"barrier"

CuTex is a permeable geocomposite root barrier consisting of a copper sheet mechanically encapsulated between a woven polypropylene geotextile and a high strength nonwoven polypropylene geotextile. Cutex functions not only as a physical barrier, but also as a chemical barrier.

While concrete walls and Armco barriers are conventionally used to help protect drivers and spectators at motor racing circuits around the world, products from the range of FIREFLY have been specified to provide the necessary fire protection periods within an East Midlands venue which has become a focus for E-sports enthusiasts in the UK.The work at The Metronome in Nottingham is being carried out by one of FIREFLY’s approved installers on behalf of the venue’s operator, Confetti Media and is making extensive use of the manufacturer’s FIREFLY Zeus Lite 90:30 barrier, along with the Collaroll product to create compartmentation throughout a basement area, and as parts of The Metronome are also used by Nottingham Trent University and its students as a recording and production studio, Krasi Fire Protection Ltd.’s contract is in fact being phased – with work due to complete to work around the academic year. The Contract Manager for Krasi Fire Protection Limited, Daniel Oldacre, commented: “We began using the FIREFLY barriers a couple of years ago instead of mineral wool based systems and have been getting very good training, specification and on-site support from the company. In the case of the contact here for the company which operates The Metronome, we put forward the FIREFLY Zeus Lite 90:30 as the best product to create the necessary fire barriers as part of a major refurbishment and FIREFLY’s Technical Manager, Dave Allen, assisted in supplying the necessary compliant details.  He is also attending site regularly to carry out the required inspections. It is quite a large and complex contract during which we will be installing barrier across the soffits and walls as well as protecting services such as ductwork.  While some of the spaces are confined, FIREFLY is easy to cut and fix in place and saves us a lot of time compared to conventional systems and although we are not installing horizontally here, we did have all 10 of our operatives trained up on FIREFLY’s Horizontal systems as part of the annual update on installation of the systems.”  FIREFLY Zeus Lite is ideally suited to this type of application, comprising a flexible woven fabric fire barrier that has been specifically developed for the vertical separation and compartmentation  of extensive concealed spaces within buildings.By offering 90 minutes integrity and 30 minutes insulation, FIREFLY Zeus Lite 90:30 exceeds the minimum requirements regarding fire barriers under the Building Regulations’ Approved Document B (Fire Safety).  The specially treated glass fibre fabric is strong and resilient as well as flexible while, crucially, the system’s certification covers the inclusion of service penetrations which some products do not. Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios.  The barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY ancillary products to ensure a fully tested and certified installed system.Images shown are taken during installation and some sections of the installation might be incomplete.

Japanese knotweed was identified on a site where refurbishment was due, including small extensions to the building and new paving to the outside space where Japanese Knotweed was located Following a limited level excavation to remove most of the knotweed rhizomes in the soil, CuTex composite root barrier was installed horizontally and vertically to cap any remaining rhizomes.

A three year £24 million programme of works to repair and repaint the roof structure to Bristol Temple Meads railway station is featuring the use of the ZEUS Horizontal fire barrier system from FIREFLY™: employed to enclose a series of shallow arch scaffold beams or ‘cassettes’ that span the tracks, thereby protecting the workforce from any potential train fire as they use the access deck above.

Northamptonshire based DC Fire Protection Ltd., a long-term customer of TBA FIREFLY™, has employed the manufacturer’s ZEUS Lite™ system to create a 90:30 minutes’ fire barrier within the first floor ceiling void of a commercial property in London’s Hyde Park area.

Jacksons installed a bespoke acoustic barrier for the new, state-of-the-art leisure centre which started off as a specially build venue for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The barrier featured a slatted top and was installed in three elevations,

