Passive-Fire Stop Services

Active fire protection — sprinklers, alarms, suppression systems — detects and fights fire when it happens. Passive fire protection prevents fire and smoke from spreading in the first place, by maintaining the integrity of fire-rated walls, floors and ceilings. Firestopping is the part of passive fire protection that seals every penetration, joint and gap in those barriers, so the rating of the wall actually applies to the wall as a whole — not just the unbroken sections. Together, active and passive systems form the complete fire safety strategy required by NFPA 101, IBC and Saudi Civil Defence codes.

A UL-listed firestop system is a specific combination of materials, dimensions and installation method that has been tested by Underwriters Laboratories under ASTM E814 / UL 1479 (or the equivalent EN 1366) and assigned a specific F-rating (flame spread) and T-rating (heat transmission). The listing is for the complete system — wall type, penetrating service, sealant, backer, depth, annular space — not just the sealant brand. Substituting a different sealant or changing the depth voids the listing, and with it the rating. We install only to listed system drawings, with materials in their original certified packaging.

Wherever a fire-rated wall, floor or ceiling is penetrated by a service or has a construction joint. Common locations include: cable trays and conduit penetrations through electrical room walls; pipe sleeves through service riser shafts; HVAC ducts through compartment walls; data and fibre runs between server rooms and corridors; expansion joints between fire-rated wall sections; gaps around fire-rated doors and dampers; head-of-wall joints between drywall and structural slabs. NFPA 101, IBC and the Saudi Building Code all require firestopping at these locations as part of the building’s fire compartmentation strategy.

Both. New-build firestopping happens during construction as services are installed and barriers are completed. Retrofit firestopping is a major part of our work — we routinely survey existing buildings to identify unsealed or non-compliant penetrations, specify listed systems for each, and execute the works around active operations. Many of our retrofit projects are triggered by Civil Defence or insurance audits flagging deficiencies in existing firestopping.

A firestop register (or “as-built” firestop schedule) is a document that lists every firestopped penetration in a building — its location, the barrier it penetrates, the rating required, the listed system used, the materials installed, the date of installation and a photograph. It serves three purposes: it proves compliance at handover, it supports inspection by Saudi Civil Defence throughout the life of the building, and it gives the facility team the information they need when future works create new penetrations. Every First Advanced firestopping project is delivered with a complete firestop register.

Listed firestopping products are formulated to remain effective for the life of the building when undisturbed. The risk to firestopping isn’t degradation — it’s disturbance. New cable runs pulled through existing penetrations, pipe replacements, ceiling works and renovations all create new openings or break existing seals. Best practice is to inspect firestopping annually as part of fire safety maintenance, with formal re-survey every five years or whenever significant building works are carried out.

Yes, where the plastic pipe penetrates a fire-rated barrier. Plastic pipes — uPVC, HDPE, PP — melt and burn through quickly in a fire, leaving an open hole that allows fire and smoke to spread through the barrier. An intumescent fire collar contains material that expands rapidly when heated, crushing the softening pipe and sealing the opening before the fire can pass through. UL-listed and Civil Defence approved fire collars are required by code on every plastic pipe penetrating a fire-rated wall or floor.

Yes. Firestopping and clean agent room integrity testing are tightly linked — many integrity test failures are caused by unsealed penetrations in the protected room. Our firestopping team works directly with our integrity test technicians (see our Integrity Test service) so when a clean agent room fails the door fan test, we identify the leakage paths, seal them with listed firestop products, and retest the room — delivering a verified pass before the system is signed off.