A leading passive fire protection contractor is employing fully tested and trusted products from the range of TBA’s FIREFLYTM for the creation of half hour fire barriers within roofspaces of low rise sheltered housing in the St. Albans district of Hertfordshire: with the manufacturer providing on-site assistance in respect of regular inspections and the provision of recommended fixing details to ensure the work is fully compliant with current regulations.
TBA Firefly
Manchester based JPS Projects Ltd. is a fully accredited, FIRAS approved family run company working across the country in a number of sectors, including care homes and hospitals, as well as housing and commercial buildings.
In the case of its current contract in Harpenden on behalf of main contractor Morgan Sindall, JPS Projects is installing fire curtains within the roofs to a series of two-storey maisonettes which were built in the nineties, but are now undergoing a number of improvements to address more recent changes to building practice.
The Contracts Manager for JPS Projects, Matt Tucker, commented: “Across this estate we are tasked with carrying out fire surveys – covering areas such as electrical cupboards and fitting fire-stopping as required, as well as installing the FIREFLYTM fire curtains in all of the communal loft spaces.
Although we have been employing FIREFLYTM systems for some eight years and I had a lot of experience of the range from working with other specialists in the past, the APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 was specified here by the client’s own fire consultant. However, we did bring in the manufacturer’s technical specialistto meet with Morgan Sindall and the landlord prior to commencing work, to ensure everyone was happy with the solution being used and with FIREFLYTM providing a recommended detail for wrapping the timber beams, which run the full length of the wall at low level, using the APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 – turning it back on itself and mechanically fixing it over a metal angle.
“The APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 is very easy to manage – being lightweight and flexible – while FIREFLYTM has visited twice so far to carry out inspections, making sure we are complying with the instructions, and have given us very good feedback. We are also using the ‘Bolster’ software to record all of the works which assists our own QA procedures to complete the FIRAS certification. This is an eight week programme overall, which we are on course to complete on time, before moving on to a similar contract for Morgan Sindall.”
APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 has been developed for use in vertical separation or compartmentation situations, offering 30 minutes integrity and insulation and is able to be sealed around penetrations. It is widely specified to form fire barriers within roof voids and floor voids in many different property types, including tower blocks and other HMOs.
The flexible woven material is easy to cut and fix and is treated with a proprietary coating to improve its cooling properties and therefore prevent temperatures rising in adjoining areas. The system has been fully tested to BS 476 Parts 20 & 22 and is third party certified by IFC. The six metre long rolls of APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 have a minimum thickness of 6mm and are installed using stainless steel staples as well as high temperature adhesive.
Employed as part of the FIREFLYTM System and also to wrap the services which penetrate barriers such as PHOENIX Lite™, ZEUS Lite™ 90:30 and TITAN Lite™120:60, Collaroll comes in a roll 10m long x 300mm wide with a sewn-in concertinaed skirt. The skirt can be moulded to shape to seal it neatly to the upright barrier, which is usually at 90 degrees to the Collaroll and fixed into place using the high temperature adhesive. The R31 Staple Gun and Staples are used to staple the Collaroll to itself tightly around the penetration.
Specifiers and specialist fire contractors wishing to find more information about the full range of products available from TBA FIREFLYTM can visit the website below.
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