Conceived to offer comfort and support for patients and their families dealing with the trauma of cancer treatment, Maggie’s Centres are also amongst the most striking of buildings to be found across our NHS estates, with the latest to be completed also showcasing the capacity of the UK construction industry to give form to architects’ most imaginative concepts.Daniel Libeskind’s design for the Maggie’s centre at the Royal Free Hospital in North London eschew conformity in delivering a structure without vertical lines or flat surfaces, posing complex challenges for the contractors, including the fire-stopping specialists of Middlesex Ltd. who have made full use of FIREFLY®s flexible fire barriers to protect the multi-directional form of the walls and soffits. The 12 month build programme has been led by Sir Robert McAlpine, the Management Contractor and long-time supporter of the Maggie’s charity, with Buckinghamshire based Middlesex Ltd. being appointed to install the façade and drywall wall elements to the build.  As regular users of the FIREFLY® range, its fire-stopping division has employed Zeus Lite, Titan Lite and Collaroll across both the internal and external build up, covering the steelwork and other main elements to the structure. The Site Manager for Middlesex, Simon Coldwell, commented: “Because of the shape of the building, whose walls lean and curve in three directions, it would have been impossible to carry out conventional fire-stopping operations using fire boards and fire batts without extensive fire testing: so the FIREFLY® products have proved ideal.  The company’s technical reps have been out to site on a number of occasions – confirming compliance and providing special details for areas such as where the steel beams had to be wrapped at the wall/soffit junction.  These had to allow for the potential expansion of intumescent paint of the steel in a fire, as well as maintaining continuity of protection.” “As well as the fire-stopping internally, all of the exterior to the walls at ground and first floor level are wrapped in FIREFLY®.  The barriers have been installed over the main frame and are then covered by 200mm of insulation, a Tyvek breather membrane and then the timber cassette cladding panels. “ “We have had half a dozen of our Middlesex Fire-Stopping operatives on site for long periods, all of whom have attended the FIREFLY® training courses and who are well experienced in fitting the various systems.  The work has gone very well.”   A spokesperson for Sir Robert McAlpine said: “Each designed by a world-renowned architect, Maggie’s centres are some of the most distinctive buildings in Britain as such they are often incredibly challenging to construct.  It was this complexity that led to our initial involvement with the charity, at the award-winning, Kisho-Kurokawa-designed Maggie’s Centre at Singleton Hospital, Swansea.  Since Swansea, we have been involved in a number of the charity’s projects overseeing the construction management of Maggie’s at half a dozen hospitals.” By offering 90 minutes integrity and 30 minutes insulation, FIREFLY® Zeus Lite 90:30 exceeds the minimum requirements regarding fire barriers under the Building Regulations’ Approved Document B (Fire Safety).  The specially treated glass fibre fabric is strong and resilient as well as flexible while, crucially, the system’s certification covers the inclusion of service penetrations which some products do not. Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY® range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios.  The barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY® ancillary products in order to ensure a fully tested and certified installed system.FIREFLY® Barriers Conform To Complex Shape Of Latest Maggie’s Cancer Centre - TBA Firefly

High performance but lightweight fire barriers from the range of FIREFLY® have been specified by one of the manufacturer’s Preferred Installers, to upgrade the fire protection within the stair cores to a large office property in the East Midlands continuing a burgeoning business relationship between the two specialists.   The work on the two-storey commercial property, which dates from the 1990s, has been carried out by Coventry based KRASI Fire Protection using the FIREFLY® Zeus Horizontal 60:30 barrier, with FIREFLY’s Technical Manager for the region attending site to offer design guidance, as well as during the contract period.  The improvements were confined to the first-floor ceiling voids above each of the building’s four staircases, but will help ensure escape routes are maintained in the event of any future emergency. The Contract Manager for KRASI Fire Protection Limited, Daniel Oldacre, commented: “We have come to rely on the performance and technical expertise of FIREFLY® over the past couple of years since we switched away from using rigid mineral wool systems, while we also get very good on-site support. In this instance the FIREFLY® Technical Manager, Dave Allen, carried out a survey of the area involved prior to producing a report for the client; assisting us in being awarded the contract.  He also attended site during the installation to confirm everything was in accordance with the requirements, and inspected it on completion for sign off. Basically, the installation was carried out by securing the standard Unistrut channels to the face of the blockwork walls at ceiling level – and also installing hangers into the joists at intervals – so supporting the Zeus Horizontal, while the manufacturer’s high temperature adhesive and fixings were also used to secure all of the overlaps.  FIREFLY® is easy to cut and fix in place and saves us a lot of time compared to traditional systems.  Recently we have had all 10 of our operatives trained up on FIREFLY’s Horizontal systems as part of the annual update on installation of the systems.”   FIREFLY® Zeus Horizontal is a lightweight flexible fire barrier designed to provide fire compartmentation of larger concealed spaces and voids within buildings, offering 60 minutes integrity and 30 minutes insulation.  It has been specifically developed and tested for horizontal installation, including fitting around service penetrations.      Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY® range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios.  The barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY® ancillary products to ensure a fully tested and certified installed system.

Automatic Barriers with LED strip Traffic Lights on boom. Frontier Pitts now manufacture automatic security car park barriers with LED strip traffic lights to signal when the barriers are lowered and traffic should stop and then green and barriers raised to indicate when to proceed

Scotland’s biggest building services contractor has just completed upgrading the fire compartmentation within an existing West Lothian warehouse building which is being converted to serve as high bay storage facility to support the organisation’s existing distribution facility elsewhere in West Lothian and is, for the first time, making use of products from the range of TBA FIREFLY™, including APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 to create new fire barriers together with TBA’s expert advice and installer training.

SIEGENIA makes the design of the passage to the outside more convenient than ever with the new hardware solution for thresholds. The high-performance TITAN hardware portfolio has been expanded with a solution for barrier-free thresholds with drop-down seal for this purpose. This enables fabricators, architects and end users to achieve the widest range of room comfort requirements with regard to barrier-free systems. With security up to RC2, good sound absorption and high compression, they can be flexibly combined with both single-sash and double-sash elements.Barrier-free with additional benefitsSuitable for barrier-free French door systems made of different profile materials, the new solution for barrier-free thresholds with drop-down seal is convincing from the end user perspective due to the convenient, smooth operation and the high corrosion resistance and long service life, for which TITAN fittings are renowned.

Triton products, including liquid applied TT Vapour Membrane, were specified to form a ground gas barrier system in the redevelopment of listed almshouses situated in close proximity to a landfill site.

