How Building Works Can Break Fire Compartmentation

A building can be well protected on handover and lose much of that protection within a few years. The most common cause is everyday building work that passes through fire-resisting walls and floors.

New cables and pipes

Data cabling, new heating or cooling pipework and electrical upgrades all need routes through the building. Each new hole through a compartment wall or floor needs to be sealed with a suitable tested system.

Removed ceiling tiles and boards

Access panels, removed boards and damaged ceilings can open routes for fire and smoke into voids. These need reinstating to the original specification once work is finished.

Door changes

Adding access control, changing locks or fitting new hardware can affect a fire door’s performance if the work is not compatible with the doorset’s certification.

How to prevent it

Brief every contractor on where compartment lines are, require them to report any penetrations they create, and arrange an inspection after the works. TECS can survey, seal and record the work in OneTrace so nothing is left unchecked.

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