Fire Stopping Installation and Remediation
Checkmate Fire offer a comprehensive range of fire stopping services to ensure building compartments, walls, floors, service risers and roof voids retain their fire protection.
By sealing the penetrations through walls, roofs, floors, service risers and voids, we can ensure that our clients' buildings retain their fire resistance.
Section At-A-Glance
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The Requirement
The essential role of fire-stopping in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and how compartmentation impacts the travel of fire and smoke within a building
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Why is it Needed?
How do I know I need fire-stopping works?
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Fire-Stopping Installation
The wide range of installations we offer you
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Compliance & Certification
How our fire stopping installation services are 3rd party certified through LPS1531 and the importance of choosing the right supplier installer
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Aftercare
Our flexible aftercare packages to ensure you comply with ongoing legal requirements
The Requirement
Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in respect of the requirement for maintenance of fire safety provisions, states that it is advisable to set up a regular planned preventative maintenance programme for completed works.
Checkmate Fire is one of most experienced and respected specialist passive fire protection companies across the United Kingdom. With quality, compliance and value at the core of our offer, we can guarantee a real focus on customer satisfaction.
Working on time and to budget, we utilise cutting edge technology to improve customer service, working with you to ensure:
- Fire stopping is installed to BS 476 Part 24, and compartmentation to BS 9999
- Doors, walls, floors and ceilings protecting escape routes are capable of resisting the passage of smoke and fire for long enough to enable people to escape the building
- Where suspended or false ceilings are provided, the fire resistance must extend up to the floor slab level above
- Appropriate, approved details and manufacturers are used for all firestopping works
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The Critical Role of Compartmentation (Fire Stopping)
Fire stopping delays the spread of fire and, generally, the spread of smoke. A seal closes an imperfection of fit or design tolerance between elements or components, to restrict the spread of fire and smoke also known as penetration and linear joint seals.
Due to the vital role compartmentation should play in your overall fire strategy, it's fundamental the both the fire resisting partitions and fire doors should be properly installed, by competent persons able to fully understand the importance of correct installation of the product in the context of fire safety.
The best way to answer “Why firestopping?’, is by looking at the statistics.
- 75% of all fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation
- Over half of fire-related deaths occurred in rooms where the fire did not originate
- Smoke can fill a 20 by 20 by 20 foot room through a pencil size hole in less than 4 minutes
Firestopping and compartmentation came into its own in the late 1970s to help reduce the catastrophic loss of life and property caused by smoke and other airborne pathogens. It is especially critical in buildings where the mobility of tenants is restricted including hospitals, assisted living and nursing homes, high-rise buildings and prisons.
Ensuring Building Regulations
Checkmate Fire is a fully 3rd party accredited company, LPS 1531 certified - and we expertly install specialist fire-stopping products, ensuring our clients have the best in passive fire protection.
Providing compartmentation to current Building Regulation and British Standards requirements:
- Prevents the spread of fire, smoke and toxic gases
- Subdivides buildings into manageable areas of risk
- Provides adequate means of escape, enabling time for the occupants to safely evacuate the premises
The use of our fire rated board systems within hotels, offices, hospitals and schools saves valuable space, which maximises rentable floor area.
How Do I Know When I Need Fire-stopping Works Completing?
The bottom line: Know what’s going on in your building, and keep your eyes open for any changes in the fire-protection system that could weaken its efficacy.
Here are some additional questions to address when assessing your facilities’ firestopping:
- Where are there fire rated walls and floors in your building?
- Are the penetrations and tops of walls sealed?
- If sealed, what tested system design was used for the repair?
- Does the repair match the tested system design detail?
- Was the work carried out by a 3rd party accredited installer?
- Have the correct products been installed?
Fire-stopping Installation
In line with our 3rd party accreditations through LPS1531, we have a national team of installers ready to remediate any defects within your building.
With exceptional attention to detail, our teams provide “right first time” solutions to passive fire faults. Experienced in delivering both small and large installation projects, over 90% of our works are in occupied buildings.
Acting as principal contractor or sub-contractor we will work with building users, occupiers and residents to ensure our works are programmed to be safe, offer value for money, and be delivered with flexibility to allow for the minimum amount of disruption - especially in and around vulnerable people.
Common installation works include:
- Fire barriers/curtains
- Fire, smoke, air and acoustic sealing
- Riser compartmentation
- Fire boarding
- Intumescent pipe collars and wraps
- Linear gap sealing
- Load bearing compounds
We work in partnership with our clients, architects, contractors and building inspectors to ensure that we provide appropriate, cost-effective, fully designed and engineered fire stopping systems tailored to each building. We install both vertical and horizontal firestops through floors and walls, and these are primarily used to seal penetrations formed for the passage of services such as drainage, pipes and cables.
Our systems range from simple joint and gap sealing to more complex movement or expansion joints. We also provide systems for the protection of mechanical and electrical services penetrating through walls and floors, with structural and loadbearing options available for service risers and shafts.
Quality and Compliance Assured
We actively involve firestopping manufacturers in quality assurance procedures and training, to ensure site-specific systems are designed and installed within the scope of relevant fire tests. All fire stopping systems are fully accredited and comply with the specified fire strategy and Part B building regulations.
As part of our commitment to achieving the highest possible safety standards at all our customers’ sites, we have in-house technical compliance auditors who monitor and report on our installation work. These internal Checkmate audits are over and above those provided by the certification bodies, giving you greater peace of mind about passive fire protection compliance at your properties.
Reports, Compliance and Certification
All our seals are recorded and certified under BRE/LPCB Scheme LPS1531, ensuring all work is covered by a uniquely numbered LPCB Certificate of Conformity.
Every area of firestopping is fully photographed and annotated in an electronic report, which highlights the details, methods and materials used to complete the works, together with the LPCB number, installer details and date.
All reports and corresponding certification will be provided to ensure all works are completed in line with expectations.
Aftercare
Buildings are “live” environments, which means that although they may be compliant today, the constant need for mechanical and electrical works can lead to resolved firestopping details unknowingly being disrupted when new or existing services are upgraded.
As part of the ongoing legal requirement to manage and maintain fire compartmentation, Checkmate are able to provide flexible aftercare packages adapted to your individual needs. These include a range of fire compliance surveys, certification and re-certification.
Let's Make This Simple...
You may have a fire-stopping requirement, discovered in a fire risk assessment, a need for a full survey, an already completed survey, or just simply concerns about your building safety. Whatever your needs are, we can help. With clear, easy to follow steps, our national team of inspectors and installers are ready to get your buildings back on the pathway to compliance.
With over 30 years' experience of fire-stopping, supported by our in house technical compliance auditors, Checkmate is dedicated to giving you greater peace of mind about the compliance and safety of your properties.
Checkmate and the ASFP
Checkmate work closely with the ASFP, and for many years have been a strong supporter and contributor to the ASFP’s primary goals. Promoting excellence in the design and installation of fire protection products through high quality and technical expertise, a large part of this is education, industry collaboration and the need to share technical knowledge.
A good example of fire-stopping is shown in this short video, underlining the importance in restricting fire and smoke spread, and highlighting how all joints, gaps and openings for services must be adequately sealed or fire stopped. This module considers the types of fire stopping methods available.
Do you want to find out more?
Want to protect your fire safety investment?
Our Pre-Planned Maintenance service, Compliance+, removes the impact of unexpected costs and provides with with peace of mind that your fire safety measures will always be compliant.
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Enable Budget Surety
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Mitigate Risk & Liability
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Safety First Compliance