IWA 14 Terra 180 Swing Barriers, PAS 68 Compact Terra Barriers and PAS 68 Static Terra Venus Bollards at Spitalfields Market Bishops Square, Spitalfields, adjacent to the Old Spitalfields Market is located in the historic heart of East London, on a site that has had a market for over 350 years. Spitalfields offers an opportunity to experience this wonderfully authentic London area that is home to contemporary brands and innovative Street Food independents, all set against the backdrop of a world-famous City skyline.

RC was approached by Dorsey Construction Materials to supply our award-winning cavity fire barriers and cavity closers for a high-rise housing development in Dagenham.

From the Tower of London to The Royal Palaces, Coopers is trusted to install fire and smoke curtains barriers for some of the world’s most iconic heritage buildings. With this knowledge, appointed architects Arrol & Snell assigned Coopers to develop a system that would help protect the cathedral’s Undercroft and Treasury from smoke migration in the event of a fire. The smoke barrier system had to allow visitors to exit the Undercroft and Treasury safely, whilst preventing smoke from entering the main body of the cathedral, but any system had to be sympathetic to its unique and ancient architecture.

Breezefree screens are used to provide a protective barrier, and regularly changing signage at the world-renowned Royal Observatory, Greenwich. As one of London’s top tourist attractions, the historical Royal Observatory, Greenwich hosts thousands of visitors every year at its stunning location and vantage point within Greenwich Park. The bronze planetarium cone needed a screen system on its outside perimeter to discourage visitors from touching the structure, which occasionally becomes hot in the sun...

Launched just in time for the Spring season, Sadolin Shed & Fence All Weather Barrier woodstain is the latest product to join the superior woodcare range – providing the perfect blend of five years’ protection, fast drying times and ease of application for specifiers. Available in five and ten litre pack sizes, Sadolin Shed & Fence All Weather Barrier woodstain preserves and protects sheds and fences and features a wax enriched water repellent, as well as UV protection, to ensure long-lasting colour from the shades available, Grey Shadow, Woodland Walk, Sylvan Grade, Cedar Red and Ebony Wood.

In 2019/20 works were undertaken to prolong the life of the promenade structure and adjacent shoreline at Aberavon. The implementation of the Shoreline Management Plan has served to protect residential and commercial properties from coastal erosion. Geofabrics HPS11C is a thick needlepunched non-woven geotextile manufactured from 100% virgin polypropylene high tenacity fibres containing 1% active carbon black. The main function of HPS11C is to prevent loss of the sub-soil from below the rock armour. With challenging low particle size subsoils, the HPS11C was ideal with its combined filtration and permeability characteristics.

A Manchester based passive fire protection specialist has utilised products from the range of FIREFLY – including the versatile Phoenix Smoke & Flame barriers – to achieve the compartmentation of concealed spaces within the new Macclesfield manufacturing facility of a world-leading pharmaceutical giant.Firetech UK Ltd. is a key sub-contractor to DES for the construction of the extensive new laboratories and production plant for AstraZeneca, part of the FTSE 100 company’s continuing investment at its East Cheshire site for the distribution of drugs to markets around the world. Firetech was established more than 25 years ago and makes extensive use of FIREFLY  flexible fire barriers for its work on both commercial and domestic contracts. In the case of the Macclesfield project, Firetech purchased the FIREFLY  products via national distributor, Encon.  The Contracts Manager for Firetech UK on the Macclesfield Project, Josh Dodds comments: “We work nationwide though predominantly in the North-West of the country and have been using FIREFLY  products for the past five years, including here on this very large new plant.  Early on in the contract we installed a large quantity of Titan Lite™ 120:60 fire barriers in the ‘Amenities Area’ of the building and then when we were tasked with installing a series of smoke and flame barriers in the ceiling voids over the laboratories, we proposed the Phoenix product as being the most cost-effective solution. The work consumed approximately 540 square metres of the Phoenix to create a series of vertical barriers valued at some £50K.  Although we were able to employ standard details for the installation of the Phoenix barriers  and the Collaroll which wraps some of the beams and other features, FIREFLY has been involved from the earliest stages, providing general guidance and carrying out inspections.  The project has gone very well.”FIREFLY Phoenix is a lightweight smoke and flame barrier which facilitates compartmentation within buildings to provide up to 120 minutes’ integrity under BS476 Parts 20 & 22.  Certified by IFCC, the flexible and straightforward to install material is suitable for both new-build and retrofit situations.  Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios. The flexible barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of ancillary products.  Used mainly in the construction industry across the UK and Europe, FIREFLY fire barriers help to contain fire, giving building occupants extra time to evacuate and the fire service to enter safely.Images shown are taken during installation and some sections of the installation might be incomplete.

