FIREFLY
UNIT 3
TRANSPENNINE TRADING ESTATE
GORRELS WAY
ROCHDALE
LANCASHIRE OL11 2PX
Tel: 01706 758817
Fax:
Suppliers of: Fire Protection, Fire collars, Fire Barriers, Fire hoods, Downlight Covers, Passive Fire Protection, Cavity Fire Barriers, Fire resistant Membranes, Smoke Control, Passive Fire Protection
FIREFLY™ is a range of world-leading and fully certified passive fire protection products comprising lightweight, easy to install flexible fire barriers with system ancillaries supported by state of the art fire stopping products.
Fire barrier systems are available for vertical and horizontal applications, independently tested for use on various substrates and the expected accommodation of penetrations.
Fully tested and certified by IFC. Installation drawings and expert technical support are available both online and in person.
Rated for integrity and insulation performance, TITAN Lite™ 120:60 is the highest performing fire barrier exceeding 2 hours integrity and 1 hour insulation performance (BS 476 Parts 20/22).
FIREFLY™ was the first certified flexible fire barrier system and remains the most recognised and respected brand in the business to this day.
Fire barriers are used to compartmentalise building voids or concealed spaces to delay the spread of fire and smoke in an emergency. They are rated for integrity and insulation performance.
The recent addition of firestopping products makes FIREFLY™ the number one supplier of passive fire protection products in the UK.
All FIREFLY™ passive fire protection products are fully certified and supported by an experienced team able to provide timely and practical support and training to ensure installations are problem-free, compliant with regulations and meet the increasingly demanding expectations of the market.
FIREFLY™ flexible fire barriers (also known as cavity barriers) are made with combinations of specialty woven and nonwoven glass substrates and aluminium foils. The range of barriers has been developed by TBA Protective Technologies Ltd, the leading UK producer of high-performance materials for thermal protection applications, with a 150 year pedigree in technical textile manufacturing.
Further technical information, including Technical Datasheets, BIM files and Specification documents are available from the Manufacturer’s own website.
FIREFLY® FB180 Batt System Features in Glasgow Central Station Redevelopment
The first phase of a £5million investment by Network Rail in Scotland’s busiest station, has completed with the opening of Avanti West Coast’s new first-class lounge and ticket office. The first phase of the project involved the historic Caledonian Chambers area of the station which is on the east side of the concourse. Caledonian Chambers is a Category B Listed Building designed by Glaswegian architect, James Miller, and was completed in 1903. It was built for the Caledonian Railway Company.
Modifications and improvements were led by Network Rail and included the upgrading of the fire protection for the historic main structure, which required the creation of bespoke as well as standard encasement details for large steel beams by sector specialist, FIREFLY®. Originally opened in 1879, the first phase of this multi-million-pound property project included the creation of Avanti West Coast’s new ticket office and first-class lounge and a brand-new step-free Network Rail station reception on the concourse level. The wider project will see existing tenants relocate, new retail units created, and office accommodation refurbished. Such has been the extent of past adaptations that when the project began last November, the design team was unclear as to the nature of the roof deck’s construction, until demolition of a fast-food restaurant revealed the I-beams up to 900mm deep.
Details originally developed by FIREFLY® parent company in Australia have been adapted to the requirements of the Building Standards (Scotland) and the Building Regulations, enabling the easy to cut and shape non-combustible FB180 batts to infill the web to different sized steel beams. The addition of fireproof mastic and additional layers and the special Ablative Coating complete an encasement which is able to offer 60 minutes or longer integrity and insulation. The installation work within the station, which has remained operational throughout, has been carried out by Glasgow based QualiFire Passive Fire Protection, with SIG being the merchant stockist supplying all the FIREFLY® materials.
Active across Scotland and the North of England, QualiFire was set up by Joe Stewart in 2019 as a specialist in passive fire protection solutions for clients in the education, healthcare and local authority as well as other sectors, but has been using FIREFLY® products for the first time on the Glasgow project.
