Firestop

Typical drawing to accompany firestop specification.

Typical drawing to accompany firestop specification.

Penetration Sizing Guideline.

Plan view of Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073

Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration A

listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration B

Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration C

Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration D

Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration E

Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration F

Certification listing seal design UL C-AJ-8073 Configuration G

Positive displacement mixer/feeder firestop mortar pump. The premixed dry powder is dumped into the hopper and fed by a screw towards a rotor/stator assembly. In front of the assembly it is mixed with water, then squeezed through the assembly and into the hose.

Firestop mortar being dumped into trash bin for mixing with water, using drill and mudwhip. Larger installations use mixer/feeder pumps, but small firestop jobs use drill and paddle.

20kg bags of firestop mortar are mixed at once for immediate installation.

Firestop installation at St. Mary's Pulp and Paper, a paper mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.

Fire-retardant, foamed plastic being used as a temporary dam for firestop mortar in a cable penetration in a pulp and paper mill on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Copper piping system in a building with intumescent firestop being installed by an insulator, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

"Canned" Service Penetration about to be firestopped.

"Canned" Penetration receiving "packing", made of fibreglass, to hold up intumescent firestop caulking.

"Canned" Penetration, having been "packed", being sealed off with intumescent firestop caulking.

Firestopped service penetration tagged, identifying the installer, the materials and the certification listing used to bound the opening to facilitate proper maintenance.

"HOW" (Head Of Wall) Building Joint with incomplete firestop, made of rockwool packing, which still requires topcaulking.

Self-levelling Silicone Firestop Installation

Improper breach of fire-resistance rated drywall assembly, August 2000, Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Fireproofing applied at the wrong time, avoiding code compliance with firestops. The steel beam is also a penetrant and its transit through this wall needs to be firestopped properly, as does the HOW joint, none of which happened here, at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College], Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Missing firestops at Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, August 2000.

Bus duct penetration, awaiting firestop.

Improper drywall and absent firestops at Cambrian College, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Unsealed Pipe Penetration in 2 Hour Fire-Resistance Rated Concrete Block Wall In Pulp And Paper Mill In Ontario, Canada.

Unsealed Pipe Penetration In German University.

Concealed and unsealed cable penetration inside a control room cabinet in Pt. Tupper, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Unsealed Cable Penetration Right Next To A Fire Door...

Unsealed Cable Penetration, Concealed Behind T-Bar/Dropped Ceiling - A Very Common Deficiency.

Penetrants have been punched and burned through drywall, compromising its integrity.

Mechanical shaft with compromised fire-resistance rating through pipe installation.

Improper Firestop and Fireproofing interface, August 2000, Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Unsealed cable through-penetration in control room of coal-fired power plant.

Unsealed cable through-penetration in control room of coal-fired power plant.

Unsealed cable through-penetration in control room of coal-fired power plant.

Styrofoam as a building joint firestop?

Polyurethane foam used to fill a cable tray penetration. At Browns Ferry Nuclear power plant, as seal of this nature, covered on both sides with two coats of a flame retardant paint was used instead of a bounded firestop. The foamed plastic caught on fire through exposure to a candle. The ensuing fire caused significant damage to the station. This picture was taken in a power plant in Nova Scotia, where it was subsequently removed and replaced with firestop mortar. The Browns Ferry fire caused significant remedial work to be conducted with all Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensees.

Improper "firestop" being removed. Flammable polyurethane foam was used to seal this cable tray penetration.

Illegal firestop made of common concrete with no testing back-up or certification listing, purely as a cost-cutting measure, revealing major faults - now hard to fix.

Illegal "firestop", made of crud, bits of polyurethane foam and old rubber boots shoved in the hole. A true fire protection classic from the Canadian Maritimes.

Illegal "firestop", made of stuffed fibreglass, which would rapidly melt and fall out in a real fire.

Illegal stuffed rockwool "firestop", not approved for this application as a stand-alone product.

Improper Firestop and Fireproofing interface, August 2000, Cambrian College, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Homemade firestop, made in Nova Scotia, Canada, in a coal fired power plant, in the 1980s. Not exactly up to code.

The "I-was-there-first-scenario", resulting in improper drywall firestops with plastic piping. The floor penetrations are proper. The drywall penetrations are being set up to be done by only drywall mud. That is not proper because drywall mud will not choke off the plastic pipes when they melt in a fire.

This firestop is missing the proprietary coating that is intended to be applied on both sides. That step was omitted as a cost-cutting measure. The seal is only listed for maximum 1.1ft² openings, a point of interest during the Select Committee on Ontario Hydro Nuclear Affairs.

Inoperable firestop made of self-leveling intumescent caulking applied in a wall at Grand Coulee Dam.

