Q. What are the various methods of fire protection?

A. Fire protection can be broadly categorized into three stages:

a) Fire Detection :
The onset of fire is detected with the help of Smoke Detectors, Heat Detectors etc. to trigger alarm for taking remedial measures.

b) Fire Prevention (Passive Fire Protection)
Fire starts normally from the various combustible materials, like wood, plastic, PVC cables, Curtains, Canvas, and Hessian etc. With the help of fire retardant coatings and chemicals, these easily combustible materials are rendered fire retardant and not easily ignitable by increasing their Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI). The fire prevention is further complemented by Compartmentation. With this, large areas are subdivided in to smaller compartments with the help of fire resistant doors, partitions, through penetration and cable fire stops. Fire is contained within a compartment for designed period of time, called as Fire Rating and not allowed to spread to other compartment horizontally or to the floors above & below the particular compartment.

Passive fire protection systems help to localize damage, contain fire and gain that extra vital time to fight fire

c) Fire Suppression (Fire Fighting):
In the event of fire setting of, it is fought by fire fighters or contained with the help of various suppression systems like Fire Extinguishers, Fire Sprinklers, CO2, Flooding System etc.

Navair specializes in fire prevention with the help of Passive Fire Protection Systems.

Q. How does a Fire Retardant Paint function ?

A. Ordinary paints are combustible and add to the fuel of fire. Fire Retardant Paints are like normal decorative paints, do not allow the spread of the fire along the surface of the material. The FR Paints contain ingredients, which increase the Limiting Oxygen Index i.e. LOI. The atmosphere contains approximately 21% Oxygen and any material, which requires less than or equal to 21% Oxygen, is easily ignitable. With FR paints, the Oxygen requirement is increased between 30-40%, which is not available in atmosphere, thus making them very difficult to ignite. In laymen terms, a plywood with FR paint, fixed on the partition acts like a wet cloth. Small fires emanating from electrical short circuit, burning of waste material are not able to ignite the wooden material and extinguished by itself in short term. In case the fire is severe in nature, it provides sufficient lead time to fight and control the fire. Similarly, fire retardant chemicals for fabrics are clear solutions, which make the fabrics, canvas; Hessian etc. flame proof and not easily ignitable.

Q. How often F.R. Paint needs re-application?

A. F.R. Paints are applied in multiple coats @ 3.5 SQM. Per litre, and thus have a very long life. FR paints like Viper Fireretar FR-881, specifically manufactured for application in concealed areas,( like false ceiling, or between the hollow of the partitions), do not require any maintenance coat. However, decorative paints like Viper Fireshield FRS-881 require one or two maintenance coat every 3-5 years to redeem its finish.

Q. Can an ordinary Flush Door be made fire resistant by applying fire retardant paint?

A. No. Fire Retardant Paint only makes the surface of the Door fire retardant, but, does not prevent penetration of horizontal fire i.e. through the Doors. To explain simply, even if a thin steel sheet does not catch fire easily, a fire from say a blow lamp will puncture the sheet in a short time. This time will depend on the nature of material and its thickness.

Fire Resistant Doors contain highly insulating CORE material sandwiched between two non-combustible boards and then faced with ordinary plywood to receive a decorative finish ,which do not allow the fire to penetrate through it for a specified period of time i.e. 30 minutes, 60 minutes or 120 minutes as may be the design requirement.

Q. Fire Retardance and Fire Resistance explained

A. Fire Retardant material like Paint does not allow the fire to spread along the surface of the combustible material. A fire resistant material does not allow the penetration of fire through the thickness of the door or partition.

Surface Spread of Flame is classified as Class I, Class II, Class III & Class IV rating, as per IS:12777: Class I is rated as highly fire retardant like asbestos while class IV is least fire retardant like commercial plywood. Viper FR paints converts Class IV materials to class 1

Fire resistance is achieved by providing a thick insulating layer sandwitched between non-combustible boards covered with a ply wood or steel sheet to provide a decorative surface. It is this sandwitched material, which prevents penetration of fire for long duration. Fire Rating is measured as per IS 3614 Pt 2’BS 476 Pt 20& 22.

Q. How is Fire Resistance measured ?

A. Fire Resistance of say 60 minutes has the following basic requirements:-

i) Stability: The door will It will remain structurally stable and should not collapse under intense heat of fire up to say about 1000 Deg.C.

ii) Integrity: The Door should not allow flames to penetrate through the gaps between the door frame and the shutter or through the meeting edges of double leaf doors. Gap between the door shutters and the frame is essential for opening and closing of the doors. Intumescent fire seals are installed on the edges of fire door shutters and frames, which PUFF UP when heated and closes all the gaps between the shutter and the frame and the gap between the meeting edges.

iii) Insulation: The insulation in a fire door is achieved with the help of the insulated core material sandwiched as per the required specification. If the temperature on the fire side is say, 1000 Deg.C., the temperature on the unexposed side shall not exceed beyond 140 Deg.C. + Room temperature.

Q. What is the required hardware to be installed on the Fire Door?

A. The principle requirement of the fire door is that, in case the fire is initiated, the people trapped inside should be able to easily open the door and escape. The door should close behind automatically to function it as a fire door i.e. it should trap the fire and not allow it to come out from a particular compartment.
Essential hardware in a fire door is a Panic Exit Device, which merely by a mere body touch, opens the door for people to escape ,thereafter the door closer closes the door automatically.
For Escape Doors, it is necessary that no locking system , L-Drops or Tower Bolts are installed on doors , as in panic situations, it is difficult and time consuming to operate these devices.
In areas like AHUs, mortise locks etc. can be provided, but, only with a condition that there should be no human activity in these compartments.