The new FB180 Batt Floor System has been designed to friction fit into the joists above a ceiling, creating a 60 minute insulation solution without disturbing the ceiling, but this product is also tested in a horizontal application as a simple way to create a protected zone where required, as shown in the images below, where it is also works alongside our Apollo Lite Barrier, at a recent installation by Krasi Fire Protection Limited

Geofabrics HPS17 is installed as the protection geotextile at Erin Landfill Site, a former colliery near Chesterfield. The geotextile formed part of a large cell measuring approximately 40,000m². The site also involved installation of 1000m of deep water drainage, 118,000m² of impermeable membrane, 1000m of fully-welded leachate pipework and 14,000 tonnes of drainage stone. Geofabrics HPS17 is a thick needle punched non-woven geotextile manufactured from 100% virgin polypropylene high tenacity fibres containing 1% active carbon black.

Geofabrics HPS5 was successfully installed below the rock armour on the River Aire’s flood plain. Geofabrics HPS5 is a thick needle punched nonwoven geotextile manufactured from 100% virgin polypropylene high tenacity fibres containing 1% active carbon black. The main function of HPS5 is to prevent loss of the subsoil from below the rock armour. HPS5 was ideal with its combined filtration and permeability characteristics whilst its high tensile elongation and CBR provided a robust solution capable of withstanding the rock impact during installation.

FIREFLY™ APOLLO Lite Specified for Royal Stoke RefurbishmentA leading passive fire protection contractor has been involved in the installation of fully compatible products from the range of TBA FIREFLY™ for the creation of half hour fire barriers within ceiling voids to a major general hospital undergoing extensive refurbishment work in the north of England.Birmingham based Cubic FM is the specialist sub-contractor carrying out all of the passive fire protection work at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in the city’s Newcastle Road. The work is making use of FIREFLY’s well proven APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 barrier system in combination with the equally widely specified Collaroll across areas featuring cable trays, water pipes and other building services. All of the barrier and ancillary products are being supplied by the Birmingham branch of Encon, one of FIREFLY’s main distributors.The Senior Contract Manager for Cubic, Brett Kelly, commented: “This is a family run firm where passive fire protection forms one of our key divisions, serving both private and public sector clients: working in schools, prisons, police stations and MOD properties as well as hospitals. The contract here in Stoke has been particularly challenging because the ceiling void of the Lower Trent Ward contains a variety of services - including gas and water - which could not be isolated due to having to keep adjoining areas of the hospital supplied. Also the presence of steel beams meant the new drywall partitions could not be taken right up to the underside of the slab.”“We were first introduced to the FIREFLY's range some three years ago when it was specified by a client, but we now prefer the systems to the rock mineral wool we used previously. The FIREFLY™ barriers are quicker and easier to install, do not create dust or skin irritation and the company is always ready to provide design guidance or on–site assistance. We currently have half a dozen operatives trained up by FIREFLY™ and another group due to attend the company’s training school soon.FIREFLY™ worked with the architect here after they specified the APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 and have been helping us with installation details, where we are using the special staples and adhesives to secure the barriers, as well as around all the service penetrations – working off scaffolding. Overall the installation is progressing very well.”APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 has been developed for use in vertical separation or compartmentation situations, offering 30 minutes integrity and insulation and is able to be sealed around penetrations. It is widely specified to form fire barriers within roof voids and floor voids in many different property types, including tower blocks and other HMOs.The flexible woven material is easy to cut and fix and is treated with a proprietary coating to improve its cooling properties and therefore prevent temperatures rising in adjoining areas. The system has been fully tested to BS 476 Parts 20 & 22 and is third party certified by IFC. The six metre long rolls of APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 have a minimum thickness of 6mm and are installed using stainless steel staples as well as high temperature adhesive.Employed as part of the FIREFLY™ System and also to wrap the services which penetrate barriers such as PHOENIX, ZEUS Lite™ 90:30 and TITAN Lite™ 120:60, Collaroll comes in a roll 10m long x 300mm wide with a sewn-in concertinaed skirt. The skirt can be moulded to shape to seal it neatly to the upright barrier, which is usually at 90 degrees to the Collaroll and fixed into place using the high temperature adhesive. The R31 Staple Gun and Staples are used to staple the Collaroll to itself tightly around the penetration.

Lang+Fulton products were used extensively at The Emirates Stadium for Arsenal FC as barrier fencing, security screening, balustrading and wall cladding. The Arezzo-25 fence panels with a 76x25mm aperture were supplied with the flat bars running horizontally in order to take a loading requirement of BS6399 – 1:1996. This guaranteed its suitability for use as a barrier fence for the crowd control areas surrounding the Emirates. Alternative fixing methods combined with the versatility of the panels created continuity of design throughout the varied applications within the project.

A new terminal at the Port of Cork will provide a 360m quay enabling larger ships to berth in Ringaskiddy, accommodating current and future container shipping. Geofabrics HPS6, a needle punched nonwoven geotextile was installed by BAM as a filter preventing displacement and erosion of submarine soils.

