The Noiseless Guard

Actualizado a fecha: 2 December, 2018

We don’t see it, often it is not usually in plain sight because it does not make any sound or alarm, it can not even help to extinguish the fire. But it saves many lives and goods every year. Passive Fire Protection is our Noiseless Guard.

Passive Fire Protection (PPF) is defined as the set of means, elements and physical characteristics that a building or enclosure must meet to protect, to prevent it from collapsing and preventing the fire and smoke from spreading, endangering lives and goods.

The definition itself marks the three fundamental fields of the PFP:

1.- Fire protection of carrying structures: The supporting structure of a building has to withstand a certain time without collapsing when there is a fire. This is marked by different regulations depending on the type of use. It is defined by the letter “R” (from English Resistance) accompanied by the required time and it measures the Load Capacity of a structure in case of fire. If the structure alone does not meet the requested time (eg metal structure) it must be protected by the application of previously tested products in official laboratories.

2.- Compartmentalization and Sealing of Electrical Steps: When a fire occurs, we try to keep it confined in a determined space, having the possibility of evacuating the enclosure and minimizing damages. This is achieved by compartmentalization in Fire Sectors. These sectors should be limited by horizontal and vertical divisions resistant to fire during the time determined by the standard, taking special care with the appropriate sectorization of the steps. It is usually defined by the letters “E” Integrity and “I” Isolation, accompanied by the required time.

3.- Smoke Evacuation: it is a facility that allows us to extract smoke in case of fire, either by natural ventilation by means of “smoke ventilators” or forced by ducts resistant to fire, that will enable us to evacuate the enclosure without moving through spaces with smoke and at the same time to make visible the focus of the fire to the extinction equipment. It also allow us to control the temperature of the smoke layer protecting the properties. They are called “SCTEH” System of Control of Temperature and Evacuation of Fumes.

From Mercor Tecresa we design the most innovative products and installations of PPF to be the best Noiseless Guard of your building.