Going the extra mile when testing fire stopping systems

The integrity of fire stopping systems is a very real issue at a moment when there are stories in the news of deadly fires in high-rise buildings. This is exactly why, at Walraven, testing our fire stopping systems to the highest standards possible has always been at the top of our priority list.

Fire stopping systems

We work with some of the biggest testing laboratories such as Chiltern (UK), Exova (UK), and Efectis (NL). At these specific laboratories, not only do they test fire stopping systems to the highest standards, but they also understand real issues that can impact what happens in buildings such as pipe movement and smoke sealing. Although these are not requirements for the testing of these products, we feel that this is a crucial part of the overall effectiveness of a firestop. By using these laboratories, we are able to get professional opinions on the performance of our product in those non-tested, yet realistic, situations.

Testing in-house for true scenarios

In addition to using third-party organisations, Walraven also has its own test facility in Holland, allowing us to carry out continuous testing and bespoke testing scenarios. This ensures that our products will work in a whole range of scenarios that may not be officially tested for. We believe in testing products for real-life situations, not to simply meet test conditions.

Ahead of the competition with our certifications

All of our firestops do, of course, have industry-standard certifications. In addition to this, our Pacifyre® MKII Fire Sleeve has been laboratory tested and certified to prevent noise conduction. This is a feature that not all fire sleeves have. We were prompted to incorporate noise prevention into our fire sleeve when we were approached by The Royal Opera House. They wanted us to provide them with a fire stopping system that also offered sound insulation. We developed our fire sleeve further and tested it through the Acoustical Investigation & Research Organisation (AIRO) laboratory to achieve the additional sound insulation feature for our product.

To see how effective the noise insulation actually is, watch the short video here: Watch the Walraven Pacifyre MKII noise insulation video.

In addition to our bespoke developments, we have ETA certifications (European Technical Assessment) for all our fire stops; something many competitor products do not have. An ETA provides a confirmed scope of performance for the product in multiple scenarios and for a whole range of pipe types. This provides evidence for contractors that the products will perform within the scope specified in the ETA.