely available too, including Legrand’s guide: Creating Cable Pathways – an explainer on ensuring cable management will not contribute to the spread of fire or premature collapse, and the Fire Safety and Cable Management white paper. One of the CPDs covering the latest
Containing factory-fitted intumescent material within a metal container, EZ-Path is said by Legrand to be ‘unique’, in that cables can be added or taken away without the need to remove the factory-fitted material.
into the fire-rated walls or floors, or the removal of fire-stopping materials. While the contractor may repair these breaches when the project is complete, critically, while the work is taking place, the passive fire protection is no longer in place or compliant. In the event of a fire occurring while the work is being undertaken, it will be able to spread quickly along the pathway, with the cables acting as a source of fuel for the fire.
What can you do? So, what action can you take? 1. You can, of course, continue as at present, removing existing fire-stopping to allow new cables to pass through, and then repairing the fire-stopping when the cabling work is completed. However, both the building and its occupants will remain at risk until the seal is repaired, either at the end of the works, or until a breach is discovered during an audit. Every time you penetrate a fire-rated barrier you will encounter a cost for repair and re-certification.
2. Look for an innovative alternative solution which retains compliance both during and post-cable addition, without the need for re-certification. A potential solution is Legrand’s EZ-Path, a factory-manufactured cable penetration pathway which complies to BS 1366-3 and guarantees fire protection during and after the installation of new cables, while eliminating the need for any remedial works. In short, using the system will see an end to the dust, mess, and noise associated with new cabling installations, as well as removing the need to handle fire-stopping materials
or apply for re-certification after each installation.
Containing factory-fitted intumescent material within a metal container, EZ-Path is unique, in that cables can be added or taken away without the need to remove the factory-fitted material. This ensures that fire protection is maintained at all times. Crucially, EZ-Path remains compliant regardless of whether the device is empty, or 100% visibly full. In the event of a fire, the intumescent material reacts to direct contact with a flame or heat (at 177 °C), by expanding by 800%, closing the pathway. Standards and regulations are often
driven by lessons learned, and once we are aware of the changes and the reasons for them, then regardless of whether the site is old or new, we should look to adopt them as quickly as possible. Ensuring there is confidence that cabling is contained on metallic cable management systems, proven by fire testing to have withstood premature collapse for a defined amount of time, offers reassurance that both those escaping a building, and those entering it to extinguish a fire, can do so safely. Additionally, introducing the use of
innovative fire-stopping solutions, which allow future cabling needs to be designed in much earlier, offers a fire-rated cable pathway through the fire-rated barrier for future cabling from day one. Not only does this allow all future cables to be added without compromising the passive fire protection during the installation process, but it also eliminates the need for risk assessment, and the significant costs of repairing and re-certifying the fire-rated barriers.
regulations is the Premature collapse and fire rated containment seminar, recently launched to evaluate the UK standards landscape as it applies to cable management systems. Discussing fire prevention, construction product regulations, and wiring regulations, it can be completed virtually, or at Legrand’s training facilities in London or Birmingham. Regulatory change can occur at a fast pace, so it is vital that all stakeholders in the healthcare estates arena stay abreast of fire safety issues. Time must be taken to get to grips with the standards they need to meet, the products available to them, and the tests those products have to pass.
Paul Martin
Paul Martin has over 30 years’ experience within the cable management industry, having starting his career with MITA in 1990. He has worked for Legrand for nearly 22 years, and in that time has been National Sales manager, as well as covering the UK as both a Key Account manager and Business Development manager. He was recently promoted to head of Specification – Data Centres, Cable Management UK and International and EZ-Path.
April 2024 Health Estate Journal 63
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