Ceiling –A Crucial Element Of Passive Fire Protection In A Building

In case of fire protection passive, a basic fire rated ceiling gets defined as the board lining plus any supporting framework, including fixings, hangers, and if insulation is required any non-combustible insulation material.

Usually, ceilings aren’t considered as structural elements, but a finished non-load bearing surface that conceals the underside of the roof structure or the floor of the storey above.

Now, the scope of a ceiling in passive fire protection is actually contributing to the horizontal compartmentation of the building or to a specific compartment.

The horizontal compartmentation is extremely essential since it avoids the spread of fire and smoke from one floor to another. This gives time to the people present in the upper part of the building to escape in a really safe way.

How To Pick The Best Passive Fire Protection Ceiling For The Building?

There are various kinds of ceiling, with different scope and intended use, which can increase the safety of the building. The correct choice is based, first, on the fire rating of the compartment and on the scope of the ceiling. That’s not all, it is also based on the aesthetic and acoustic aspects.

As a rule, the first rated ceiling should get installed as described in the assessment documents, first test report or third party approval.

It includes hanging and fixing systems that if needed non-combustible insulation. In fact, the total area occupied by fittings and fixtures to the area of the ceiling line can’t get increased. Also, the maximum tested opening in the lining cant get exceeded. 

In simple words, if you are considering installation passive fire protection, ceiling needs to be an essential element.

Types Of Passive Fire Protection Ceilings

Ceilings can be continuous lining or can be in the form of grid and tile systems. Also, it can be a combination of different products or just a simple board.  Essentially, there are four main types of ceilings that you can use as part of your building’s fire protection strategy:

Low Combustible Or Incombustible Ceilings

The main purpose of the ceilings is to avoid flame spreading from the ceiling and to limit the contribution to the fire load in the compartment.

These are classified as per the local fire reaction standards or reaction to fire. Now, reaction to fire is related to the ignitability and combustibility of the material i.e; its contribution to growth of fire.

There are products that give no contribution to resistance to fire, however can be used as part of the fire prevention strategy. 

Now, ceilings classified as per their fire reaction cannot get used for increasing the fire resistance of compartment elements.  Also, the ceilings used for passive fire protection can be incombustible for combining fire protection and fire prevention.

Benefits Of Passive Fire Protection

The benefits are vast and make it an essential part of structural protection in every building.

By limiting the fire and smoke spread, passive fire measures provide more time for building occupants and emergency services to respond and act in wake of fire breakouts.

Occupants get additional time to evacuate the building and can mean the difference between life and death. Also, limiting toxic smoke spread can prevent thermal damage in close vicinity.