Fire Safety With Specialty Coatings

By Cynthia Challener

Fire protection has been recognized as a crucial part of public and com­mercial building design for decades. Following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, increased attention has been fo­cused on the need to ensure that adequate fire protection is incorporated and maintained in buildings where large numbers of people may be present.

Thus, fire-resistant coatings, which have been available since the 1960s, have been receiving increased attention. These specialty coatings can help lengthen the time that structural materials can maintain their integrity under fire conditions.

Fireproofing is recognized to play a crucial role in establishing building safety and generally refers to the protection of the structural steel and other supporting parts in a building. Traditional fireproofing materials include concrete encasement, gypsum wallboard, and coatings categorized as Spray ­Applied Fire-Resistive Materials (SFRMs) that are typically composed of in­gredients such as mineral wool, cement, and gypsum, and can vary in den­sity.

Intumescent fire-resistive coatings are newer fireproofing materials. They are paint-like coatings that are applied to structural steel members at a final thickness from 0.03 to 0.50 inches.