Intumescent collar is applied at the bottom of the plastic pipe penetration. The problem is that the slab is not smooth and the fire can go straight through to the pipe above the collar. This firestop is inoperable.

Self-leveling silicone caulking that should be 13mm thick - this thickness varies from 1mm to 30mm because the packing below is uneven. The City of Mississauga building inspector ordered this replaced.

HOW Joint with uneven silicone caulking thickness, smeared into place by untrained staff. Status: inoperable.

Faulty Sakno Silicone Foam Installation in a Calgary sewage treatment plant in the 1980s.

Faulty Sakno Silicone Foam Installation, Image 2 of 2

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper fire damper penetration.

AD Firebarrier Mortar shrinkage at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcast centre building.

Re-entered Firestop Mortar

Re-entered, Dislodged Firestop

Re-entered Cable tray Penetration With Tagged Firestop Mortar Seal.

Re-entered opening that was created for future use in an electrical service room.

Re-entered Cable tray Firestop In A Wall With Firestop Mortar, In A Pulp And Paper Mill In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. This Side Of the Pic Was Shot From The Operating Floor. The Other Side Had A Transformer And Was Open To The Outside.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper firestop re-entries + mortar was installed at insufficient depth.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, improper fire damper penetration.

AD Firebarrier Mortar shrinkage at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcast centre building.

Too many trades doing the work:The plumber hangs a pointless sleeve, which is an unnecessary heatsink. The insulator caulks the hole for the plumber. Then there's a mess AROUND the sleeve, which is yet another penetrant reequiring firestopping. Each trade absolves itself of responsibility for the mess by having followed instructions, instead of having one firestop speciality subcontractor so the result meets the code.

Another example: Same scenario as the foregoing example, in the making. A code infraction pre-determined to happen by breaking up the firestop workscope among many trades.

Combination Mechanical and Electrical Through Penetration highlighting the fact that openings are often shared, meaning one firestop should be applied by one party that bounds the entire installed configuration.

Improper Firestop and Fireproofing interface, August 2000, Cambrian College], Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Fancoil unit firestop in a highrise building in Mississauga, ON, Canada.

Firestops below electrical panels in an electrical service room at St. Mary's Pulp and Paper, a paper mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.

Steel Gas Pipe and Copper Water Pipe Firestops.

Fibreglass pipe covering with interrupted vapour barrier at the firestop.

Rockwool stud cavity insulation inside of drywall assembly under construction, showing completed firestop made of stuffed rockwool packing topsealed with self-leveling silicone firestop caulking with teck cable penetrants leading to electrical outlet box.

Bus Duct Penetration in 2 hour fire-resistance rated concrete floor in a Canadian highrise building. Firestop is made of stuffed rockwool with topcoat of self-leveling silicone caulking.

Firestopped Cable Tray Penetration.

[Bathtub] Drain Firestop, as shown, top and bottom. This firestop consists of a firestop mortar on top and rockwool packing on the bottom. The drain pipe is made of copper.

Topside of firestop with penetrants consisting of electrical conduit on the left and a bus duct on the right. The firestop consists of firestop mortar on top and rockwool on the bottom, for a 2 hour fire-resistance rating

Electrical Conduit risers, seen inside fire-resistance rated shaft, as seen entering bottom of a firestop. The firestop is made of firestop mortar on top, rockwool on the bottom. Conduit are pipes used to protect cables from damage.

Firestopping the toilet flange.

White Pipe Through-Penetration Firestop

Metal and plastic pipe penetration firestops.

Mechanical pipe through-penetrations in 2 hour fire-resistance rated concrete floor slab with metallic piping, covered through the thickness of the firestops with 25mm thick rockwool pipe covering with foil scrim kraft facing. Running the pipe covering through the firestop maintains the vapour barrier. A weak link in the vapour barrier is the cutting and fitting required around riser clamps. Rockwool, foam glass, calcium silicate, perlite and vermiculite pipe covering can survive a fire test with a hose-stream. Foamed plastic, rubber and fibreglass require either removal or wrapping with an intumescent layer to be sure that as the pipe covering disappears during a fire, the vacated space is occupied by solid matter that can withstand the fire test and hose stream test, all subject to bounding.

Underside of firestop with plumbing trap.

Firestops being installed at Nortown Casitas, North York (Now Toronto), Ontario, Canada

Riser Clamp Holding Plastic Pipe, Penetrating Through 2 Hour Fire Resistance Rated Concrete Floor Slab. The Copper Pipe Penetration Penetration Is Firestopped With Firestop Mortar.

The "I-was-there-first-scenario", resulting in improper drywall firestops with plastic piping.The floor penetrations are proper. The drywall penetrations are being set up to be done by only drywall mud. That is not proper because drywall mud will not choke off the plastic pipes when they melt in a fire.

Standpipe through-penetration firestop inside a fire hose cabinet that is under construction.

