CPD 18 2025: Understanding fire stopping and liability

Fire safety in the built environment has long been shaped by hard-won lessons. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, parliament mandated brick and stone construction, wider streets and robust party walls to slow fire spread – establishing the principle that fire is managed as much by design and separation as by response on the day.

The contemporary regulatory framework arrived with the Building Act 1984, giving ministers powers to set national building regulations. The first consolidated regulations in 1985, with later updates, still provide the legal framework for building design, construction, alteration and fire resistance.

Facade fires in the late 20th century focused attention on external wall performance. The British Standard BS 8414 introduced full-scale fire tests for cladding systems, and BRE’s BR 135 set criteria for systems tested. From the mid 2000s, guidance in Approved Document B (ADB) of the Building Regulations recognised two broad routes to demonstrate facade performance: using materials of limited combustibility, or demonstrating whole-system performance via the BS 8414 systems test assessed to BR 135.

The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 was a watershed, exposing systemic failings in product testing, regulation and competence, and catalysed a vast programme of reform and remediation. In late 2018, amendments to the Building Regulations banned combustible materials through the external walls of certain buildings with a storey at least 18m above ground level, with similar bans in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In 2022, England widened the ban to include hotels, hostels, and boarding houses and specified attachments, although incidents such as The Cube fire in Bolton in 2019 highlighted ongoing risks below 18m.

Accountability and legal liability

The Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022 strengthened England’s regime, creating the Building Safety Regulator, introducing new dutyholder responsibilities from design to occupation, and establishing a rigorous approval regime for higher-risk buildings.

For those specifying, designing, inspecting or installing fire stopping and compartmentation, the message is clear: competence, documented decisions and verifiable performance are now legal obligations.

Learning objectives

• Understand your legal liability in respect to the provision of fire protection.
• Recognise the importance of effective compartmentation.
• Apply knowledge of fire behaviour, combustibility and Euroclass ratings to design and specification.

Your liability

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) states: “If involved with the provision of a fire protection package, at any level, then you share liability for its usefulness and operation when it is needed in fire.”

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must ensure fire precautions are both in place and effective. The BSA 2022 reinforces accountability via new roles (accountable person, principal designer, principal contractor), strict competence requirements, and extended enforcement powers.

New liability mechanisms now mean:

• Defective fire protection materials can trigger claims decades later.
• Building liability orders may extend to associated companies, even if the original contractor no longer exists.
• Time limits for claims under the Defective Premises Act: up to 30 years for past projects, and up to 15 years for work completed after June 2022.

Legislation and guidance

The UK’s legal framework combines primary legislation (Building Act, BSA 2022), secondary legislation (Building Regulations 2010), and statutory guidance (Approved Documents such as ADB).

ADB offers practical guidance but is not law: compliance ultimately rests with the courts. Sector-specific documents include Building Bulletin 100 (schools) and Health Technical Memorandum 05-02 (healthcare).

The Golden Thread concept, championed by Dame Judith Hackitt, requires that critical building information be created, stored, and maintained digitally throughout a building’s lifecycle — ensuring transparency, traceability, and safer management.

Combustibility and product performance

A material’s combustibility affects how much it contributes to fire load. Testing per EN 13501-1 (Euroclass) assesses ignitability, heat release, physical changes (melting, charring, flaming droplets), smoke production, and flame spread.

Euroclass ratings:

• A1 / A2 – non- or limited-combustibility

• B–F – increasing combustibility

Older systems like Class 0 are obsolete and do not correspond to Euroclass standards. Specifiers should always request a product’s Declaration of Performance (DoP) for verified data.

Compartmentation

Compartmentation divides a building into fire-resistant sections, slowing the spread of flames, smoke, and toxic gases — allowing time for escape and firefighting.

• Integrity (E): prevents fire/gas penetration
• Insulation (I): limits heat transfer
• Loadbearing (R): retains structural capacity

Requirements vary by building type, height, and use.

Fire stopping

Fire stopping preserves compartmentation where services penetrate walls or floors. It includes:

• Penetration seals

• Linear joint systems

• Fire stops

• Loadbearing void fillers 

Smoke and toxic gases (e.g., CO, CO₂, HCl, NOₓ) are leading causes of death – proper fire stopping prevents their spread.

Design stage integration

Fire safety must be embedded from the outset. Best practice: use tested, standardised solutions with verifiable data. When bespoke details are necessary, seek expert guidance or independent testing (e.g., via UKAS-accredited labs).

Using third-party certified products and installers supports compliance and ensures reliable performance.

Independent third-party certification and accreditation

Two levels exist:

1. Legally required certification – under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), products with harmonised standards must undergo testing, factory audits, and surveillance by a notified body.

2. Voluntary schemes – provide additional assurance through independent testing, manufacturing audits, and certification of conformity.

Combining certified products + certified installers gives full confidence in compliance and effectiveness.

Solutions and best practice

Fire-stopping solutions maintain a building’s fire resistance by protecting structural elements, cavities, and service penetrations.

Key categories:

• Structural protection (for steel, concrete, timber)
• Linear gaps/seals (movement joints)
• Pipework and trunking solutions
• Penetration void fillers

Installation best practice:

• Proper labelling and identification
• No exposed raw insulation
• Maintain spacing as tested
• Correct installation of pipes, ducts, and dampers
• Limit cable bundle sizes (<100 mm)
• Use approved sealants (e.g., high-expansion for CPVC)

Final thoughts

Fire safety is not just compliance – it’s competence, foresight, and system-wide understanding. Each professional in the chain – designer, installer, inspector – carries responsibility for ensuring that fire protection measures function as an integrated, verifiable system.

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