A leading passive fire protection contractor has been involved in the installation of fully compatible products from the range of TBA FIREFLY® for the creation of half hour fire barriers within ceiling voids to a major general hospital undergoing extensive refurbishment work in the north of England.

Birmingham based Cubic FM is the specialist sub-contractor carrying out all of the passive fire protection work at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in the city’s Newcastle Road. The work is making use of FIREFLY’s well proven Apollo Lite™ 30:30 barrier system in combination with the equally widely specified Collaroll across areas featuring cable trays, water pipes and other building services. All of the barrier and ancillary products are being supplied by the Birmingham branch of Encon, one of FIREFLY’s main distributors.

The Senior Contract Manager for Cubic, Brett Kelly, commented: “This is a family run firm where passive fire protection forms one of our key divisions, serving both private and public sector clients: working in schools, prisons, police stations and MOD properties as well as hospitals. The contract here in Stoke has been particularly challenging because the ceiling void of the Lower Trent Ward contains a variety of services – including gas and water – which could not be isolated due to having to keep adjoining areas of the hospital supplied. Also the presence of steel beams meant the new drywall partitions could not be taken right up to the underside of the slab.”

“We were first introduced to the FIREFLY’s range some three years ago when it was specified by a client, but we now prefer the systems to the rock mineral wool we used previously. The FIREFLY® barriers are quicker and easier to install, do not create dust or skin irritation and the company is always ready to provide design guidance or on–site assistance. We currently have half a dozen operatives trained up by FIREFLY® and another group due to attend the company’s training school soon.

FIREFLY® worked with the architect here after they specified the Apollo Lite™ 30:30 and have been helping us with installation details, where we are using the special staples and adhesives to secure the barriers, as well as around all the service penetrations – working off scaffolding. Overall the installation is progressing very well.”

Apollo Lite™ 30:30 has been developed for use in vertical separation or compartmentation situations, offering 30 minutes integrity and insulation and is able to be sealed around penetrations. It is widely specified to form fire barriers within roof voids and floor voids in many different property types, including tower blocks and other HMOs.

The flexible woven material is easy to cut and fix and is treated with a proprietary coating to improve its cooling properties and therefore prevent temperatures rising in adjoining areas. The system has been fully tested to BS 476 Parts 20 & 22 and is third party certified by IFC. The six metre long rolls of Apollo Lite™ 30:30 have a minimum thickness of 6mm and are installed using stainless steel staples as well as high temperature adhesive.

Employed as part of the FIREFLY® System and also to wrap the services which penetrate barriers such as Phoenix, Zeus Lite™ 90:30 and Titan Lite™ 120:60, Collaroll comes in a roll 10m long x 300mm wide with a sewn-in concertinaed skirt. The skirt can be moulded to shape to seal it neatly to the upright barrier, which is usually at 90 degrees to the Collaroll and fixed into place using the high temperature adhesive. The R31 Staple Gun and Staples are used to staple the Collaroll to itself tightly around the penetration.

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