ARTICLES

Our articles are written by Trafalgar Fire owner, John Rakic, bringing forward informative and thoughtfully crafted content surrounding current, former, and immerging ideas and problems of the passive fire industry.

ARTICLES

Open State Cavity Fire Barrier in Australia

Many people consider the cavity gap is just a control, movement joint, or linear gap seal and want to use the same fire resistance/fire testing data prescriptive (or deemed to satisfy provisions) regulations use for these control joints. Why can’t we, or can we? What is different with rainscreen cavity barriers joints to conventional control joints?A conventional control joint is a gap between two fire rated elements – example concrete to concrete. A horizontal cavity barrier joint is typically a gap between a………

Passive fire and smoke containment and control for the HVAC&R industry

Without over complicating things, this ductwork needs to turn of automatically when a building is in fire mode. This is to stop the heating & air conditioning system spreading smoke to all parts of the building. Where the ductwork passes through a fire barrier, there is a requirement for a fire damper. A fire damper is a failsafe means of protecting these openings….

The Blame Game and So Called Non-Conforming Building Products

Sadly, when it comes to the construction industry; all I see is blame; there is too much friction and things are not working.
Just like the cladding and fires, waterproofing and our cracking buildings for example where things aren’t quite right, I think passive fire protection is one area that could use some leadership and a shift in paradigm.

Specification-of-passive-fire-penno-systems

Specification of Passive Fire Penetration Systems: A Guide for Design and Building Practitioners

Lack of design and planning, coupled with an focus on building certification has lead to large numbers of defective installations due to a lack of understanding of the concept of the passive fire penetration system.

Fire Protection For Cables: Fire resistance & fireproofing; same or different?

In Australia, we have the NCC/BCA which outline the technical design provisions for a compliant building.

Some of us know AS3000, the primary design standard used for NCC/BCA compliance; this is our wiring rules for electrical installations. We all respect those electrical contractors who are trained to design and install our cabling and deal with the hazards of live electricity.

Passiv and Passive – who would have thought?

The NCC/ BCA tend to deal with compartment barriers separately; that is, we have fire walls with an FRL and Smoke Walls with poorly defined and qualitative requirements. We do not really have a fire and smoke wall, ceiling….

Modular Construction: Fire safety challenges and the ongoing need for Innovation

The method used to achieve the required fire resistance in Modular construction needs to be considered, in particular for floor separation between levels and resistance to impact damage.

Aluminum Cables Service penetrations passive fire systems

Understanding Passive Fire Protection Systems

The most basic way to understand passive fire protection is that we install on-site in the same manner that a successfully fire-tested SYSTEM was installed.

Plastics in construction

Plastics are well known to us all, and chemically speaking they are man-made materials derived from petrochemicals. Read the full article today!

Seismic Testing of Fire Stopping Products

Download The Full Article Here Introduction It feels like yesterday, but most of us remember

https://tfire.com.au/product-category/product-ranges/fyre-collar-systems/

The history of Fire Collars

Did you know Australia was the first country to commercialise the use of plastic pipes

A Guide to Fire Stopping of Service Penetrations for Active Fire Protection Companies

Where Would Construction Be Without Intumescent Materials?

It was around 30 years ago when I first heard the word “intumescent”. Little did

Smoke Is The Real Killer in Fires – Do Building Regulations Treat It With The Respect It Deserves?

They say that time flies. Well, that saying holds true to me personally when it

Passive Fire Protection of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Services

Australian Building Regulations have been slowly tightening up to improve the energy efficiency of our

Cavity Barriers and Their Application Here in Australia

Passive fire compartments, fire containment barriers and separate fire cells (or zones) are well known

two firemen spraying hose to putting out a fire

So Called Cladding: A Regulatory Minefield

Building Regulations historically have changed following public disdain for multiple fatality tragedies and typically in

FyreSHIELD fire rated access panel installed into ceiling

Understanding Fire Rated Access Panels | Part 2: Fire Rated Floor/Ceiling Systems

The NCC in Australia has made it clear; fire testing needs to be current and

Understanding Fire Rated Access Panels | Part 1: Fire Rated Walls and Service Riser Shafts

Fire rated access panels are often required to be installed into fire rated walls, fire rated service shafts, and of course fire rated ceilings. They allow for convenient access to services such as shut of valves for example which look much more aesthetically when inside an access panel.

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