Joe commented: “The lounge and surrounding area is currently being fitted out, while our team continues to work elsewhere within the station. The FIREFLY® system was recommended by the project architects – IDP – and the client, as they had previously been unable to find a manufacturer offering a solution which could be guaranteed to protect beams, which could be a 100years old, in this sort of situation. Initially the fire curtains were considered but then it was decided to use FIREFLY® FB180 batts. I have had very good feedback from our installers, regarding the ease of cutting and fitting them, with very little waste generated compared to other similar products. We have used both the FIREFLY® intumescent mastic and the Ablative Coating across the entire surface. Overall, it was very flexible and effective, and we have had lots of positive comments about the work, not just from the client and consultants, but also the merchant, SIG whose manager has taken an interest. We work on big public contracts like this as far down as London if required and I can see a big potential for the system.”
FIREFLY® Technical Sales Manager for Scotland and Ireland, Daniel Gordon, explained: “There has been enormous focus on improving the fire performance of both private residential and public buildings in the past few years, both here in Scotland and across the rest of the UK – with specifiers urgently wanting to ensure compliance for the projects they are involved with. One result of this we have seen is the widespread use being made of our FB180 batt system as a much more dependable alternative to spraying structural steel beams with intumescent coatings: the thickness and quality of which is far more difficult to ascertain.”
Back at the outset of the project, the scheme project manager at Network Rail, Conor Mclaughlin, reported: “We are excited to be making this multi-million-pound investment to benefit passengers at Glasgow Central. We are changing the layout and occupation of several existing retail units on the station concourse which involves relocating tenants, creating new retail units, making some units larger and refurbishing office accommodation and we hope to create a broader range of retail for passengers and station users, thereby improving the experience at the station.”
FIREFLY® Phoenix Vertical System Protects EXCEL London Expansion
One of FIREFLY®’s largest contracting partners has successfully completed the erection of a full height flame and smoke barrier as part of the enablement works for an important new extension to London Dockland’s iconic ExCel London which hosts multiple construction shows and events for other sections every year, including the upcoming Firex event on 2-4 December.
Coventry based KRASI Fire Protection Limited – a specialist sub-contractor well experienced in all types of commercial construction projects and upgrades – carried out the installation of the well proven and fully certified FIREFLY® Phoenix 120 fire barrier. Given the sensitivity of the location, with public events in progress throughout much of the contract duration, rigorous precautions had to be taken to avoid disturbance and to contain any construction detritus from reaching other parts of the building: a requirement simplified thanks to the ease of fixing and very low wastage that distinguish the FIREFLY® systems from alternatives on the market. All work was carried out in full compliance with the latest requirements of Approved Document B and other Building Regulations as well as the recently enacted Building Safety Act.
The 800 m2 barrier was created using FIREFLY’s Phoenix system, along with Collaroll, the manufacturer’s fire-resistant adhesive and heavy-duty staple guns to secure the specially treated, non-woven material to a framework formed from 50 x 50 mm steel angles. In achieving this, KRASI had up to half a dozen of its highly trained operatives on site at any time, with the installation taking a total of six weeks.
The company’s Contract Manager, Daniel Oldacre, commented: “While FIREFLY® are our favourite fire protection products for any barrier work and we always tend to recommend them, in the case of the work at Excel London Phoenix was actually specified by the client, while FIREFLY®technical consultant, Dave Allen providing guidance for the flame break and smoke barrier which rose the full three storey height of where the new extension meets the existing exhibition halls.”
“Then as well as our own certification work in line with our IFC accreditation, employing the Bolster system, Dave returned to site several times to carry out inspections. The barrier will offer 120 minutes integrity from either side and could remain in place once the new area is complete.
The project went very smoothly, and we have moved on now to other sites including a major one on the Oxford University science campus where we are again using FIREFLY® products. We also engage with training from the company every January: this year having three groups of eight installers undertaking the course in turn. It is a very good working relationship.”
As a specialist sub-contractor well experienced in all types of new-build and upgrade projects, KRASI Fire Protection Limited is active across the South-East, the Midlands and the rest of the country. Manufactured from woven and non-woven glass, the FIREFLY® range is designed to optimise resistance to flame and smoke as well as offer heat protection in a wide range of scenarios. The barriers are easy to install horizontally or vertically using a full selection of FIREFLY® ancillary products to ensure a fully tested and certified installed system.
