The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has published three new Advisory Notes and updated another. The documents cover a range of topics related to firestopping, penetration seals and smoke seals. Advisory Note (AN) 13 covers the testing of partial penetrations, for example, socket boxes, which are installed into dry
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has expanded its range of guidance with the release of three new and three updated documents. The new Advisory Notes 27, 28 and 29 offer advice on particular issues of concern to the industry. Advisory Note 27 provides advice on the structural fire
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has published three new Advisory Notes and updated another. The documents cover a range of topics related to firestopping, penetration seals and smoke seals. Advisory Note (AN) 13 covers the testing of partial penetrations, for example, socket boxes, which are installed into dry wall systems. Firestopping products are made to help maintain the performance of a wall where such electrical boxes have been added. A CEN standard is currently being drafted to cover the testing of these products. However, in the interim period AN 13 suggests that the firestopping of these products is undertaken using an ad-hoc approach, based on testing to BS EN1364-1: Fire resistance tests for non-loadbearing elements. Walls Advisory Note 30 covers the transition from CE marking to the UKCA mark. It explains how all of the different passive fire protection product families are affected, describing the likely next steps in the process. It aims to help manufacturers and specifiers alike to understand what will be required during the transition period. Advisory Note 31 covers smoke seals used in conjunction with active fire curtains. AN 31 was produced in response to false claims that manufacturers used draught excluders to prevent the passage of cold smoke and that these would be of limited use in a fire resistance test scenario. The document explains that the performance smoke seals used are the same technology as might be used in smoke leakage-rated fire-resisting doors. Where smoke seals are added for a leakage test, they also have to be present for the corresponding fire test. Advisory Note 15 has been updated. This explains the interchange of flexible wall systems for service penetration seal systems. When first published, this note provided pictorial clarification of a long-winded statement in BS EN1366-3: 2009: Fire resistance tests for service installations. Penetration seals. This standard has been amended, and some of the scenarios permitted in the 2009 version are not now reproduced in the 2021 version. The drawings in AN15 have been amended to bring them in line with BS EN 1366-3: 2021. ASFP Advisory Notes are available to download for free from the ASFP Publications library, visit: https://asfp.org.uk/page/Publicationslist Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has expanded its range of guidance with the release of three new and three updated documents. The new Advisory Notes 27, 28 and 29 offer advice on particular issues of concern to the industry. Advisory Note 27 provides advice on the structural fire protection of steel beams with corrugated webs. These fabricated sections, which were recently introduced to the market, offer a thinner steel plate than can be used in traditional webs. While this saves weight and cost, the fire-resisting performance of these sections is not fully understood. The advisory note warns against the use of plain section data in support of a corrugated web section without extra testing. Advisory Note 28 covers the firestopping of metal pipes where flanges are located close to service penetration seals. It encourages earlier involvement of passive fire specialists to prevent the construction of untested service penetration arrangements, particularly in the presence of flanges within the secondary insulation zone (typically within 500mm of the wall). Arrangements of flanges can be covered within the scope of BS EN 1366-3: Fire resistance tests for service installations. Penetration seals, although this is not commonplace. For the avoidance of issues with certification and installation, it is simplest to keep the flanges more than 500mm away from the wall. However, this detail is not always considered during the spatial coordination of services. The final new publication, Advisory Note 29 covers planned maintenance. This draws upon advice from within the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order; BS 9999: Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings; and BS 8524: Active fire curtain barrier assemblies to ensure that a competent person conducts that maintenance.Meanwhile, Advisory Note 21 has been updated. This covers coatback to secondary structural steel. It highlights that this can prevent conduction of heat into a primary structural member and its consequent early failure. As new evidence becomes available, it is likely that this document will be updated again. Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) 15 and 20 have also been revised. TGD 15 provides advice on the installation and inspection of spray-applied passive fire protection. The document has been updated to align the film thickness measurement criteria for these materials to ASTM E805. The document has also been updated to take the implications of Brexit into account and the consequent changes to UK Construction Product regulations.The changes to UK Construction Product regulations and the introduction of the UKCA mark also prompted the revision of TGD 20, which covers the CE marking of fire-resisting and smoke control duct sections. All the documents are available for download from the Publications area of the ASFP website, www.asfp.org.uk Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News
