What is the Difference Between Active and Passive Fire Protection?
When you think about the fire protection in your commercial building, most people would think of things like fire extinguishers and smoke alarms first. While these are all important, passive fire protection is also crucial and all buildings need to consider how active and passive fire protection work together.
What is active fire protection?
Active Fire Protection, or AFP, is a system that requires some action or motion to work in the event of a fire. These can either be manual or automatic. An example of automatic is a sprinkler, smoke detector or fire alarm being set off – an action automatically triggers this response. A manual model would be a fire protection blanket or a fire extinguisher, which is manually used to respond to the fire. Whether they are manually or automatically operated, they both need an action to cause a reaction.
Examples of active fire protection include:
- Fire Blankets
- Fire/Smoke Alarm Systems
- Sprinkler Systems
- Fire Extinguishers
- Fire Fighters
What is passive fire protection?
Passive Fire Protection, or PFP, comes in the form of objects or items that control the severity of the fire. These are often installed into the framework of a property to compartmentalise a building using fire-resistance walls/floors, doors and gap-filling measures. Doing so separates a building into smaller sections to help control the spread of fire and smoke from room to room. Compartmentalising the potential hazards also helps to limit the amount of damage done to the building itself in the event of a fire.
Examples of passive fire protection include:
- Fire Doors and Fire Door Hardware
- Fire Shutters
- Glazing Seals
- Air Transfer Grilles
- Intumescent Strips
- Compartment Walls and Floors
- Fire-resisting Walls and Partitions
How AFP and PFP work together
Fundamentally, they both carry out different functions but they both work to protect from fire. Active and Passive Fire protection work hand in hand when fireproofing a building to ensure you have complete fire protection for the property. One works as a preventative and the other as a control. They are both critical when it comes to fire safety. If for some reason AFP fails, e.g. the sprinklers don’t work to put out the fire, a control method (PFP) is needed to contain the fire, limit damage and eliminate the danger. They both operate alongside each other to create a safe environment in buildings.
Noberne Seals is a leading supplier of Certifire Approved fire and smoke seals, manufactured and tested to British and EU standards. We are able to advise clients on the most appropriate product depending upon the fixture. If you would like specific advice with regards to your passive protection, get in touch on 0113 271 3266. Alternatively, browse our website for your most appropriate fire and smoke seals.
