What Is a Fire Compartmentation Breach?

Fire compartmentation is essential for containing fire and smoke within specific areas of a building, providing critical time for safe evacuation and firefighting. However, breaches in this system can lead to rapid fire spread, compromised evacuation routes and severe structural damage.

This article outlines the importance of fire compartmentation, the risks of ignoring breaches and the value of a fire compartmentation survey in ensuring building safety and compliance with fire safety standards.

What Is Fire Compartmentation?

A fire compartmentation survey is an inspection of a building’s lines of compartmentation to ensure they meet the fire safety standards. The survey identifies any areas where fire-stopping measures are missing or defective and provides a detailed report of these non-conformances.

The primary goal of fire compartmentation is to contain fire and smoke within designated areas of a building, significantly slowing their spread. This is crucial in high-risk buildings, as it provides occupants with more time to evacuate and allows firefighters to control the fire.

Examples of Fire Compartmentation Breaches:

There are five types of fire compartmentation breaches, including:

• Not having the correct, or any, fire compartmentation.
• Removing or damaging compartment materials.
• Modifying building layouts or compartments without proper assessment or approvals.
• Using inappropriate materials that comprise the compartment’s integrity.
• Subpar workmanship that undermines the compartment’s effectiveness.
  

This could include installing doors that either don’t meet fire-resistance ratings or aren’t properly fitted with clear signage. In addition, failing to seal holes and gaps around pipes, cables and ducts, which undermines the compartmentation.

What Are the Consequences of Ignoring a Fire Compartmentation Breach?

There are many risks of inadequate fire compartmentation that you may have not considered, such as:

Compromised Evacuation Routes: 

Blocked or ineffective fire-rated escape routes due to compromised compartmentation.

Contaminated Air Supply: 

Compromised compartments affecting HVAC systems and leading to spread of smoke and toxins through air ducts.

Delayed Emergency Response: 

Ineffective compartmentation delaying emergency services’ ability to control and extinguish the fire.

Fines or Prosecution: 

Minor penalties can be up to £5,000. However, major penalties have unlimited fines and up to two years in prison.

In February 2021, a fire at Tower Chambers, which led to the rescue of seventeen people, exposed severe safety failings. Asset Property Management was fined £25,000 for failing to ensure proper fire safety. Total Events Safety Teams was fined £10,000 for inadequacies in their fire risk assessment. This was conducted by Justin Morgan, who was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete unpaid work.

Hidden fire spread risks: 

Inadequate compartmentation can allow fires to spread through concealed spaces, such as roof voids and service shafts, making it harder to detect and control the blaze.

Increased heat damage: 

Elevated temperatures leading to potential damage to building materials and structural elements.

Potential for water damage: 

The use of high-pressure water to extinguish a fire can cause significant damage to areas that were not directly affected by the flames. As more compartments are impacted, the extent of water damage and overall destruction to the building and its contents increases.

Rapid fire spread: 

Fires can quickly escalate to other areas of a building, potentially turning into an uncontrollable blaze.

Smoke and toxic fumes: 

Smoke and toxic gases can spread through openings, making escape challenging and increasing the risk of asphyxiation.

Weakened structural integrity: 

Fire can compromise load-bearing walls and floors, making structural collapse more likely and hindering firefighter access inside the building.

How Do You Handle a Breach in Fire Compartmentation?

If you are aware of a breach and unsure how to handle it, you must report it to your manager or a fire safety specialist, like us.

To report a breach, you need to provide the following details:

• Date the breach was first noticed or occurred
• Name of the person who reported the breach
• Cause of the breach
• Exact location of the breach
• Size of the breach
• Compartment wall penetration details
• Affected adjoining compartments
• Potential impact of the breach

Rest assured, we understand you may not have all of the information required. After receiving your report, we can complete a full fire compartmentation survey.

Our survey includes:

• A full review of all compartmentation lines, including penetration seals and fire doors.
• A detailed report highlighting issues, including exact locations, material details, dimensions and relevant legislative breaches.
• Proposed remediation strategies, access requirements and repair cost estimates.

Invest in Effective Fire Compartmentation with Adaston

If you’re unsure whether or not you have the correct compartmentation, we recommend scheduling a fire compartmentation survey with Adaston. After identifying any breaches, we can handle installation, maintenance and remediation as needed.

Protect your property and its occupants with effective fire compartmentation. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or ask any questions.