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Difference Between Passive and Active Fire Protection

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Difference Between Passive and Active Fire
Protection

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Damper Inspection, Fire Door Inspection, Fire Stopping, Life Safety Services,
Photoluminescence
11.01.2016

Winter is officially here, which means its a good idea to make sure that your fire
protection systems are properly working for the cold weather.There are two
types of fire protection systems, Active Fire Protection (AFP) and Passive Fire
Protection (PFP). Its important that both systems are properly working in the
event of a fire. Active and passive fire protection systems are meant to work
together during a fire, not one in place of the other. But, there still may be some
confusion about the differences between active and passive fire protection.

Active Fire Protection is a group of systems that require some amount of action
in order to work efficiently in the event of a fire. These actions may be manually
operated, like a fire extinguisher or automatic, like a sprinkler. So, when fire and
smoke is detected in a facility, a fire/smoke alarm will alert those who are inside
the building and work to actively put out or slow the fire. Sprinkler systems and
fire extinguishers help slow the growth of the fire untilfirefighter have a chance
to get there. Once firefighters arrive, they use fire extinguishers and fire hoses to
put out the fire altogether.

Passive Fire Protection is a group of systems that compartmentalize a building

through the use of fire-resistance rated walls and floors, keeping the fire from
spreading quickly and providing time to escape for people in the building.
Dampers are used in a facilities ducts to prevent the spread of fire/smoke
throughout the buildings ductwork system. Fire doors help compartmentalize a
building, while giving its occupants means of escape. Fire walls and floors help
separate the building into compartments to stop the spread of fire/smoke from
room to room. For building with multiple floors, photoluminescent egress path
markers help light the way to safety in dark and smoky stairwells.
Active and passive fire protection systems, although different, are important to a
building's overall fire safety. AFP uses systems that take action in putting out the
fire, while PFP uses systems that help prevent the spread of fire and smoke. Just
because one is working doesnt mean you should ignore the other, or that one is
more important than the other. AFP takes action in putting out the fire, but may
not always work properly. Especially during winter, sprinklers oftenfail due to
frozen pipes, roads could become icy, and hydrants could freeze, which all delays
a firefighters job and let's the fire grow. PFP compartmentalizes a building into
smaller sections to prevent the spread of fire and smoke throughout the building,
while also providing occupants more time for evacuation. However, it doesnt
put out the fire altogether, it just helps contain it to one location. Therefore, to
ensure that a building has total fire protection, both AFP and PFP should be
working together in unison.

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Phone: 888-675-4519 Safe From Flashover Thanks To
Fax: 502-964-1337 Passive Fire Protection
March 27, 2017 at 10:00 AM
Email: info@lifesafetyservices.com
When passive fire protection is
discussed it is usually in the context of
compartmentalization, and keeping one
area safe from the smoke and flames in
a different area. The reason this is so
important has to do with the
different......
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