FIREFLY™ PHOENIX Offers Temporary Fire Protection For Fenchurch Street OfficesThe refurbishment of two complete floors to one of the City’s largest office buildings is making use of the well proven and versatile TBA FIREFLY™ PHOENIX smoke & flame barriers, to create temporary fire barriers while the work is being carried out: protecting people and property across the rest of the five storey structure where business continues as normal.The project at 30 Fenchurch Street, EC3 is being led by Overbury – one of the capital’s most experienced fit-out contractors, while the London office of HLW Architects is leading the design team. T&R Fire Protection meanwhile is the specialist sub-contractor carrying out the installation of the PHOENIX around the atrium, as well as other passive fire protection measures as the scheme evolves.In total T&R has fixed 22 rolls of the lightweight PHOENIX material to create the two hour integrity smoke and flame barriers around the glazed edge of the floor plates at levels Three and Four of 30 Fenchurch Street. The lightweight barrier has been fixed to the bulkhead and at intervals down all of the existing columns, before finally being secured across steel angle sections bolted to the floor slab.IFC Certification duly inspected all 160 metres of the temporary barriers – up to 3,300 mm in height - once installed, on behalf of Overbury and duly issued a certificate of compliance. The permanent works are expected to include creating fire breaks within the ceiling zones at 20 metre intervals, as part of T&R’s overall contract for Fenchurch Street in the region of £250K.The Site Manager for T&R Fire Protection, Tom Port Smith, commented: “We’ve used PHOENIX and other FIREFLY™ products on many hundreds of projects in the past, but in this case it was the insurers for the project who insisted on the installation of the screens to protect the atrium while the sprinkler system was being replaced. The installation though was relatively straightforward and in our work generally, FIREFLY™ is our ‘go to’ manufacturer when it comes to fire compartmentation. We base our recommendations and design drawings on TBA FIREFLY™ standard details and, once they’ve been approved, go in and install the flexible fire barriers.”Tom, like the majority of T&R Fire Protection’s operatives, has attended training sessions at FIREFLY's premises in Rochdale, reinforcing their trade skills and gaining valuable insights into the performance parameters of the different barriers in the range.FIREFLY™ PHOENIX is a lightweight smoke & flame barrier developed to enable compartmentation within buildings to provide up to 120 minutes’ integrity under BS476 Parts 20 & 22. Certified by IFCC, the flexible and straightforward to install material and is suitable for both new-build and retrofit situations.Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY™ range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios. The flexible barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of ancillary products. Used mainly in the construction industry across the UK and Europe, FIREFLY™ Fire Barriers help to contain fire, giving building occupants extra time to evacuate and the fire service to enter safely.

Coopers were commissioned to design and manufacture a bespoke curtain barrier system that, in the event of fire, would guard against smoke penetrating the upper floors of the store. Through regional partner Souchie, Coopers installed a series of Smoke Stop™ vertical smoke curtains above each escalator specifically designed to protect the means of escape for customers, whilst at the same time dramatically reduce the transmission throughout the building of life threatening gases generated by fire.

To create safe and hygienic entrances at the new £65m Balfour Hospital in Orkney, architects specified INTRAform DM with a combination of inserts. The state-of-the-art rural general hospital serves the entire 21,000 strong population of the islands. With a traditional need for shelter against extreme weather conditions, a robust entrance matting system is essential to ward against slips. To create an effective barrier, the multiple entrances at The Balfour Hospital use a combination of fibre and rubber inserts within a single aluminium recessed system.

A significant redevelopment project at a specialist mental health hospital in Nottinghamshire is nearing a successful completion, with two of FIREFLY’s versatile and fully certified systems being employed by one of the manufacturer’s approved contractors installing the lightweight, but high performing fire barriers, to protect the ceiling spaces. The work at the Millbrook Mental Health Unit in the Sutton area of Mansfield is being carried out by Tilbury Douglas on behalf of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and includes the construction of a new dementia ward as well as the refurbishment of two existing wards.  The new facility will create a low-stimulus environment containing 18 single bedrooms with en-suite shower rooms, while the refurbished building is being upgraded to meet current NHS guidelines, as well as to achieve compliance with the latest requirements of Approved Document B and the Building Safety Act.   Coventry based KRASI Fire Protection Limited – a specialist sub-contractor well experienced in hospital upgrades, including other projects across the East Midlands – was awarded its package under competitive tender and had up to 10 of its highly trained operatives on site during the four-month contract.  The company’s Contract Manager, Daniel Oldacre, commented: “When we were approached to install all of the fire barriers within the building at the Millbrook Hospital, we put forward the APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 and TITAN Lite™120:60 as being appropriate to the periods of protection being sought by the project team, including Tilbury Douglas’s fire consultant.  They were really the only products which would have worked in this situation. We have come to rely on FIREFLY® systems in recent years since we moved away from mineral wool solutions.  They ensure high performance with good technical back-up when required and, crucially, they carry the best testing.”  “In this instance, FIREFLY’s regional manager, Dave Allen attended the site to advise on some special details – provided as sketches backed up by email confirmation with photographs.  The TITAN Lite™120:60 provides 120 minutes integrity and 60 minutes insulation, while the APOLLO LiteTM 30:30 offers 30 minutes in each respect.  There were no horizontal barriers required on this job.” While Krasi carries out its own IFC certification work, FIREFLY’s technical consultants continued to visit the project at intervals to confirm that all of the work was being carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions: with the special staples and fire rated adhesive being used to attach the barrier materials to sub-frames of steel angles reaching down on top of the individual partition walls creating compliant compartmentation.  Krasi’s completed contract saw a total of 700 square metres of Titan Lite and Apollo Lite barriers installed throughout the refurbished ward building. Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY® range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios.  The barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY® ancillary products to ensure a fully tested and certified installed system.The lightweight and flexible FIREFLY® Penowrap has been developed to compliment other FIREFLY® fire barrier systems and can be used to fully protect structural members as much as 300mm below the main barrier, offering additional protection.  It provides 60 minutes integrity and 60 minutes insulation when used to wrap around exposed sections of timber or steel during the construction or upgrade of a building.Tested to BS 476 Parts 20 & 22, FIREFLY® Penowrap is manufactured utilising a layer of non-woven silica with aluminium foil on the outward facing surface.  The product, which is non-toxic as well as easy to cut and shape, has additionally received a Pass for Parts 6 & 7 (propagation and surface spread of flame).  The 300mm wide fire wrap is supplied in 10 linear metre long rolls, and is just 12mm thick.  Furthermore, it only weighs 2.02kg/m2 so it is light to handle on site.  FIREFLY® Penowrap is installed using standard fixings and is fully compatible with the angles and high temperature adhesives to be found within the approved FIREFLY® range.  