Q. How to calculate the required rating of the Fire Door?

A. Fire Doors are available as Non-metallic Doors and Steel doors with a rating of 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 120 minutes. The rating of the Fire door to be installed depends upon its location, whether the compartment is pressurized or non-pressurized, the total area of the compartment, and various other factors prescribed in the National Building Code Part IV. An Architect/Fire Consultant is a competent authority to specify such rating.
In Industry, at times 4 hours rated doors are required to be installed. As per TAC norms Two number doors of Two hour rating each ,back to back, with 250mm gap have be installed to meet the required rating specification

Q. Steel is non-combustible. Does it also require protection?

A. Although, Steel melts at approximately 1300 Deg.C., it looses its load bearing properties at about 650 Deg.C. Application of intumescent fire resistant paint delays the heating of the load bearing steel member for a specified time and does not allow the temperature of the structure to rise beyond 650 Deg.C. The intumescent paint, when applied to a specified thickness, intumescences or PUFFS UP, upon heating and creates a huge volume of char, trapping large volume of air inside and thus provide insulation to the steel structure. In fire conditions, the temperature of steel is not allowed to increase beyond 650 Deg C.
Since, the intumescent paints do not add any significant weight to the Steel Structure; these are preferred and widely used.

Q. Are the Fire Doors supplied by Navair approved by Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC)?

A. Navair Fire Doors, since its inception in 1982, ware certified approved and by Tariff Advisory Committee for obtaining discounts on fire insurance premium till the year 2001. In 2001, TAC was dissolved and Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has come in to existence. The certification by TAC has been discontinued since 2001.

Q. How does Navair ensure quality of its products ?

A. Navair has a well organized testing laboratory, and ensures extensive in-house testing of its various products. Navair has an in-house furnace wherein the Fire Doors are continually tested batch-wise as per National and International Specifications to ensure consistent quality to its valued customers.

2. FAQ CABLE COATING AND CABLE FIRE STOPS

Q. Function of Cable Coating

A. PVC is highly flammable. Its ignition point is high, but, once a PVC cable catches fire, it is extremely difficult to extinguish. Fire fighting is extremely difficult in view of the highly toxic gases generated. Viper Cablemastic FR-903 raises the ignition temperature of PVC cables and makes ignition of PVC extremely difficult.

Q. Can the coated cables be re-used after the fire ?

A. The function of FR Cable Coating is to localize fire and limit the damage. A fire to an ordinary PVC cable will extensively damage cables on the trays and cause considerable down time and loss to equipment. Therefore , it is particularly important to coat cables under control panels to protect expensive equipment, which may otherwise get damaged due to fire entering from the cables.
Cablemastic FR-903 serves very useful purpose in vertical cable runs and localizes damage.. Replacing short lengths of cables is much cheaper than replacing the entire bunch of cables.,.

Fire in cables is normally caused due to internal short circuiting. High temperatures are generated and fire propagates rapidly thereafter. FR Cable Coating localizes the fire and does not allow it to propagate.

Q. Can the Cables be added or deleted on already coated bunch of Cables?

A. Viper FR Cable Coating is extremely flexible and it is quite simple to add or remove a particular cable.

Q. Is Viper Cable Coating suitable for outdoor application?

A. Yes. Viper Cablemastic FR-903 has excellent weather resistant properties and is quite suitable for outdoor application. It can also withstand mild corrosive gases for long duration of time without impairment to its efficacy.

Q. We are using FRLS cables. Do these Cables still require coating?

A. FRLS cables have very limited fire retardant properties. Cables coated with Cablemastic exhibit far greater fire retardant properties and provide greater safety. Since fire protection to cables is of vital importance, it is always advisable to coat cables to protect them and minimize losses

Q. Can the Cables be added at the manufacturing point or before laying?

A. No. It is advisable to apply FR Cable Coating to already laid cables. Care should be taken to apply the coating all around.

Q. What is the live of Cable Coating?

A. Cablemastic FR-903 is tested to irradiation test to have a minimum life of about 30 years and therefore re-application is not normally necessary.

Q. What are the various types of Cable Fire Stops?

A. The Cable Fire Stops are normally of two types.
i) Conventional Fire Stops with non-combustible boards
ii) Cementitious Fire Stops.

Conventional fire stops are preferred as they do not generate any dust and are sturdy. They are even suitable for outdoor application. On the other hand, cementitious type fire stops, though more economical, generate dust during operation and may not be suitable for clear room applications.

However, both systems have been tested for all the parameters up to 4 hours fire rating.

Q. Can Cable be added and removed from Fire Stops ?

A. Yes. It is quite simple. Holes can be drilled to insert new cables and the gap generated filled with Viper Fire Seal SP-711. Cables can also be removed if required.

Q. Are Fire Stops also useful in water logged areas?

A. Although, Fire Stops are weather resistant and their efficacy is not impaired by infrequent water contact, but, it is not advisable to use these fire stops in areas which are permanently water logged.

Q. What is the maintenance requirement for fire stops ?

A. Fire Stops are quite sturdy and normally do not require any maintenance. However, if any puncture is noticed during its operational live, the same may be filled with Viper Fire Seal SP-711 to regain its specific fire resistance.