Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures UK (CROSS UK) is a national safety reporting mechanism for the built environment including fire safety which has recently reported on the dangers of fire resisting coatings which have reached their end of life.
Their latest safety report highlights how the discovery of a spray-applied fire protection material was found within a healthcare setting and had passed its end of life.
The vermiculite/cement material was applied on the majority of compartment walls and above suspended ceilings, both directly to blockwork and to wire mesh substrates.
This product, understood to have a lifespan of 25 years, and was found to be brittle, cracked and no longer providing effective fire compartmentation.
Key learning outcomes
For building owners and responsible persons:
- Understand the design life and maintenance needs of all fire protection materials and systems, and ensure these are recorded and managed within the fire risk assessment & maintenance plans
- Implement a regime of regular compartmentation surveys, especially in higher-risk premises such as hospitals, to verify continued performance
- Ensure adequate budgeting for inspection, repair, and replacement of life-expired fire safety systems
For designers and fire engineers:
- Avoid specifying fire protection materials and systems with design lives significantly shorter than the expected life of the building unless inspection, maintenance, and replacement can be realistically achieved
- Consider whole-life performance, access, and maintainability of passive fire protection systems as part of duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015)
- Where fire protection products are used with known service lives, ensure that inspection and replacement requirements are clearly communicated in handover information and maintenance documentation