A programme of works carried out at a Nottinghamshire hospital has seen a number of products from the FIREFLY range employed to upgrade the passive fire protection throughout the roof spaces, with the manufacturer providing site specific design details to assist the highly experienced contractor complete the project on time. DC Fire Protection Ltd., based at Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, works right across the country covering multiple sectors of the construction industry, installing active as well as passive fire protection systems.  For its 10 week contract at the Ashfield Health and Wellbeing Centre at Kirby in Ashfield, the specialist installed dozens of rolls of the Titan Lite™ fire barrier as well as the Apollo Horizontal barrier, Collaroll and two of the 1200 x 600mm FR120 Access Panels to link some of the safety zones being created. Built in 2007, Ashfield Health and Wellbeing Centre is conjoined to the existing Ashfield Community Hospital and offers extended health services to the local community, supplementing the current services by providing purpose-built rehabilitation facilities, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other community health services.  It also offers consulting rooms, treatment rooms and an activities of daily living suite, rehabilitation and gym areas.A Director of DC Fire Protection, Daniel Mabbott, commented: “We have been dealing with FIREFLY for a number of years, including buying large quantities of the Titan Lite™ and Apollo Lite , which we use for commercial contracts as well as other work.  We often propose the use of FIREFLY systems to clients and in this instance, where we were simply given the performance standard the client required, we proposed the use of Titan Lite plus Apollo Horizontal to upgrade the exiting fire walls which no longer comply with current requirements.” “There were a number of plastic PVC-U soil stacks rising through the roof in what was specified as a Controlled Zone, for which FIREFLY provided us with a bespoke detail to protect them where they passed through the barriers, while we installed a couple of their FR120 Access Panels in addition to the fire doors which we fitted in a number of locations throughout the roof.  The project was completed on time and we have now moved onto another contract where we are again using a number of FIREFLY products.”Third party approved, FIREFY Apollo Horizontal 30:30 provides 30 minutes integrity and insulation to exceed the minimum requirements within the Building Regulations relating to fire barriers.  In common with other FIREFY products, Apollo Horizontal is manufactured using specially treated woven glass fibre fabric, being flexible and lightweight making it easy to install. Specifiers and specialist fire contractors wishing to find more information about the full range of products available from FIREFLY can visit www.tbafirefly.comImages shown are taken during installation and some sections of the installation might be incomplete.

TBA FIREFLY™ System Sub-Divides Supermarket RoofspaceDuring the recent pandemic supermarket chains have had to continue with property maintenance and improvement programmes to ensure the safety of their premises, including a store in Staffordshire where the APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 barrier, manufactured by TBA FIREFLY™, was installed within the roof-space as part of a major refurbishment project.The work at the store was carried out by sector specialist, The B Team. All of the APOLLO Lite™ 30:30, together with the heavy duty stainless steel staples and other ancillary Firefly products, have been supplied by distributor, CCF.Commenting on the success of the work, The B Team Site Manager Adi, said ”as the architects specified vertical fire barriers in the strategy according to the Approved Document B from the Building regulations, we decided to use APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 from TBA, as we have used it and other FIREFLY™ products on other project in the past: in supermarkets and other types of building. It is easy to cut and install, fixing it vertically to the metal profiles with stainless steel screws to create 20 metre by 20 metre compartments and we used the stainless steel staples to secure the joins in the material, all in line with the manufacturer’s installations manuals.”All of The B Team’s work had to be carried out while minimising any disruption to the store’s long hours of business, with the new APOLLO Lite™ fire barriers being concealed above the building’s reinstated suspended ceilings.The APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 has been developed for use in vertical separation or compartmentation situations, offering 30 minutes integrity and insulation thereby exceeding the minimum requirements of the Building Regulations.It is widely specified to form fire barriers within roof voids and floor voids in many different property types, including tower blocks and other HMOs.The flexible woven and non woven glass fibre material is easy to cut and fix and is treated with a proprietary coating to improve its fire performance properties and therefore prevent temperatures rising in adjoining areas. The system has been fully tested to BS 476 Parts 20 & 22 and is third party certified by IFCC. The six metre long rolls of APOLLO Lite™ 30:30 have a minimum thickness of 6mm and are installed using specialist staples as well as heat resistant adhesive.

