Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Figure 7.21
Cross-section of sandwich panel
Fire
Fire stop
Floor or Wall
Possible route of fire spread
if fire stop absent
Sandwich wall panel
with combustible core
External facing or structural support member
Combustible core capable of giving
off toxic combustion products,
e.g. foamed plastic
Fire-protecting
inner lining,
e.g. plasterboard
Fire
(a)
(b)
Junctions between sandwich panels and
fire separating walls or floors should
always be fire-stopped
Use wall panels with an effectively fixed
fire-protecting inner facing such as plasterboard
which does not decompose,
disintegrate or shatter in fire

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Introduction to Fire Safety Management
126
➤
Healthcare 
premises
➤
Transport 
networks.
Clearly, the use to which a building is put will greatly 
infl uence the contents within. In addition the quantity 
of combustible and fl ammable materials within a build-
ing will also refl ect its use. The nature of the contents of 
a building is a key factor in determining the rate of fi re 
growth and spread in the event of fi re.
Fire loading within the building
The contents of the building and therefore the growth 
rate of a fi re will vary according to the materials and 
activities being used or undertaken, for example where 
a signifi cant amount of dangerous substances or prepar-
ations, e.g. substances or preparations that have a fast 
or ultra-fast fi re growth rate or are classifi ed as explo-
sive, oxidising, extremely fl ammable, highly fl ammable 
under the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging 
for Supply) Regulations 2002, are stored and/or used, 
the area is considered to be of high fi re risk.
When large quantities of readily combustible 
products are stored or displayed under a large open plan 
mezzanine or gallery with a solid fl oor (as in some DIY 
outlets) there is always a risk of rapid fi re growth resulting 
in fl ames spreading beyond the edge of the mezzanine or 
gallery fl oor, hence posing a threat to life safety, particu-
larly when the occupants of the building are members of 
the public and are likely to be unfamiliar with the 
emergency plan (builders’ merchants, DIY stores, etc).