Features of choosing fire-resistant structures.
Ensuring fire safety of public buildings and residential properties has always been and remains the most important task for builders, firefighters and, of course, specialists in the fire safety industry. Unfortunately, fires are quite common today. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations for 2009, about 190,000 fires were registered in Russia, taking the lives of thousands of people.
Fires in clubs, theaters, business centers, and stores are not uncommon. The most common causes are careless handling of pyrotechnics, unextinguished cigarettes, and problems with electrical wiring. In addition, many buildings in which such establishments are located are old buildings with wooden floors and unreliable fire protection systems. Modern materials, which only allow you to hide dilapidated building structures from view, often contribute to the rapid spread of fire. An important problem in ensuring the fire resistance of buildings and structures is the protection of engineering systems and networks. In a fire, ventilation shafts, air ducts, and cable networks are ideal places for the rapid spread of fire.
Solving the problem of fire spread in crowded areas
According to SNiP 21-01-97, the building design must provide for the possibility of prompt and safe evacuation of people, unimpeded access of fire departments to the building, as well as the availability of priority fire fighting equipment. One of the main requirements for fire safety of public buildings is the presence of fire barriers. Their task is to prevent the spread of fire, its complete localization and ensure the safe evacuation of people.
Fire barriers are walls, partitions, ceilings, valves, hatches, doors, windows, airlocks and curtains.
Fire partitions are installed in the most vulnerable places for fire and places of rapid fire spread: basements and warehouses, elevator shafts, niches for laying communications.
Application of fire partitions
The main requirement for a fire partition is the maximum time for which it can maintain its integrity and heat-insulating properties — the fire resistance limit. According to SNiP 21-01-97, partitions are divided into 2 types: with a fire resistance limit of at least 15 minutes and 45 minutes. Depending on the value of this indicator, partitions with a lower limit can only be used in combination with sprinkler fire extinguishing systems. To prevent the spread of fire and thermal effects on people, partitions must have a high degree of tightness and thermal insulation.
Manufacturing technologies
Such partitions are made from aluminum or steel profile, the distinctive feature of which is the presence of a special heat-insulating filling, increasing the heating time of the frame and reducing temperature deformations.
The cladding of partitions can be different, but glass partitions are the most widespread, as they fit well into almost any interior. Internal surfaces, seams and joints are treated with compounds and sealants that expand under thermal influence and fill all cavities, creating obstacles to the spread of heat and smoke.
Fire-resistant glass should be divided into two types according to their protective properties: fire-resistant and fire-insulating. Fire-resistant glass only prevents the penetration of flame and smoke. Protective fire-resistant glass prevents the penetration of smoke, fire and, at the same time, prevents a rapid increase in the ambient air temperature.
There are several ways to produce glass for fire partitions. A fairly expensive but reliable technology is the production of special multilayer glass with helium filling. However, the disadvantage of such glass is the weight of the structure: a square meter of such glass weighs about 70 kg. Accordingly, the strength requirements for the frame for such glass increase.
In the second case, polymer fire-resistant films are applied to ordinary sheet glass. This technology is much cheaper, but such a partition has a much lower fire resistance limit.
Choosing fire doors
Partitions must be equipped with fire doors identical in technological properties and appearance. The most important factors in deciding on the use of a particular door are compliance with regulatory requirements and high quality of the product. It should be noted that glass doors are more expensive than their metal counterparts, but they fit better into the design of almost any interior.
The main characteristic of such doors is the fire resistance limit, and this is what you need to focus on first. When choosing a door, you should pay attention to the locking mechanism. According to the standards, all locks must undergo fire tests for proper operation when exposed to high temperatures before use. An undeniable advantage of fire doors is the «anti-panic» function, the use of which makes it possible to quickly leave the premises. This is especially important on evacuation routes, stairwells and corridors.
Features of interior solutions for fire partitions
Despite their basic properties, fire partitions are one of the interior elements, so they must fit into the existing design of the premises. Depending on the characteristics of the premises — in schools, hospitals, department stores, supermarkets, theaters and cinemas, clubs, restaurants, high-rise buildings, workshops of enterprises — fire partitions can be used both in a strict style and with the use of various decorative technologies: stained glass, tinting, sandblasting, application of any logos and drawings.
To summarize, we note that modern technologies allow you to comply with fire safety rules and provide employees and visitors with optimal conditions for work and rest without damaging the interior appearance of the premises. However, when choosing a supplier company, you should put in first place not the aesthetic features of the design, but the quality and reliability of fire structures. The guarantees provided by the company, the presence of its own installation and service departments, the range of certified products are the points that you should definitely pay attention to.