Fire Protection Products
Fire protection is the act of preventing and reduction of the hazards that are caused due to fires. In each and every construction the dangers associated with fires is always kept in mind. In order to avoid these fire related hazards fire protection should be the major concern. It involves the complete study of suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies. It also includes various research and development programs by which these hazards can be minimized. Fire protection is important everywhere, being it a land-based construction, offshore or even ships.
Fire protection is basically a three step process or has three major goals:
- Life safety
- Property protection
- Continuity of operations
This fire protection is again further categorized via two different methods and they are Passive fire protection and Active fire protection. Passive fire protection is a kind of method which involves the use of fire resistant materials during construction. This method generally uses materials such as gypsum, cement, ammonium phosphate etc as they can withstand the highest temperatures and are therefore protective in the events of fire. One can also use fire resistant rated wall and floor assemblies that intend to limit the spread of fire. Another method is Active fire protection, that refers to putting a stop to fires rather than protection against them. Active fire protection is best when they are used in conjunction with passive fire protection. This method includes fire alarms, and the most common method is the use of sprinkler system.
It is vital for everyone to realize that fire protection within a structure is a system that relies on all of its components. Fireproofing is one of the very common techniques used in passive fire protection and is therefore reliable for all the components. It generally refers to the act of making the structure more resistant to fire by applying a fireproofing system. It can be done on structural steels, electrical circuits, liquefies petroleum gas containers etc. This method of fire protection has now come up with the latest methods and techniques and that includes gypsum plasters, cementitious plasters, and fibrous plasters.
Similarly the most common methods used in active fire protection involve fire alarm systems and sprinkler systems. As sprinkler system is not a full-proof method and there are no guarantees that the sprinkler system will function when necessary. In order to avoid that, using a fire alarm system that controls all the fire alarm components in a building is a much better idea. Its design is constructed under the guidance of competent engineers having experience in fire protection. These systems also have devices attached to them that can even detect fire/smoke or to alert the occupants of an emergency. Therefore one should have the complete knowledge and expertise of fire protection and should attain the most effective approaches to fireproofing.
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