An exhaustive four-month project to replace existing fire compartmentation walls within the labyrinthine roof-spaces to a Nottinghamshire community hospital has been successfully carried out by a Midlands based contractor, highly experienced in the installation of the FIREFLY® systems used.
The Lings Bar Hospital in the Beckside area of Nottingham is a 72-bed in-patient unit specialising in rehabilitation, as well as memory and mental health services.The building is split into multiple wards and consulting rooms as well as offices, while interconnecting tiled roofs of differing heights cover the single-storey, brick-built wings. Unfortunately, years of accidental damage and changes to the fire regulations meant that the walls and fire-stopping within different roof areas no longer offered compliance.
KRASI Fire Protection Limited covers the entire country from its Coventry premises and was awarded its contract based on its past relationship with the main contractor and the comprehensive nature of the interventions it proposed for replacing the ageing stone wool barriers.In total, the work carried out in the third quarter of last year saw its six-man team install some 650 m2 of vertical barrier and a further 490m2 of horizontal protection atop these new walls. The carefully designed installations, including a variety of project specific details, made use of Zeus Lite 90:30 and Zeus Horizontal 60:30 FIREFLY® barriers, together with FB180 batts mechanically fixed to the soffit: forming a ‘protected zone’ extending to 1500mm either side of the wall.
The Contracts Manager for Krasi Fire Protection, Daniel Oldacre, commented: “Shortcomings with the original installations and repeated damage meant the compartmentation required completely redoing, and we made use of the FB180 Batt system to ensure that any fire cannot break through and cause “burn-over”.
The batts are mechanically fixed in placed, sealed with the intumescent mastic and the ablative coating which is brush applied. It was really quite a complex job with different roof areas branching off like a maze and we completed 16 different zones, as well as installing 10 of the FIREFLY® access hatches.The work actually went quite smoothly and the whole job is certified under our FIRAS scheme accreditation.”
The FIREFLY® Access Panels FR120 used measure 900 x 600mm and are tested in accordance with EN 1363-1 to offer 120 minutes fire resistance.Their heavy-duty steel construction facilitates straightforward installation and repeated access while preserving the performance integrity across the overall fire system. Also employed on the contract were fire dampers supplied by FIREFLY®, which were installed in compliance with the company’s fully tested details.
FIREFLY’s Product Manager, Chris Boam, stated, “As a FIREFLY® Preferred Installer, KRASI continues to strengthen our partnership by collaborating on compliant fire protection solutions. Their expertise and commitment to best practices ensure our systems are installed to the highest standards, delivering reliable compartmentation in critical environments.”
Underlining the versatility of its recently launched ablative batt, FIREFLY® has added a new Floor System to its range with the potential to be installed between existing joists without disturbing the ceiling below, while also suiting a number of other compartmentation applications and even offering sound reduction benefits.The FIREFLY® FB180 Ablative Batt 60mm and 50mm (?) Floor System has been developed for friction fitting between adjacent timber joists, but has also been fully tested when laid horizontally across a larger area where a protected zone is required.This being one of the situations where the product can be used in conjunction with FIREFLY’s Apollo Lite™ flexible fire barrier and the manufacturer’s ancillary products, such as its Acrylic Sealant and FIREFLY® Fixings or Penowrap to create an integrated system.Furthermore, like many of FIREFLY’s other barrier systems, the new fireproof floor insulation’s integrity can extend to protecting service penetrations, such as soil pipes, when fitted in compliance with the manufacturer’s directions.
Produced from mineral wool with an ablative coating on both sides to offer 90 minutes integrity as well as a full one hour’s insulation, the FB180 Ablative Batt has been tested in accordance with BS EN 1363-1 2022 and BS EN 1364-2: the latter confirming its ability to upgrade the compartmentation of floor constructions without affecting loadbearing capacity.
Impressively, the 60mm thick Ablative Batt will also provide 27 dB sound reduction and is straightforward to install, either in isolation or combined with other FIREFLY® barriers.As well as detailed drawings and installation guidance, FIREFLY’s technical advisory service can supply project specific details and other advice as necessary.
Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY® range of flexible barriers is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke, as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios.The barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY® ancillary products in order to create a fully tested and certified system.
