APR - JUN 20198 Firestopping is one of the most critical aspects of building design and construction. This code mandated element of fire protection helps restore the integrity of fire-rated floor and wall barriers when openings are made to accommodate penetrations such as data cable pathways. With only a few small holes in a fire-rated assembly, smoke could migrate throughout a building in a matter of minutes. With significant efforts devoted to risk mitigation in both new build and existing data centers, it is essential that firestop design and installation is executed correctly. Data cables penetrations present the most unique challenge to fire-stopping ... not only due to combustible cable jacketing that can burn away under fire conditions but for another key reason ... cable re-penetration. Openings or pathways for data cables are continuously modified or upgraded through the life cycle of a data center. This amplifies the risk even further as cable penetrations that may have initially been fire stopped correctly could easily revert to being non-compliant and leave a facility exposed.Firestopping is evaluated in accordance with UL and ASTM testing. Products or "systems" are subjected to multiple fire and pressure resistance requirements which must be met for a firestop system to pass these standards. Why is this critical, especially CHALLENGES WITH FIRE & AIRFLOW CONTAINMENT IN MISSION-CRITICAL FACILITIES: DATA CENTER FOCUSBY CHRIS KUSEL, CFPS, CDT, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, HILTI NORTH AMERICAChris KuselIN MY OPINION
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