How Does Fire Rated Foam Work?

Fire-rated foams are specialist products that are engineered for fire resistance. They come in various formulations and can contain flame-retardant additives to help resist ignition and slow the spread of fire. Expanding fire-rated foam, such as Blue60, is designed to completely fill the gap between a door frame and wall, creating a robust fire and smoke seal around a door.

Understanding how fire-rated expanding foam works and its essential role in fire safety can help guarantee that the correct products are used when installing fire doors. This ensures that buildings and the people who use them are properly protected.

Mechanism Of Action

When it’s exposed to oxygen, fire-rated foam undergoes a chemical reaction. This causes it to swell significantly, filling the gaps between a doorset and the nearby wall. As well as filling the gap, the foam forms a stable char layer that acts as an insulated barrier. This reduces heat transfer and prevents the passage of flames and hot gases from one side of the fire door to the other.

Response To Oxygen

Expanding fire-rated foams, like Blue60, are formulated to respond to oxygen. When they come into contact with air, the foam initiates a controlled expansion, increasing significantly in volume. This expansion is crucial as it’s this process that helps to fill any gaps in the fire door frame. Once dry, the foam barrier will prevent oxygen from circulating and feeding a potential fire.

What Makes It Unique?

Fire-rated expanding foam is unique because, when used as a sealant, particularly for fire door installations, it ensures crucial gaps around the frame are sealed to the required fire safety standards. Other types of foam that are not tested to the same standard may not provide a sufficient level of resistance in case of a fire.

In addition to its safety benefits, fire-rated expanding foam is both faster and more cost-effective to install than traditional methods such as Rockwool and mastic. These older methods typically require a multi-step process involving packing and applying mastic, which can be time-consuming and labour-intensive. By contrast, expanding foam is applied directly from the canister, cures quickly, and only requires 3 minutes to trim excess foam, significantly reducing installation time. This makes it a highly efficient choice for contractors and installers who need to meet strict fire compliance standards without compromising on speed or budget.

In the case of Blue60, it’s unique as it’s the only expanding fire-rated foam on the market that’s blue. This bright colour makes the foam instantly recognisable to inspectors and surveyors, allowing them to quickly and easily identify the components' compliance.

Applications Of Fire-Rated Foam

Fire-rated foam is commonly used to seal linear gaps, such as those between walls and floors, and around pipes and services that pass through fire-rated compartments. One of the most important applications of fire-rated foam sealant is in the installation of fire doors and frames. The foam is used to fill perimeter gaps (such as those between the doorset and wall) to ensure the door is fire-resistant once in place.

The foam is also used around any openings that need to be sealed in order to prevent the passage of smoke and fire. It’s important to note that Blue60 should only be used with fire doors.

Installation

When installing fire doors and using fire-rated foam in other applications, it’s essential that manufacturers’ instructions and installation guidelines are followed precisely and at all times. Factors like gap size, fill depth and curing conditions can impact performance, and the incorrect use of fire-rated foam could compromise the fire-resistant properties of the installation, leading to non-compliance.

When using fire-rated foam, installers should wear appropriate PPE, such as gloves and eye protection, and ensure the space is adequately ventilated.

To find out more about how fire-rated foam works and to learn about the other fire-resistant products we offer, contact us and speak to a member of our team.