Necessity of Fireproofing the Structures

Fireproofing is mostly called as a passive measure to make structures and materials resistant to fire. This is done by applying, coating or winding the fire catching material with fire resistant or fire retardant material. Fire resistant materials are those which do not catch fire at all, whereas fire retardant are those which combust at a very lower rate. To get the fire resistance rating to infrastructures, some prescribed fire resistant materials are only to be used. Though fire proofing is much hyped, they still have some restrictions on the surrounding conditions. The materials, which are fire proofed, have some limitations on the duration and intensity of fire.

Need in petrochemicals and refineries industry

In refineries and petrochemical industry, a lot of combustible materials is present. A normal spark can burn the whole infrastructure down resulting into loss of a man, material, and infrastructure. After fireproofing the chances of all these loss are less and escalation of problems like structural support failure and overheating will be minimized. The earlier method of using cement and coating are used to very less extent and have been replaced by newer fire proofing technologies. This also reduces the weight which would build on due to the use of the heavier material.

Need of fire proofing and characteristics of fireproofing material

Infrastructures of all the new constructions stand on a framework of steel. They support the building as well as cover the high-end equipment used. At 1000°F steel loses 50% of its strength and the structure begins to collapse. To prevent this from happening, water columns are used. These water columns prevent steel from reaching the temperature and help in its cooling. Thus due to the use of liquid coolant as a firefighter, there is lesser fire protection required.

One more characteristic that needs to be above average is that the fire protection that is done needs to be very durable and have the strength to endure the everyday wear and tear happening around it. Whether it be chemical reactions, mechanical abuse or exposure to the environment, the fireproofing material should be strong enough to not let it wither away.  If it does not have this property, it may fail when the actual action time comes. Due to effect of wear and tear, if the fire protection material degrades, then when the actual fire starts, it may not be able to protect the structure from fire and hence, a major tragedy and loss will happen.

Fireproofing is at times misleading because all the materials are subjected to damage in a fire. Hence, it is mostly fire retardants that are used. This helps buy time for the fire worker to rescue any person trapped and contain fire due to low combustion rate. This can only minimize the damage that is done due to a fire outbreak. Thus, according to the material used in the building structure, fireproofing coatings are selected. Moreover, the threats due to which a fire outbreak will take place are also found out. Initially, efforts are made to eliminate those risks completely, but after that decisions are made as how to protect the structure and everything in it from fire.