Amongst the challenges in trying to optimise the regeneration of a sprawling Manchester hospital site, providing fire protection to retained structures as part of the wider compliance strategy required agile solutions as well as physical commitment from the specialists involved, with the FIREFLY® FB 180 ablative batts providing a practical and versatile solution in multiple situations – particularly when tackling a series of basement spaces where the cramped conditions included severely restricted headroom.
Prosol UK, which is based at Trafford Park, Manchester has an established track record working on healthcare contracts for the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust over recent years and has worked in two separate areas of the North Manchester General Hospital since its £54M restructuring got under way last year. In the case of the basement – none of which is over 1500mm high – Prosol is working for Graham Construction, with Hive Projects, Sheppard Robson Architects and the Trust’s own Fire Officer all needing to approve specifications. Local Building Control officers were also involved in the specification process, ensuring the guidance of the Building Safety Act is adhered to while FIREFLY® Technical Manager, Chris Boam, provided project-specific technical guidance and attended site to review the proposed installation approach.
The Site Manager for Prosol, Shaun McGonigle commented: “We tendered for the contract to carry out the firestopping within the basement which Graham is in charge of, as well as on a roof area which is under a separate contract. Installation was always going to be hard work, but another company had proposed a fire curtain, which we didn’t feel was a practical proposition given the confined space. We had originally encountered FIREFLY® at a fire industry exhibition at the NEC and had been impressed by their intumescent coating and other products on show. Ultimately, we believed the FB180 batts were the most viable solution and asked Chris Boam to come out and look at the situation.”
“We ended up using the batts simultaneously on another hospital project in Burnley and they worked equally well. In fact, for the basement it was ideal as the product is low weight and easy handle, while the sheets can be cut to the exact size we needed as long as everything was butted up and painted with the special coating. You just can’t do that with a curtain. It was brilliant.” During a five-week period from October across the three different subterranean spaces, the Prosol team used approximately 300 sheets of the product, supplied by Galaxy Insulation, a FIREFLY® stockist. During this spring, the team returned to complete a third phase of work within another area of the basement.
Chris Boam, Technical Manager at FIREFLY® commented: “Prosol is very active in the NHS sector and we have worked with Darren, Shaun and the team on a number of healthcare projects. Darren and Shaun have always shown a strong focus on compliance and making sure the barriers and other fire protection measures are installed in line with the relevant tested details and FIREFLY® guidance. Where the site conditions or service arrangements fall outside standard details, as was the case at North Manchester, we are regularly asked to attend site at an early stage to review the proposed installation route. This allows us to work with the contractor towards a practical, best-practice solution which supports the wider compliance process. Prosol have also had a number of installers attend our training courses, which supports the quality and consistency of their installation work.”
The 1200 x 600 mm FIREFLY® FB180 Ablative Batts are 60 mm thick and comprise high-density, non-combustible mineral fibre with a nominal density of 180 kg/m³, factory-coated on both faces with Firefly’s specially formulated ablative coating. The product has been tested to the relevant BS EN fire resistance standards and can provide up to 90 minutes integrity and 60 minutes insulation, subject to the supporting construction, application and installation detail., FIREFLY® FB180 Batts are also suitable for selected floor and raised access floor applications, including computer access floor voids commonly found in data centres, where void compartmentation is required. The system can also provide a tested sound reduction of 27 dB when installed within suitable floor and ceiling void arrangements. Full details of the product certification and installation guidance can be obtained by contacting the FIREFLY® support team or downloading the technical documents from the website.
Images shown are taken during installation and some sections of the installation might be incomplete.