An 18 month long fit-out contract for a Tewkesbury based cladding specialist has seen the company install thousands of square metres of FIREFLY® barriers, to protect the roof space and other voids within a major new food processing plant in the Manchester area. Cold Clad Ltd. was appointed by the main contractor to install all of the internal wall panels, suspended ceilings and the kerbing, as well as carrying out the installation of the vertical fire protection barriers using Titan Lite™ 120:60 and Collaroll, which were secured across light gauge steel subframes to provide two hours integrity and 60 minutes insulation.  Aligning with the nearest roof purlin to secure the frames assembled from 50 x 50mm steel angles, Cold Clad created barriers ranging in height from three metres down to less than one metre. While also accommodating the movement requirement of the large metal structure. Cold Clad’s Contract Manager for the project, Ross Camberley, commented: “The scale of the installation meant we had up to 30 operatives involved on the work for most of the period, many of whom had undergone the training course delivered by FIREFLY®, which I also took in order to be able to understand the complexities of erecting the ‘triple curtain’, and also protect all of the penetrations such as steel beams and building services.  While this was a very challenging project due to the scale of the work – and also my first experience of the FIREFLY® range – we are about to carry out another contract in Holyhead for a different client and will actually be using another of the manufacturer’s approved installers to do the work.”  FIREFLY® Titan Lite™ 120:60 is a lightweight flexible fire barrier designed to provide fire compartmentation of larger concealed spaces and voids within buildings, offering 120 minutes Integrity and 60 minutes insulation.  Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY® range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke, as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios.  The certified barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY® ancillary products to ensure a fully tested and certified installed system.

Fully compatible products from the range of TBA FIREFLY™ have been chosen to compartmentalise roof voids between apartments and communal lobbies of a large apartment building in the London Borough of Lewisham, providing 120 minutes fire integrity protection as part of a wide ranging refurbishment programme carried out earlier this year.The contract on Lewisham Homes’ Commodore Court in Albyn Road has been led by the sector specialist construction company, Mulalley & Co. with London/Sevenoaks based CLM Fireproofing carrying out the installation of the TITAN Lite™ 120:60 barrier system, in combination with Collaroll and the use of ancillary products from the FIREFLY™ range.CLM Fireproofing was founded 30 years ago by Clive Miles and has established a reputation as a leader in the fields of both passive fire protection and fire-stopping; working in a variety of sectors on projects right across the UK. A regular user of the FIREFLY™ range, many of its operatives have attended courses at the company’s premises in Rochdale to become trained FIREFLY™ installers.The Site Agent for CLM, Virginijus Pasvenskas, commented: “There was initially an intention to use a mineral wool flexible fire barrier, but the product was not tested for the scenario installed around the services such as a downpipe and it was upgraded to the use of the FIREFLY™ system by the client/project team. The installation of the TITAN Lite™ and the Collaroll to wrap the trusses and the services went very well and, as well as supplying specific details for the work, FIREFLY's technical team came to site to inspect the works. We completed our contract on schedule back in the summer.”TITAN Lite™ 120:60 has been developed for use in vertical separation or compartmentation situations, offering 120 minutes integrity and 60 minutes insulation and is able to be sealed around penetrations. It is widely specified to form fire barriers within roof voids and floor voids in many different property types, including tower blocks and other HMOs.The flexible woven material is easy to cut and fix, and is chemically treated to improve its cooling properties and therefore prevent temperatures rising in adjoining areas. The system has been fully tested to BS 476 Parts 20 & 22 and is third party certified by IFC. The six metre long rolls of TITAN Lite™ 120:60 have a minimum thickness of 6mm and are installed using special staples as well as high temperature adhesive.Employed as part of the FIREFLY™ System and also to wrap the services which penetrate barriers such as PHOENIX, ZEUS Lite™ and APOLLO Lite™, Collaroll comes in a roll which unwraps to 10m long x 300mm wide with a sewn in concertinaed skirt. The skirt can be moulded to shape to seal it neatly to the upright barrier, which is usually at 90 degrees to the Collaroll and fixed into place using the FIREFLY™ high temperature adhesive. The R31 Staple Gun and Staples are used to staple the Collaroll to itself tightly around the penetration.

