Fire Compartmentation Survey

Overview

Fire compartmentation is the subdivision of buildings into manageable areas of risk, in order to prevent the spread of fire and smoke, and to provide suitable means of evacuation.

It is a legal requirement of duty holders (persons responsible for buildings) to ensure safe means of evacuation are always available. A typical fire risk assessment does not include an extensive assessment and inspection of fire compartmentation in “out of reach” areas e.g. areas above suspended ceilings etc. Therefore, a fire stopping and compartmentation survey should be undertaken.

Ensuring appropriate fire separation throughout a building is one of the most effective means of protecting premises and its occupants. Our experienced fire stopping and compartmentation assessors conduct non-invasive, and when required invasive, fire stopping and compartmentation surveys for clients throughout the UK.

During a fire stopping and compartmentation survey we will check that fire compartmentation exists and ensure it is suitable for the environment. To meet the legal requirements of The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, building owners and occupiers must ensure that the fire compartmentation in their premises is robust and is adequately managed and maintained.

A Fire Compartmentation and Stopping Survey Includes:

• An inspection of the overall condition of all existing fire compartments
• An assessment of the condition and effectiveness of the sealing of wall / soffit interfaces
• An inspection of existing fire seals applied to service penetrations through fire compartment lines
• An assessment of the materials used to seal existing service penetrations / linear joints and assessing whether appropriate fire rated materials have been used, and whether they have been applied / installed correctly
• Inspection of any damage to existing fire compartment lines which may reduce the effectiveness of the fire compartment
• Inspection of any unprotected structural framework and steelwork which may impact the effectiveness of fire compartments
• An assessment of the materials and methods used to construct any dry lined walls which form part of the fire compartmentation
• An assessment of any specific issues relating to the ability to reinstate fire compartmentation if applicable