Commercial Firestopping in Milwaukee, WI
Commercial firestopping confines and compartmentalizes the spread of fire throughout a commercial property. It includes sealing openings in commercial buildings to prevent fire from spreading throughout the property. This passive fire protection also confines heat and smoke to one area before life-threatening, expensive damage can occur in others.
Call (866) 261-1090 or fill out the form on this page to learn more about the types of firestopping we offer for your Milwaukee building.
Firestopping Requirements
Firestopping systems use:
- Cables/cable trays or conduits
- Fire-rated walls/partitions, floors or ceilings
- Materials/methods for sealing penetrations
Milwaukee fire codes follow NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards. All structures and projects must meet the specifications for:
- Emergency lighting
- Fire department access
- Fire flow
- Fire protection systems
- Occupant egress
Structures and projects include:
- Additions – Existing structures and/or security measures
- Building change of use
- Construction – New buildings/structures
- Installation, modification, alteration – Any security gate
- Modifications/alterations that impact egress – Existing structures
- Occupancy classification change
Milwaukee commercial firestopping systems must have a minimum rating of 1-hour protection. The codes for Milwaukee commercial firestopping systems include:
Types of Firestopping
A commercial firestopping system aims to contain a fire in one area long enough to evacuate the building. They are passive, penetrative or fire-resistive joint systems.
When Milwaukee commercial properties are under construction, the engineers maintain safe wall ratings using fire barriers. Sometimes pipes, wiring and cables must pass through walls to traverse the building.
Penetrating firestops are used to block the spread of fire via cables (electrical, data, etc.), plumbing pipes and any other applications or materials that travel from room to room within ceilings, floors and walls.
Fire-resistive joint systems are used to protect spaces installed between fire-rated areas, for example, where a wall meets the ceiling, which is also the floor of the room immediately above.
Why Commercial Firestopping is Needed in Milwaukee
Fire protection and prevention are important to every commercial construction project. It can be influenced by materials, building usage and how well the property is maintained.
Three necessary components for fire protection are:
- Detection/warning systems
- Containment systems
- Suppression systems
- Ventilation
In 2019, 16% of Milwaukee’s fires were structural, and 9% were caused by appliances. The NFPA statistics on industrial and business property fires indicate Wisconsin is one of the states that does not have a problematic number of commercial fires. Let’s keep it that way.
Active vs. Passive Fire Protection
Active fire protection is an action-oriented solution to preventing or minimizing a fire. A kitchen employee slamming a lid on a pan’s grease fire is active fire protection. Active systems include fire extinguishers, fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers, etc.
Passive fire protection divides the property into compartmentalized spaces to reduce the spread of fire, heat and smoke throughout the building. Commercial firestopping systems are passive fire protection. Sometimes a commercial property needs a combination of active and passive fire protection systems.
Alpha Insulation & Fireproofing: Commercial Firestopping Contractor in Milwaukee
Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing has a trustworthy reputation that can only come from many years of commercial fireproofing experience throughout the U.S. For almost 40 years, our team of professionals has been the go-to for industrial and commercial fireproofing and fire prevention as well as:
Your time is valuable. We’ll quickly provide the pricing you need for bids. Just take the time to call (866) 261-1090 or fill out the form on this page to learn more about commercial firestopping in Milwaukee, WI.
