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Protection by professionals

The S.A. National Standard (SANS) 10400 Part T as Code of Practice affecting public and building safety aspects of the National Building Regulations, brings with it a host of compliance standards and practices for the built environment. It addresses risk management in the comprehensive sense. So, legislation for fire containment is a priority with government departments – national, provincial and local.

“Compliance with regulations is firmly on the agenda of many commercial and industrial companies. Hence, the installation of best practice active and passive fire protection systems in commercial and industrial buildings, has become key,” says FireSpec’s CEO, Leo Slootmans.

“With the current state of the economy globally, an emphasis on existing building performance and also on refits is of great importance to both engineers and facilities managers.”

Examples of widely different projects undertaken by Firespec include:

* The Chevron Refinery in Cape Town.

* The Artscape Theatre Complex.

* The Departures Terminal at Cape Town International Airport.

* UCT – all three campuses.

* Cavendish Square.

FireSpec employs more than 45 personnel, including specialists, who regularly undergo training and updates in the relevant fields of expertise. Slootmans believes that one of its passive products, Fireboard CS, offers great potential in the low income or even informal housing environment.

“Correctly placed on the outer walls of a home, this product resists fire penetration for up to 2 hours and can help prevent the spread of runaway fire from one dwelling to another such as happens in the informal settlements,” says Slootmans. “On the other end of the spectrum, our Intumescent coating is being used to protect steel framework in major upgrades such as the Blue Route Centre in Cape Town. We urge architects, engineers and facilities managers to give us a call to help them with their building protection planning.”

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