Last edited 18 Nov 2020

Fire collar

A fire collar is a type of fire resistant fitting that maintains the integrity and fire insulating rating of a building element which has been penetrated by building services. This might be required, for example, when walls or floors are penetrated by cables, ducts, pipework, and so on. In this situation, the fire rating of the wall or floor can be reduced as the penetration can provide a path that allows fire to spread beyond the compartmentation intended to contain it.

Typically, fire collars comprise a retaining ring which contains an intumescent material that expands when heated rapidly. The strong compressive force exerted by the expanded material forms a fire-resistant seal, closing off the service component, and creating an insulating barrier.

There are different types of fire collar for different applications (for plastic pipes, copper pipes, general building services, electrical cables, and so on), and they can be cast-in-place or attached to the wall or floor. Other considerations include the fire collar size, ease of installation, aesthetics and so on.

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