Passive Fire Protection
The protection that works even if nothing else does.
Passive fire protection is the part of a building's fire strategy that doesn't need power, activation, or anyone to respond — walls, floors, doors and seals that are simply built and maintained to hold fire and smoke back for a defined period. It's often invisible day to day, which is exactly why it's so commonly found to have failed when it's actually checked.
AJR Facilities Management carries out passive fire protection surveys, including fire door inspections and compartmentation surveys, giving building owners and managers clear evidence of where their building's fire-resisting fabric stands and what needs to be done to put it right.
Why Passive Protection Gets Missed
- Hidden by design — fire-rated construction sits inside walls, above ceilings and behind doors, so damage isn't visible until it's inspected
- Eroded over time — cables, pipework and other trades routinely breach fire-rated walls and floors without anyone making the seal good again
- Fire doors take daily damage — self-closers get disconnected, gaps open up, and intumescent seals get painted over or removed
- No alarm for failure — unlike detection or sprinklers, a failed fire door or breached compartment gives no warning until there's a fire
What Our Surveys Cover
- Fire door inspections — leaf and frame condition, gaps and tolerances, seals and intumescent strips, self-closer operation, glazing and ironmongery
- Compartmentation surveys — walls, floors and ceilings that separate the building into fire-resisting zones
- Identification of unsealed penetrations — cables, pipes and ducts passing through fire-rated construction
- Review of fire-stopping materials and methods against current standards
- Photographic evidence of every defect found, referenced to its location
- Written report with prioritised, practical recommendations
Why It Matters
Passive fire protection is what buys people time to escape and firefighters time to act, by holding fire and smoke within one part of a building for as long as it's designed to. A single failed fire door or unsealed penetration can undo that protection completely — and it's a common finding raised against building owners and managers when things go wrong.
Our Process
- Get in touch — tell us about your building and areas of concern
- Site visit — our surveyor inspects doors and compartment lines in detail
- Report — you receive a clear, actionable report with photographic evidence
- Review — we recommend a resurvey schedule to keep your building compliant
Or email sandy@ajrfm.co.uk directly.