During the recent pandemic, supermarket chains have had to continue with property maintenance and improvement programmes to ensure the safety of their premises, including a store in Staffordshire where the APOLLO Lite 30:30 barrier, manufactured by TBA FIREFLYTM, was installed within the roof-space as part of a major refurbishment project.

The work at the store was carried out by sector specialist, The B Team. All of the APOLLO Lite 30:30, together with the heavy duty stainless steel staples and other ancillary Firefly products, have been supplied by distributor, CCF.

Commenting on the success of the work, The B Team Site Manager Adi, said ”as the architects specified vertical fire barriers in the strategy according to the Approved Document B from the Building regulations, we decided to use APOLLO Lite 30:30 from TBA, as we have used it and other Firefly products on other project in the past: in supermarkets and other types of building. It is easy to cut and install, fixing it vertically to the metal profiles with stainless steel screws to create 20 metre by 20 metre compartments and we used the stainless steel staples to secure the joins in the material, all in line with the manufacturer’s installations manuals.”

All of The B Team’s work had to be carried out while minimising any disruption to the store’s long hours of business, with the new APOLLO Lite fire barriers being concealed above the building’s reinstated suspended ceilings.

The APOLLO Lite 30:30 has been developed for use in vertical separation or compartmentation situations, offering 30 minutes integrity and insulation thereby exceeding the minimum requirements of the Building Regulations.

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 and non woven glass fibre material is easy to cut and fix and is treated with a proprietary coating to improve its fire performance 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 IFCC. The six metre long rolls of APOLLO Lite 30:30 have a minimum thickness of 6mm and are installed using specialist staples as well as heat resistant adhesive.