Navigating the challenges surrounding passive fire protection

The world of passive fire protection has seen significant regulatory updates over the past decade, but with these changes have come challenges—gaps in understanding, conflicting standards, and potentially unsafe practices. One key area of concern is fire dampers, which have been identified by leading trade bodies like BESA and OPSS as the "Achilles heel" of fire safety. This seemingly simple device plays a critical role in containing fire spread. Yet, issues such as improper installation methods, the use of combustible sealants, and inconsistent integration with fire stopping and partitions highlight systemic risks. As more projects move toward EN compliance, the importance of tested, classified systems has become clearer than ever. Proper classification acts as the crucial bridge between the testing of wall manufacturers and that of fire stopping and damper systems, ensuring safety when combining these elements.