Building Fire Integrity
Fire & Smoke Barriers
AS1851-2012 Section 12. ESM frequency: Annual
Fire and smoke barriers, the walls, floors, and ceilings that compartmentalise a building, exist to stop or slow the spread of fire and smoke in an emergency. The problem is that their integrity can be quietly undermined over time by the services, pipes, cables, and ductwork that pass through them. Because of this, AS1851-2012 Section 12 prescribes an annual inspection of these barriers and the penetrations through them.
Passive Penetrations and Control Joints
AS1851-2012 Section 12. ESM frequency: Annual
Any service that passes through a smoke wall must be sealed, and any service passing through a fire wall must be sealed in a way that maintains the wall's fire rating. This is typically achieved with fire-rated mastic, intumescent filler, or a purpose-designed product, for example, a pipe fitted with a fire collar that expands and closes the penetration when exposed to heat, or an air conditioning duct fitted with a fire damper.
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Why this is easy to get wrong
It's one thing to notice that pipes and cables pass through a wall. It's another to know whether that wall is a fire or smoke wall in the first place, and therefore whether the penetration needs to be sealed, fitted with a fire collar, or is already compliant as installed. Getting this wrong, even with good intentions, can leave a building with fire and smoke barriers that look intact but no longer perform as designed.
How Can Stokes Safety Help?
Our in-house surveyors provide Fire and Smoke Wall Mapping, identifying exactly which walls in a building are fire or smoke rated. We recommend the results of this mapping be added to a site's Evacuation Plans, giving attending trades and auditors a clear, reliable reference point when completing their Annual Penetrations Audit, rather than having to make judgement calls on the day.
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Our process
We assess a building's construction and documentation to identify fire and smoke rated barriers, map the location of each one, and check the penetrations through them against AS1851-2012 Section 12 requirements. Findings are documented clearly enough to be used directly by trades carrying out remediation work and by auditors completing future annual inspections.
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Outcomes for our clients
Building owners who engage Stokes Safety for Fire and Smoke Wall Mapping end up with a clear, documented record of which walls are fire or smoke rated, confidence that penetrations through those walls are correctly treated, and a reference document that makes every future Annual Penetrations Audit faster and more reliable.
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Get started
If your building's fire and smoke walls haven't been mapped, or your last Annual Penetrations Audit raised questions you couldn't answer, contact Stokes Safety to arrange Fire and Smoke Wall Mapping for your site.