Discover how Tenmat’s Fire-Rated Light Covers and Through-Penetration Solutions play a core role in protecting our community’s health centers and assisted living facilities.
Ambulance sirens blaring. Intercoms reporting incoming emergencies. Medical monitoring devices beeping and whirling. Medical centers, such as hospitals and assisted living facilities, are always bustling with activity and people.
With its prime functionality of keeping our communities healthy, healthcare facilities are required to be fully operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
However, in rare incidents, there are times when a healthcare center’s operations are compromised. One of those rare incidents would be an active fire outbreak. An active fire has the potential to endanger immobile patients, healthcare professionals, and expensive medical equipment.
In addition to its original endangerment, active fire outbreaks are known to accelerate rapidly within healthcare infrastructures. Why? Simply, unprotected openings.
Diagnosing the Issue: Unprotected Openings.
When analyzing the integrity of a healthcare building’s fire protection, any time a component breaks a barrier, such as a ceiling or floor, the assembly is now compromised. As one can suspect, there are endless unprotected openings in floors, ceilings, and walls.
But why are these openings considered life safety hazards? In short, these openings as a prime pathway for a fire to accelerate throughout a structure. When these fixtures are placed into their applications, often, these fixtures melt under the high temperatures of a fire. With the melted fixture, there is no barrier between the fire and its access to the remainder of the building. The question is “How do you identify these unprotected openings in a redevelopment or new construction project?”
Fixing the Fracture: Specifying Fire-Rated Light Covers.
Whether it’s lighting a surgical operating room or ensuring medical professionals are aware of important announcements, recessed can lights, troffer luminaires, or in-ceiling loudspeakers are common components in healthcare facilities. As previously mentioned, when these recessed fixtures are installed into these assemblies – the assembly now compromised. The main reason why is because these recessed fixtures melt in a matter of minutes.
Once melted, smoke and flames can quickly accelerate upwards and sideways in a building – drastically depleting evacuation and response times. In a structure where many patients are immobile or medically inclined, the non-existent evacuation time puts these individuals in critical danger.
To eliminate this potential scenario, building code officials have adopted building requirements where these unprotected ceiling openings are reinforced with a form of passive fire protection.
Here at Tenmat, we have formulated our Fire-Rated Covers to be applicable in various applications – especially in healthcare-related infrastructures. Explore our fire-rated covers for recessed can lights, troffer luminaires, and in-ceiling loudspeakers below:
Treating the Tumor of Through-Penetration Openings.
Treating the Tumor of Through-Penetration Openings.In parallel with unprotected ceiling openings, through penetration openings pose as a major threat as well. Even though cables, wires, and optical cables tend to be minor in size; once melted – these openings become anything but minor.
With these components being necessary for building functionality, it is imperative that architects specify proper passive to ensure the highest levels of building functionality and fire protection.
At Tenmat, we offer a wide range of firestopping solutions and materials – applicable in a multitude of through-penetration applications. Explore Tenmat’s Intumescent Through Penetration Solutions below:
In Recovery.
In the realm of healthcare, every second counts – and so does every layer of proper passive fire protection. Fires, while rare, can create devasting consequences in facilities filled with vulnerable patients, critical medical equipment, and around the clock operations. Therefore, addressing passive fire protection isn’t just a building code requirement – it’s non-negotiable.
Unprotected openings, whether in the form of ceiling fixtures or through-penetrations, can turn a minor incident into a tragedy in minutes. Our Fire-Rated Light Covers and Through-Penetration Solutions provide essential, code-compliant defense mechanisms that preserve the integrity of fire-rated assembles and buy time in emergencies.
When it comes to protecting healthcare spaces, Tenmat provides peace of mind – preventing smoke and flame spread before they ever have a chance to spread.
