Concept

Firewall (construction)

Summary
A firewall is a fire-resistant barrier used to prevent the spread of fire. Firewalls are built between or through buildings, structures, or electrical substation transformers, or within an aircraft or vehicle. Firewalls can be used to subdivide a building into separate fire areas and are constructed in accordance with the locally applicable building codes. Firewalls are a portion of a building's passive fire protection systems. Firewalls can be used to separate-high value transformers at an electrical substation in the event of a mineral oil tank rupture and ignition. The firewall serves as a fire containment wall between one oil-filled transformer and other neighboring transformers, building structures, and site equipment. There are three main classifications of fire rated walls: fire walls, fire barriers, and fire partitions. A firewall is an assembly of materials used to separate transformers, structures, or large buildings to prevent the spread of fire by constructing a wall which extends from the foundation through the roof with a prescribed fire resistance duration and independent structural stability. This allows a building to be subdivided into smaller sections. If a section becomes structurally unstable due to fire or other causes, that section can break or fall away from the other sections in the building. A fire barrier wall, or a fire partition, is a fire-rated wall assembly that provides lower levels of protection than typically provided by a fire wall. The main differences are that these fire resistant walls are not structurally self-sufficient. Fire barrier walls are typically continuous from an exterior wall to an exterior wall, or from a floor below to a floor or roof above, or from one fire barrier wall to another fire barrier wall, having a fire resistance rating equal to or greater than the required rating for the application. Fire barriers are continuous through concealed spaces (e.g., above a ceiling) to the floor deck or roof deck above the barrier.
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