As a manufacturer and supplier of tested firestop systems, Quelfire supports design teams during the early engagement process to identify appropriate tested details for service penetrations. We also provide extensive technical support and documentation to ensure compliant installations.
It does, however, remain the project team’s responsibility to assess the information we provide and incorporate it into a design that complies with Building Regulations – we do not provide design drawings or assume design liability.
Why should Designers consider firestopping early in the design process?
What is early engagement?
Early engagement in firestopping is ultimately about making key fire safety decisions at the design stage, when there is both the time and the flexibility to make required amendments.
A more granular definition is that it involves matching each proposed service penetration that breaches fire compartmentation with a suitable firestopping solution to restore the necessary fire rating.
Why is early consideration of firestopping important?
For decades, firestopping was considered a lower-priority package, meaning fire safety elements were not addressed until several months into a project.
This often meant that M&E services were installed without regard for firestopping spacing requirements and the parameters of tested solutions. 
Fire safety design coordination ensures life safety by bringing all key parties together to discuss project objectives, potential challenges, and proposed solutions, helping teams construct safer buildings and achieve building compliance from day one.
How does early engagement support Gateway 2 requirements?
Regrettably, it took the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 to spur change across the construction industry. A fire that could have been avoided if warnings had been taken seriously.
In 2022, the Building Safety Act (BSA) was introduced, followed by the Gateway regime, which established stop-go checkpoints for each phase of a building project.
Gateway 2 requires project teams to submit detailed project designs and demonstrate how they plan to achieve the set objectives.
Early firestopping engagement supports this requirement by prioritising fire safety and project team collaboration to design, then build around available tested details, and to compile evidence for submission to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Is Quelfire part of the design team?
What is Quelfire’s role as a firestopping manufacturer?
The construction industry is constantly changing, which can be daunting when faced with vast amounts of information, new tested details, and best practices.
Our mission is, and has always been, to provide passive fire protection support.
The team provides extensive firestopping technical advice and educational resources to all stakeholders, from main contractors to firestopping contractors, throughout the design-to-installation process.
Additionally, we encourage early collaboration to help us identify relevant tested firestopping solutions for your project.
However, it’s important to understand that we provide standard installation details – not design drawings.
Why Quelfire provides technical support rather than design services
Competency is crucial in today’s industry. It means having the correct Skills, Knowledge, Experience, and Behaviours (SKEB) to carry out your work.
Under the Building Safety Act, demonstrating and ensuring competence is now a legal requirement.
While we are experts in Quelfire products and systems and have knowledge surrounding these areas, we are not Fire Consultants, Principal Designers, Architects, or MEP Designers. These professionals have the appropriate expertise and qualifications to make decisions on complex matters. 
Our role is to provide technical guidance on our tested systems and help project teams understand their scope of application. Where a question falls outside our area of expertise, we will direct you to the appropriate specialist.
As manufacturers, we connect the design to the firestopping, but we’re not the final step.
What responsibilities remain with the Architect and MEP Designer?
A project’s design requires input from the Architect and MEP Designer. The Architect is responsible for integrating the overarching fire strategy into the physical design, whereas the MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) Designer coordinates internal systems.
However, these elements require significant coordination among teams to ensure that structural and firestopping requirements are met.
The responsibility of the Architect and MEP Designer is to provide as much specific information as possible so we can help identify appropriate tested fire stopping solutions for the project team to take away and incorporate into the fire safety design.
While we offer detailed technical support to incorporate tested firestopping solutions into project design, the design team is responsible for producing project-specific details.
We cannot control or take ownership of design elements outside our expertise, such as MEP design, which must integrate firestopping parameters based on test evidence and remain technically accurate.
Therefore, we’re unable to conduct project-specific design; instead, we provide standard tested details and ongoing technical support for implementing these parameters.
When should design teams engage with Quelfire during a project?
Why Stages 2 and 3 are key points for firestopping discussions
The RIBA Stages divide the construction process into eight stages, each explaining what is required.
We typically encourage engagement between RIBA Stage 2 (Concept Design) and RIBA Stage 3 (Spatial Coordination). At this phase, MEP services are being coordinated throughout the building, making it the ideal time to check that the services and BWIC (Builders Work in Connection) openings comply with test evidence.
Waiting until RIBA Stage 4 often results in project rework and design changes to the MEP services.
How early collaboration helps avoid redesign later in the project
To ensure buildings are safe and comply with relevant regulations, fire stopping needs to be designed according to the manufacturer’s tested details.
If it is not considered when decisions are made about the location of fire compartmentation walls, floors, and central routes for M&E services, there is no guarantee that manufacturers, like ourselves, will have a tested solution.
And this can lead to extra costs and construction delays due to needing to redesign service penetrations.
What technical support does Quelfire provide during the design process?
Technical Information Collection Schedule (TICS)
As part of our early engagement process, we provide project design teams with our Technical Information Collection Schedule to complete, which helps us identify the appropriate standard installation details.
The schedule supports MEPs in locating penetrations and supplying all relevant service details, while also enabling the architect to provide substrate information and required fire ratings.
Tested installation details and product documentation
With over 700 service penetration sealing details for a wide range of scenarios, our primary focus is to provide test evidence that reflects the realities of construction and is practical to install on-site.
You will be able to access all supporting technical documentation, which makes the design and installation of our firestop seals even easier.
Extensive technical support
We’re here to support you every step of the way. Once we have all the specific information, we can help identify tested solutions for your application and provide technical guidance from design through to installation.
This involves joining firestopping technical meetings with key parties to clarify our tested details, scope of application, terminology, and spacing requirements.
Additional technical resources
Finally, our website and social media channels, such as YouTube and LinkedIn, offer a wealth of free information that may just answer any questions you have without needing to ask. We cover a lot!
You can also discover the Golden Principles Guidance that helps contractors prioritise spacing requirements, and the QuelSelector Tool, which breaks down our library of tested details for easy use.
Need support during RIBA Stage 2 or 3? Contact our Technical Team.
