Fire Stopping Case Study: Health Club Plant Room in Luton

The job at a glance

The problem we found

The main power for the whole club comes up through this room. Cable trays, steel trunking and heavy supply cables pass through the ceiling soffit above the switchgear, and every one of those openings is a hole in a fire-resisting construction. If fire starts in a switchroom, those openings are the easy route for fire and smoke into the floor above.

The openings had been filled with ordinary expanding foam. Foam like this is not a tested fire stopping system for cable penetrations, so there was no evidence it would hold back fire or smoke for any length of time. It also gave the owner nothing to show an inspector: no product record, no photos and no label.

Before and after

The same openings, photographed before we started and after the work was finished. Seal labels are blurred in these photos to keep the client's details private.

Cable trays and trunking at the ceiling

Main supply cables above the switchgear

Tray and cable openings across the room

What we did

• Protected the room. The switchroom was secured, and the floor and live equipment covered before any work started.
• Removed the foam. The old expanding foam was cut out from around the cables, trays and trunking and taken away.
• Fitted the batt. Coated fire batt was cut to fit each opening and bonded in place around the services.
• Sealed every edge. Fire-rated sealants closed the edges of the batt and the small gaps around cables and conduits.
• Labelled and recorded. Each seal got its own numbered label and was photographed before we left.

All of it was done in one visit by our own fire stopping crew, with the club open and members using it as normal.

Products used

The whole room was sealed with one manufacturer's system, so every part of each seal is meant to work together. These are tested, third-party certificated fire stopping products, installed to the manufacturer's details for each type of service.

Using a single system matters. Mixing a batt from one maker with a sealant from another usually means neither maker's test evidence covers the finished seal.

How every seal is recorded

Fire stopping is hidden work, and in a few years nobody remembers who did what. So we record every seal in the same way:

• A numbered label on the seal itself. This job used DC-FS-00001 to DC-FS-00010. Each label shows the location, the opening size, the product system, who installed it and when it should next be inspected.
• Photos of every seal. Taken on site and filed against the seal number, so anyone can match a label on the ceiling to a photo in the report.
• A seal schedule and completion report. A table of all 10 seals with their locations, services and products, plus the before and after photos.
• A completion certificate. A signed certificate for the building's fire safety file, ready for the fire risk assessor, insurer or building manager.

If a contractor later runs a new cable through one of these seals, the label tells them it is fire stopping, and the report shows what it looked like when it was handed over.

What this means for your building

Plant rooms, riser cupboards and ceiling voids are where we most often find foam, open holes or mixed products. If your fire risk assessment mentions fire stopping, or a contractor has run new services through a wall or ceiling, the openings are worth checking. A fire stopping survey finds and photographs them, and our fire stopping service puts them right with tested systems. Where you need to know what is hidden behind linings, see intrusive fire stopping investigations.

Send us the fire risk assessment action or a few photos of the openings using the quote form, or call 01582 227 123. We price fire stopping per job, from photos or a short survey.