Understand Fire

To understand fire retardant paints you first need to understand fire. We only need to know the basics, and for that we turn to the fire triangle. Fire needs 3 things to survive: oxygen, heat and fuel. And knowing this basic scientific fact means that we can use the inverse of these terms to figure out how to prevent or stop a fire. If we can reduce the amount of oxygen going to the fire then we can stop it. If the fire can not maintain a high enough heat, then it will die out. And if fuels and combustible materials are removed, then the fire will not be able to grow.

All very simple, but it is this understanding that is used when brands such as Bollom and Sigma develop their Fire and Intumescent paints.

If these three elements are not tackled then the damage left behind by fire can be devastating. Fire can damage the entire structure of a building, thus making it unstable and unsafe. This can happen with both timber and metal can buckle from fire damage, and without anything in place to prevent the spread of the fire it can spread rapidly and even affect other buildings.

However if the correct measures and precautions are in place it can not only reduce the damage, but it could potentially save lives.

What to do:

Intumescent

One of the most reliable ways of preventing the spread of fire is to use fire retardant paints and coatings. They can be used on walls, floors, ceilings, and an array of other surfaces. These products use the science that we mentioned before, to stop or delay the spread of flames over your surface. Some intumescent products expand and form a carbon foam layer, which insulates and protects the structure from intense heat, such as Brosteel 60 and Intulac. This layer protects the surface for a designated period of time: usually, 30, 60 or 90 minutes. The period of protection that you need usually depends on the size of the building, alongside the number of people that are likely to need to leave the building at any one time. If fire protection is required then it will be illustrated in the building’s Health and Safety requirements.

Intumescent products are designed to protect the structure of the building, and contain the fire for long enough for everyone to get to a safe location, or to contain the fire for long enough to limit damage before the fire can be dealt with.

High Temperature

The main other type of fire protection product is high heat resistant products, that prevent the surface from reaching a high enough temperature for the fire to take hold. These are usually used in areas where a fire or high temperatures are guaranteed i.e fire pits, car exhausts etc, and they prevent the surface from reaching a high enough heat to ignite. They are usually used on metal surfaces, which are fairly tolerant to heat anyway, but by using a heat resistant paint you protect the surface from overheating, warping, or even catching alight if the fire is hot enough. Products such as 1015/1078 and Sigmatherm are ideal for these applications.

 

Fire Retardant Paints and Coatings can save lives.

If you have any questions, or you would like our technical team to put together a spec for you to meet you fire protection requirements then call us on 01902 429190, or email us on info@andrewscoatings.co.uk.