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Is Your Fire Strategy Missing Passive Fire Protection? Here’s Why That’s a Risk
- Protest ES Ltd
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
Fire safety strategies are essential for all commercial buildings in the UK but if your plan focuses only on alarms, sprinklers and emergency lighting, you’re overlooking half the picture.
Passive fire protection (PFP) is a legal and structural foundation of fire safety. It’s the hidden layer of protection built into your walls, doors, ductwork and ceilings, designed to contain a fire, slow its spread, and preserve escape routes.
If your fire strategy fails to account for PFP, your building may be non-compliant, your occupants at risk, and your fire risk assessments incomplete.
What Is Passive Fire Protection and Why Is It Critical?
Passive fire protection includes:
Fire-stopping around service penetrations
Compartmentation to divide high-risk areas
Fire doors that preserve safe evacuation routes
Fire dampers that contain fire within HVAC systems
Fire-rated materials in walls, ceilings and risers
These features don’t rely on activation like a smoke alarm or sprinkler. They’re always ‘on’, quietly maintaining structural integrity and slowing fire spread.
The Legal Requirements for PFP in the UK
Your fire strategy must include passive fire protection to meet your legal obligations under:
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
BS 9999 – Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management, and use of buildings
Building Regulations Part B
A fire risk assessment that doesn’t consider the condition or presence of fire stopping, compartmentation, or fire doors is considered incomplete, and potentially non-compliant.
Common Fire Strategy Gaps We See
If your fire strategy lacks passive fire protection planning, you may be facing:
Missing or damaged fire stopping in cable risers or service voids
Compromised compartments between escape routes and plant rooms
Ill-fitting or untested fire doors
No schedule for fire damper inspections
No record of routine maintenance or remedial works
These are serious risks, not just to property and life, but to your business’s legal standing.
Passive Fire Protection: Built into Your Strategy
At Protest ES Ltd, we help clients across the UK build compliant fire strategies with passive fire protection integrated at every level.
Our services include:
Fire compartmentation surveys
Fire door inspections and reporting
Fire stopping installation and remediation
Routine maintenance schedules
Digital reporting with photographic evidence
Remedial works with minimal disruption to operations
How to Know if Your PFP Needs Reviewing
Ask yourself:
When was your last compartmentation survey?
Do you have a schedule for fire door maintenance?
Are your risers and ceiling voids free from unsealed penetrations?
Has your fire strategy been updated post-renovation or refit?
Are you confident your building would contain a fire long enough for full evacuation?
If any of these are unclear, your PFP, and your compliance may be at risk.
Our Recommendation
A complete, legally sound fire strategy isn’t just about alarms and sprinklers. It’s about slowing the spread, preserving structure, and giving people time to get out safely. That’s what passive fire protection does, and why it should be central to your strategy.
Why Book a Consultation?
Protest ES Ltd delivers UK-wide passive fire protection services for:
Offices
Warehouses
Healthcare & care settings
Schools & universities
Commercial retail units
Local authority and housing providers
Whether you’re updating a fire strategy or reacting to a new risk assessment, our team is here to support you with compliant, efficient, and professional services.
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