Fire stopping is the work that seals the gaps, joints and service penetrations passing through a building's fire-resisting walls and floors. Every cable, pipe and duct that crosses a compartment line is a potential route for fire and smoke unless it is correctly sealed. Mast Safety carries out fire stopping for building owners, managing agents, landlords and employers, restoring the integrity of your compartmentation so the barriers in your building perform as they are meant to.
We can work from our own compartmentation survey or from a survey or fire risk assessment you already have, so you can come to us purely to get the sealing done. Where breaches are found, we put them right, giving you a single provider from the first finding to a sealed, evidenced compartment.
Why correct fire stopping matters
A compartment is only as good as its weakest point. One unsealed penetration around a cable tray or a poorly filled gap at the head of a wall can let fire and smoke pass between compartments and defeat the whole strategy. Just as important, fire stopping only works if it is installed correctly. The wrong product, or the right product fitted in the wrong way, can look finished while providing little or no protection.
The responsible person has a duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to maintain the building's fire precautions, and properly installed fire stopping is a core part of that.
What our fire stopping covers
We seal the full range of openings that compromise compartmentation, using the right system for each situation:
- Service penetrations: sealing around cables, cable trays, pipes and ductwork where they pass through walls and floors.
- Pipe penetrations: fire collars and wraps for plastic pipes that close the opening as the pipe burns away.
- Linear gaps: head-of-wall joints, wall-to-wall and wall-to-floor junctions, and movement joints.
- Larger openings: fire batt and sealant systems for bigger or mixed-service penetrations.
- Cavity barriers: reinstating barriers within voids and concealed spaces where they are missing or damaged.
Installed to tested, certified systems
Fire stopping performs only when it matches a system that has been tested and certified for that exact situation, the right product for the substrate, the service passing through it and the fire rating required. We install to manufacturers' tested details rather than reaching for a generic filler, so what goes in is what was actually proven to work. That is the difference between fire stopping that looks done and fire stopping that will hold when it is needed.
From survey to sealed, one provider
Because we also carry out compartmentation surveys, you can move from identifying breaches to sealing them without sourcing a separate contractor, keeping the work moving and the accountability in one place. Fire stopping also follows on naturally from a Fire Risk Assessment and sits alongside our fire door remedial works as part of your building's passive fire protection. You can see how we combine these into one coordinated programme in our residential portfolio case study.
Evidence of every seal
We record the fire stopping we install, capturing the location, the system used and supporting photographs, so you have a clear record of the work. That gives you the evidence to show your compartmentation has been restored, and a record that becomes increasingly important for higher-risk buildings where the history of fire safety work needs to be demonstrable.
Restore your compartmentation
Tell us what your survey or fire risk assessment has flagged, or ask us to survey it first, and we will seal the breaches with the correct certified systems and as little disruption to your building as possible. From a single penetration to a whole portfolio, you deal with one team from the finding to the sealed compartment. Call us, send a message or drop us an email, and we will come back to you, usually the same working day.
Fire Stopping — Frequently Asked Questions
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