The fire-stopping expertise of Quelfire combined with the installation skills of RA Fire Protection has created a safe, compliant residential development in Skipton.
Belle Vue Mills in Skipton, North Yorkshire, is a refurbishment project that will create 39 high-quality apartments. The main contractor at Belle Vue Mills was Triton Construction, which has its head office in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, and a North West regional office in Warrington.
Project challenges
There were several challenges on this project arising from the fact that it was an original mill building requiring various penetrations for services through existing walls and floors.
The walls themselves were thick stone construction, while the curved brick internal ceilings required angled penetrations that then had to be firestopped.
fire stopping systems
The main contractor had also recommended Quelfire because they had delivered a successful outcome
Each of the service apertures in the building had to be correctly fire-stopped and Yorkshire-based RA Fire Protection decided to partner with Quelfire.
The company chose to do this because of the complexity of the work as well as the breadth of fire-stopping systems offered by Quelfire.
The main contractor had also recommended Quelfire because they had delivered a successful outcome for the M&E contractor during earlier phases at Belle Vue Mills.
Addressing the challenges
John Afford, Director at RA Fire Protection, said, “As soon as we approached Quelfire we could tell that they knew exactly how to overcome the challenges at this existing mill building."
He adds, "Following a meeting on site, the team at Quelfire gave us some technical guidance and then created detailed drawings along with a product call-off schedule. That meant we knew we would have the right items on site when we needed them.”
Customer service
John Afford continues, “We’ve used other fire-stopping suppliers but can confidently say Quelfire wins hands down, every time. The team was efficient, friendly, and very knowledgeable. Combined with their proven expertise and great customer service we would highly recommend them.”
verification checks
With the Quelfire team on hand throughout, and verification checks incorporated into the schedule
Once RA Fire Protection had submitted the drawings and gained approval, it was then a matter of methodically working through the installation schedule on-site.
With the Quelfire team on hand throughout, and verification checks incorporated into the schedule to ensure all fire stops were completed, the developer was highly confident that the completed project would meet building control requirements.
Firestopping
Firestopping in existing and new buildings is essential to retain fire compartmentation. It is these compartments that delay the spread of fire for a given amount of time, allowing occupants to evacuate to safety.
It also ensures safe corridors for fire and rescue services to enter the building, whilst keeping a fire contained for longer and delaying its spread to other areas.
Coordinated approach
Fire and smoke can also spread invisibly through ducts and penetrations that aren’t adequately fire-stopped, which is why a methodical approach, with rigorous, audited checks at each stage, and label tagging of each penetration, ensured a coordinated approach to the fire-stopping work at Belle Vue Mills.
An increasing number of contractors like RA Fire Protection are partnering with Quelfire, because the company has the expertise to identify and firestop all penetrations within walls, ceilings, and floors.
Expertise and product range
John Afford, Director at RA Fire Protection, added, “We now use Quelfire on all our sites because they have the technical expertise as well as a product range to meet all our fire-stopping requirements.”
Quelfire is one of the pioneering manufacturers and suppliers of specialist passive fire protection for buildings and has 40 years experience of in supplying high-quality, independently tested solutions.
The company’s products are tested to the current standards including; BS EN1366-3: 2009 and BS476: Part 20: 1987. A number of its products are also CE Marked. Quelfire has a reputation for outstanding customer support including unlimited technical advice during the creation of specifications and overcoming on-site challenges.
