FIRE SAFETY PAUL BARRETT – HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, ROCKWOOL UK
Stopping fire spreading through voids and joints
Paul Barrett, head of product management at ROCKWOOL UK, examines the key changes in standard BS EN 1366-4 and how they will help ensure firestopping products are thoroughly tested before certification.
Healthcare buildings must be designed to prioritise occupant safety and health. While active fire protection systems such as sprinklers are visible, the building fabric also has a major role to play in protecting people. Compartmentation is a strategy for containing and preventing the spread of fire, providing a safe passage of escape or refuge until firefighters arrive. This passive fire protection approach can buy valuable time in the event of an incident. In the event of a fire, the protection of
lives is the highest priority. Fire stopping products are an important element of the passive fire protection for every building. Their key function is to stop or slow down the progress of fire and smoke in gaps or joints between different construction elements, e.g. at the junction between an external cavity wall and every compartment wall and compartment floor.
The standard British Standard EN 1366-4:2021 (BS EN 1366-4) specifies a method for determining the fire resistance of linear joint seals based on their intended use. Linear joint seals are positioned in joints, voids, gaps, or other discontinuities within one, or between two or more, construction elements. Such openings are denoted as linear because their length is greater than their width defined by a ratio of at least 10:1 in practice. There can be a number of reasons why such joints exist in a building. For example, certain dimensional tolerances between two or more elements can be
acceptable in some circumstances. Alternatively, joints have been designed in to accommodate various movements caused by thermal differentials, seismic activity, or wind loads. Last, but not least, design or assembly mistakes, repairs or damage to the building can also result in joints.
If this is the case, testing to BS EN 1366-4 will assess the integrity and insulation of the linear joint seal and if this affects the integrity and insulation of the overall construction. It will also examine the effect of any movement within the supporting construction on the fire resistance performance of the linear joint seals.
Paul Barrett
As head of product management at ROCKWOOL, Paul is at the forefront of product innovation across the company’s full portfolio. Leading an ongoing programme of independent
testing and certification, Paul is responsible for maintaining the highest quality levels and compliance with the latest standards. An authoritative commentator on insulation related topics, Paul actively participates in industry
discussion and education regarding the importance of non- combustibility in construction.
IFHE DIGEST 2024
The key changes in the new standard The primary change to the way in which linear joint seals are being tested comes from the size of specimen that needs to be tested. Historically under British Standard test regimes, linear gap seals have always been tested on small scale furnace rigs that typically allow seals that are 900mm long. The introduction of EN test standards led to these types of seals being defined as having a typical ratio of at least 10:1 in practice.
Based on this, the EN 1366-4: 2006+A1:2010 test standard required that all joint seals are tested using this ratio as stated in the standard:
A linear joint seal shall be of uniform design cross-sectional area and of the maximum length that can be
accommodated in the separating element selected for test. For non-movement joints a shorter length may be used subject to a minimum of 900 mm. In order to avoid boundary effects, the distance between the long edge of the linear joint seal and the outer perimeter of the heated part of the separating element shall be not less than 200 mm at any point. A typical minimum length to width ratio for a linear joint seal is 10:1. In order to maintain this
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