Passive fire protection is critical for a building and its occupants. Compared to other fire protection measures such as alarms and fire extinguishers, which alert occupants to the presence of a fire and help to combat the flames, passive fire protection reduces structural fire risks such as collapsed loadbearing elements and compromised escape routes. This means emergency responders have the time they need to quickly extinguish the fire and safely evacuate the building.

As specified in the Building Safety Act (2022), a building will have an ‘accountable person’, be it a landlord or owner, who must be proactive in their assessment and management of fire safety risks. This includes initiating passive fire risk surveys and subsequent installations. To find out more, take a look at our blog ‘Who is responsible for enforcing fire safety legislation?’

Passive fire protection must be incorporated into the initial construction process to minimise the risks of non-compliance. Buildings should then be inspected regularly by accredited professionals. This is especially important when renovations have been completed, as installations made by third party contractors could impact passive fire protection systems. Fire doors also form part of a passive fire protection strategy, and must be inspected regularly as per regulations for commercial and residential buildings.

CLM Fireproofing offers expert passive fire protection across various sectors, including education, healthcare and social housing. In terms of major projects, we specialise in high rise buildings such as residential flats, commercial buildings, new technology business units and student accommodation. We’ve worked on various major buildings in the London area, and continue to expand our repertoire of passive fire protection projects.

We can assist clients in any capacity that require our technical expertise and substantial industry experience. In terms of new build construction, our specialists can be deployed from the Procurement or Technical Design phases of a project, based on the industry standard RIBA Plan of Work. Early engagement can ensure regulatory compliance throughout the entire project lifecycle. However, our commitment to customer service does not end with project completion. Due to the critical nature of our work, our aftercare team is on hand to support clients and maintenance teams however they can.

We understand every project is unique – with its own set of specifications, challenges or nuances. Our team create bespoke quotes for each project – utilising our early engagement process. They will work closely with you to define the project scope, identify potential issues, develop a schedule, and from that, provide a cost / quote estimation. We advocate the use of service scope matrixes and schedule of rates – which provide you as the client greater levels of cost certainty, transparency and auditability.