Fire Wrap Systems as Alternative to Fire Rated Shaft Construction Life safety is paramount. Ducts such as those supplying fresh pressurization air to an exit stairwell or those designed to extract smoke from a fire area in a building are just a few amongst the many air-distribution system (ADS) duct types required by code to be protected from fire in a commercial building. As building codes and fire test standards have evolved over the years, the presence and acceptance of flexible fire rated duct wrap systems as alternatives to gypsum shaft enclosures to provide the required hourly duration of protection has immensely increased.
Many situations arise in a commercial building that make flexible duct wrap systems an attractive alternative to gypsum shaft assemblies for providing the required fire resistance rating. Here are a few examples of these scenarios:
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Insufficient space to construct a properly designed code-compliant gypsum shaft
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Difficult duct configurations
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Other building materials, such as ducts, pipelines, and equipment, as well as their support structures, contribute to the space limits.
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Floor ducts that come out of one fire-rated gypsum shaft, run horizontally to the other side of the building, and re-enter another gypsum shaft are known as "cross-overs."
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Ducts that run through fire-resistant stairwells and exits
What is a flexible fire wrap system?