Concrete is the obvious material choice in fire safety and is typically used in constructing firewalls. Why? Concrete is made up of a cement (limestone, clay and gypsum) and aggregate materials giving its fire-resistance properties as a non-combustible material. Well known as a strong and durable building material, it also doesn’t emit any toxic fumes, produce smoke, or drip molten particles in the event of a fire. Concrete also has a slow heat transfer rate, enabling it to act as an effective fire shield by minimizing the spread of smoke and fire from one part of a building to another, limiting property damage.

FIREWALLS

Firewalls are primarily to ensure that personnel can be evacuated safely from a building in the event of a fire but are also often required in specific key areas that contain business-critical items such as a data storage equipment. They may be required to prevent fire spread from outside to the inside of a building, or from the inside to the outside ie. to neighbouring properties or to contain fire-spread within buildings for example in plant rooms, waste storage facilities,  warehousing, retail etc. At ACP (Concrete) Ltd we offer precast concrete firewall systems with a fast track construction method as well providing fire protection for up to 4 hours. Usually the level of protection (Fire Rating) required is specified by the planning conditions or by the insurer.

BLAST WALLS

Blast Walls are designed to contain and protect buildings, equipment and people following the effects of a nearby explosion, fire or impact from events such as industrial incident, terrorism etc. Precast Concrete walls make the ideal solution due to the durable properties of prestressed concrete.

WHICH PRODUCT TO USE?

Fire-resistance ratings of the various wall panel products are determined by the section depth and the cover to the reinforcing used in the wall panels.  The selection of the best product for your fire safety requirements depends on several factors:

• Fire rating required?
• Height of the wall?
• Is the fire protection required to one or both sides of the wall?
• Is the wall loadbearing i.e. biomass store
• Is the firewall part of a building?
• What is the purpose of the building i.e. Commercial property or waste transfer station?

APPLICATIONS

• Firewalls in Retail, Commercial and Leisure Buildings
• Firewalls in Steel Framed Storage Buildings and Warehouses
• Blast Walls
• Fire Containment Compartments Within Buildings
• Blast Walls
• Temporary Blast Walls
• Fire Containment Compartments in Existing Storage Buildings
• Fire Separation Walls in Outside Yard Storage Facilities
• Fire Separation Walls in Waste Transfer Facilities