CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskWhat a compartmentation survey involves, who should carry it out, and what happens when penetrations are found.
Fire compartmentation is the division of a building into fire-resistant sections using walls, floors and doors rated to contain a fire for a specified period (typically 30 or 60 minutes in care homes). When a fire is contained within its compartment, residents in adjacent areas can be evacuated before fire or smoke reaches them.
Over the life of a building, penetrations are created through compartment walls -- for new electrical cables, data cables, heating pipes, or during refurbishment. If these penetrations are not fire-stopped correctly, they become holes that allow fire and smoke to bypass compartmentation. Even a small cable hole without fire-stopping can defeat a 60-minute fire wall in minutes.
A compartmentation survey inspects all walls, floors and ceilings that form part of the fire strategy, checks fire doors and their frames, inspects service penetrations through compartment elements, samples hidden voids (including above suspended ceilings), and produces a schedule of defects with photographic evidence and priority rating.
Critical defects -- large unsealed penetrations, missing fire-stopping on services entering a compartment -- should be remediated immediately. Lower-priority defects should be addressed within an agreed programme. All remediation must use appropriate fire-stopping products (intumescent collars, pillows, mortar or sealant) certified to the required standard and installed by a competent contractor.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.