Plastic pipe penetration with a 3M FS195 intumescent collar.

German "Kaltvergussmasse" (Cold Casting Compound) dammed with putty inside cable penetration transit in steel bulkhead.

German "Kaltvergussmasse" (Cold Casting Compound) dammed with putty inside pipe penetration transit in steel bulkhead.

Kaltvergussmasse firestop after successful fire test in Hamburg, Germany

Fire-resistance rated mechanical shaft with HVAC sheet metal ducting and copper piping, as well as "HOW" (Head-Of-Wall) joint between top of concrete block wall and underside of concrete slab, firestopped with ceramic fibre-based firestop caulking on top of rockwool. The picture illustrates that building joints are routinely penetrated by mechanical and electrical penetrants or services, requiring joint firestops to be compatible with mechanical, electrical and structural penetrants, both in fire testing and under common operational conditions, such as expansion and contraction of mechanical systems due to temperature changes.

"HOW" (Head Of Wall) Building Joint: Concrete Masonry Unit Wall stopping short of the underside of a concrete slab above. The joint is penetrated both by electrical conduit (EMT = Electrical Metallic Tubing) and a steel pipe. Building joints are routinely penetrated by mechanical and electrical penetrants. For that reason, joint firestops that are also qualified to be used in mechanical, electrical and structural through-penetration firestop systems provide the best evidence of building code compliance because they have demonstrated the ability to cope with the heat that travels through to the unexposed side during an accidental or test fire exposure - without spontaneous ignition or degradation that would fail the hose-stream test or permit smoke migration.

"HOW" (Head Of Wall) Building Joint with incomplete firestop (topcaulking is not yet installed).

Suspended Precast Concrete Facade with Perimeter Slab Edge Firestop

Firestop tag front. This identifies information necessary for proper maintanance.

Firestop tag back. This side of the tag permits keeping track of maintenance.

Inorganic firestop used in marine and offshore applications after passing fire test in Germany

Cable tray Cross Barrier Fire test Per DIN4102

Fire test of firestop in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Private fire test furnace in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. This furnace is used primarily for internal Research and Development but may also be used for third party testing, if the test is witnessed by Underwriters Laboratories. There is an adjustable opening on this furnace that can be used for 4' x 4' as well as 6' x 6' slabs. The furnace can also be tilted 90° to be able to test either wall assemblies or floor assemblies. The laboratory is also equipped with a full 30PSI hose stream capability.

Fire test preparation for proven re-entry procedure with firestop mortar.

Fire test preperation with re-entry of firestop mortar, re-sealing using intumescent firestop caulking for fire-test-proven compatibility between mortar and caulking in the same certification listing.

Fire test preparation: reentry of firestop mortar with cable and re-sealing with intumescent firestop putty for fire-test-proven compatibility between mortar and putty.

Fire test assembly leading to UL certification listing C-AJ-8073.

Fire test assembly leading to UL certification listing C-AJ-8073.

Fire test assembly leading to UL certification listing C-AJ-8073.

Fire test penetrant preparation including foamed glass pipe covering for UL certification listing C-AJ-8073.

Fire test preparation, leading to UL certification listing C-AJ-8073.

Fire test preparation leading to UL firestop listing C-AJ-8073. Firestop mortar is first applied in the hardest to reach area: between the cables inside the cable tray.

Fire test preparation leading to UL certification listing C-AJ-8073

Fire test preparation leading to UL Firestop Certification listing C-AJ-8073. Piping penetrations, top and bottom.

Post fire test pictures showing how 3/4 in. thick acrylonitrile butadiene/polyvinyl chloride (AB/PVC) flexible foam pipe covering can go through the seal unhindered. It was wrapped inside the mortar with an intumescent wrap strip, which stopped the fire. There was no autoignition of the insulation due to flame retardants inherent in its organic composition.

Intumescent repair: Cable was pulled from the fire test assembly after it has passed the fire and hose stream tests. This is proven compatibility between the original seal and the repair method. This formed part of [UL Firestop Certification Listing C-AJ-8073 Configuration E.

Firestop mortar re-entries, underside, after 2 hour fire test with 30PSI hose-stream, leading to UL Firestop Certification Listing C-AJ-8073.

Underside of Assembly for UL certification listing C-AJ-8073 Configuration D, the mortar is intact, the fibreglass has disappeared and the intumescent wrap strip has occupied the space formerly held by the insulation.

Underside of cable tray penetration after fire and hose stream testing leading to UL Firestop Certification Listing C-AJ-8073.

Fire test assembly after having passed fire and hose stream testing to achieve listing status under UL Certification Listing C-AJ-8073.

Coreslab frame being readied.

Penetrants being hung.

Penetrants have been hung.

Firestop mortar being pumped into place.

Material test on firestop mortar.