PPassive Fire Protection After a Refurbishment
What Changes and What Needs Reassessing?
Refurbishment projects, whether a simple office fit-out or a full-scale renovation, often focus heavily on aesthetics, layout and functionality. What’s often overlooked, however, is the impact these works can have on a building’s passive fire protection. Walls get moved, ceilings are altered and new services are threaded through previously sealed compartments. Each of these changes has the potential to compromise the fire strategy that was originally designed into the building.
Why Refurbishment Puts Fire Compartmentation at Risk
Passive fire protection relies on a building being divided into distinct fire-resisting compartments, using walls, floors, doors and sealed penetrations to contain fire and smoke for a set period. Refurbishment work almost always breaches these compartments at some point, whether that’s:
- Running new cabling, pipework or ductwork through fire-rated walls and floors
- Removing or repositioning partitions that formed part of the original compartmentation
- Installing suspended ceilings that hide (and sometimes bypass) fire barriers
- Replacing doors, frames or ironmongery without matching the required fire rating
Even small changes, made with good intentions can leave gaps in protection that aren’t visible until a fire risk assessment or, worse, an actual fire, exposes them.
What Needs Reassessing Once Works Are Complete
Once refurbishment is finished, it’s essential to treat passive fire protection as its own checklist item rather than assuming that it’s been maintained by default. Important areas to review include:
- Fire Stopping and Penetration Seals. Any new service runs through compartment walls or floors must be properly fire stopped using tested and certified systems. This should be checked against the specific construction type, not just applied generically.
- Fire Doors and Door Sets. Confirm that all fire doors are correctly rated, self-closing and fitted with intact seals and appropriate signage. Refurbishment work often disturbs door frames or hardware without anyone verifying compliance afterwards.
- Compartment Lines. Map the building’s compartmentation against the as-built drawings to make sure that nothing has been lost or altered during the works, particularly where walls have been removed or ceiling voids have changed.
- Cavity Barriers. Where ceiling voids, risers or cavities have been created or extended, cavity barriers need to be checked to prevent unseen fire spread within these hidden spaces.
- Documentation. Update fire safety records, including the fire risk assessment and any compartmentation surveys, to reflect the building as it now stands. Missing paperwork is one of the most common issues found during audits.
Getting a Professional Reassessment
Given how easily passive fire protection can be compromised during refurbishment, it’s worth commissioning a specialist survey once works are complete rather than relying on visual checks alone. A qualified assessor can identify gaps that aren’t obvious to the naked eye and provide a clear remediation plan where needed.
Refurbishment inevitably changes a building and passive fire protection needs to change with it. Treating a post-refurbishment fire safety review as standard practice, rather than an afterthought, ensures compliance is maintained and that occupants remain properly protected.
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Get in touch and request a passive fire survey to ensure you meet compliance after a refurbishment today.
The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and is not legal or professional advice.