A programme of works carried out at a Nottinghamshire hospital has seen a number of products from the FIREFLY® range employed to upgrade the passive fire protection throughout the roof spaces, with the manufacturer providing site specific design details to assist the highly experienced contractor complete the project on time. DC Fire Protection Ltd., based at Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, works right across the country covering multiple sectors of the construction industry, installing active as well as passive fire protection systems.  For its 10 week contract at the Ashfield Health and Wellbeing Centre at Kirby in Ashfield, the specialist installed dozens of rolls of the Titan Lite™ fire barrier as well as the Apollo Horizontal barrier, Collaroll and two of the 1200 x 600mm FR120 Access Panels to link some of the safety zones being created. Built in 2007, Ashfield Health and Wellbeing Centre is conjoined to the existing Ashfield Community Hospital and offers extended health services to the local community, supplementing the current services by providing purpose-built rehabilitation facilities, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other community health services.  It also offers consulting rooms, treatment rooms and an activities of daily living suite, rehabilitation and gym areas.A Director of DC Fire Protection, Daniel Mabbott, commented: “We have been dealing with FIREFLY® for a number of years, including buying large quantities of the Titan Lite™ and Apollo LiteTM , which we use for commercial contracts as well as other work.  We often propose the use of FIREFLY® systems to clients and in this instance, where we were simply given the performance standard the client required, we proposed the use of Titan Lite™ plus Apollo Horizontal to upgrade the exiting fire walls which no longer comply with current requirements.” “There were a number of plastic PVC-U soil stacks rising through the roof in what was specified as a Controlled Zone, for which FIREFLY® provided us with a bespoke detail to protect them where they passed through the barriers, while we installed a couple of their FR120 Access Panels in addition to the fire doors which we fitted in a number of locations throughout the roof.  The project was completed on time and we have now moved onto another contract where we are again using a number of FIREFLY® products.”Third party approved, FIREFY® Apollo Horizontal 30:30 provides 30 minutes integrity and insulation to exceed the minimum requirements within the Building Regulations relating to fire barriers.  In common with other FIREFY® products, Apollo Horizontal is manufactured using specially treated woven glass fibre fabric, being flexible and lightweight making it easy to install. Specifiers and specialist fire contractors wishing to find more information about the full range of products available from FIREFLY® can visit www.tbafirefly.com

Crossrail’s new station at Abbey Wood has been built over the railway tracks where the Elizabeth line terminates. From above, the building is shaped like a manta ray, its ‘wings’ extending into canopies sheltering staircases either side which swoop down to platform level below.Stretto-22 Soffit PanelsThe soffit panels for the staircases and elevated walkways were made from Stretto-22 pressure-locked grating, customised to a bespoke 66x22mm aperture to provide an enhanced level of visual screening. Each panel was exactly contoured to match the demanding serpentine shape of the footbridge canopies.Torino-22 Barrier FencingBarrier fencing was made for the platforms from Torino fence panels which were customised and engineered with a heavy intermediate framing bar at the loading point to comply with Network Rail’s specified requirement.DeltaBox-70 Louvred ScreeningStorage areas beneath the stairs were secured with DeltaBox-70 louvred screening panels.Torino-11 and Stretto-11 Protective Screens Lang+Fulton also supplied a Torino-11 screen to protect the overhead lines and track from the threat of thrown objects.An alternative access to the station was enclosed with a Stretto-11 anti-projectile screen.

FIREFLY ZEUS Lite™ Safeguards Ceiling Spaces Across Wakefield Food WarehouseForming a fresh element to the UK’s critical food supply infrastructure, a new distribution warehouse in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is near to completion with the specialist suspended ceiling installer making use of ZEUS Lite™ 90:30 from the range of TBA FIREFLY™, to create vertical fire barriers at intervals within the roof-space across the footprint of the building.The 15,300m2 facility at Headways in Stanley, on the outskirts of Wakefield, has been built by GF Tomlinson for the Kitwave Group, a national distribution business with a fleet of over 500 vehicles supplying hotels, restaurants and many other venues across the country. The installation of the ZEUS Lite™ was undertaken by Nottingham Suspended Ceilings, as the sub-contractor well experienced with the performance and user-friendly characteristics of the Firefly range.All the rolls of ZEUS Lite™ 90:30 material and the well proven FIREFLY™ fixings, including stainless steel staples and fire-resistant adhesive, were supplied to Nottingham Suspended Ceilings by the merchant, Minster On-line.The site agent for Nottingham Suspended Ceilings, Mark Prescott, commented: “Our company carries out commercial contracts right across the East Midlands and beyond, where we have made use of Firefly barriers on a large number of past projects. Although you have to be a competent contractor and follow the manufacturer’s guidance precisely, we find the ZEUS Lite™ and other products in the FIREFLY™ range straightforward to install. In the case of the warehouse here, we have now completed the installation of the fire barriers up to roof level in dozens of locations across the building; as well as installing all of the suspended ceilings throughout.”FIREFLY™ ZEUS Lite™ is ideally suited to this type of application, comprising a flexible woven fabric fire barrier that has been specifically developed for the vertical separation and compartmentation of extensive concealed spaces within buildings.By offering 90 minutes integrity and 30 minutes insulation, FIREFLY™ ZEUS Lite™ 90:30 exceeds the minimum requirements regarding fire barriers under the Building Regulations’ Approved Document B (Fire Safety). The specially treated glass fibre fabric is strong and resilient as well as flexible while, crucially, the system’s certification covers the inclusion of service penetrations; which many alternative products do not.