Whether it’s summer or winter, you should make sure that your fire safety methods are put in place and working. But did you know that there are actually two types of fire protection systems? They are- Passive Fire Protection (PFP) and the Active Fire Protection (AFP). One might be familiar with the use of active fire protection systems more than the former one. But it’s important to ensure that both the systems are working well in case of a fire breakout. These two systems are not alternatives where you can use one or the other. They are meant to work together in the event of a fire so that there are more barriers put in the path of a fire to prevent it from spreading. Not many also know what these two systems in regards to fire protection constitute of. So here are explanations regarding the two to clear any and all confusion:
What is active fire protection?
Active Fire protection is a term which is used to describe and define any systems or even products which are used to help combat or detect a fire. Some examples of such products and systems are extinguishers, smoke detection and more.
What is passive fire protection?
Passive fire protection systems are also used for holding back and combating the fire. As they are useful in preventing the spread of smoke and fire through the building. But the materials and products which are used mostly lay dormant till they are needed to be used. Some examples include fire resistant paints, fire doors, fire preventing ceiling and more.
What is the difference between the two?
The major difference involves the use of Triggers:
- Active fire protection: These systems will always be in need of some kind of trigger to active it. You can think of smoke from a well-lit fire setting off the detectors or even of a human using an extinguisher as examples of triggers.
- Passive fire protection: It needs no activation as such. Things like a fire door is a very effective and efficient fire resistant thing which doesn’t need an external stimulus to act. The same goes for plasterboards and fire-rated glass. Both of these barriers have been carefully designed to be fire resistant to the point they actually give away and let the fire overtake it.
But there is an exception here and that is intumescent material. This kind of PFP’s reaction is to expand when it gets exposed to heat since it comes to sealing the penetrations like cabling, pipes and such through generally fire-resistant surfaces. So, once the material has been activated, the expanded material then puts back the fire barrier and prevents flames from getting through.
Although these are different systems, they are important to maintain the overall safety of a building. AFP makes use of systems which take active action when it comes to putting out the fire, but PFP makes use of systems which prevents the spread of smoke and fire. One cannot work without the other and neither should any be ignored while constructing a building.