Fire Compartmentation Survey

Three stages. First, planning: a remote meeting with the site contact to understand the property and identify the fire documentation needed in advance, followed by a review of that documentation including fire engineering reports and fire plans. Second, the site visit, inspecting all relevant areas in scope. We examine every compartmentation line to determine how it would likely perform in a fire, looking at lining materials on escape routes including over-painting, carpets, wall hangings and wallcoverings; fire doors, covering fitting and gaps, fire-tested ironmongery, intumescent protection, smoke seals, self-closing and air transfer grilles; the construction of fire-resisting walls, ceilings and floors including hidden spaces; and penetrating services, covering cables, pipes, ducts, dampers and their support. Third, the report.

Most compartmentation defects come from the original build or from later works, and they are invisible in normal use. A simple pipe penetration with inadequate fire stopping will let smoke into the next compartment, and identifying that reliably takes a high degree of competence rather than a walk round with a torch.

A survey that reads the fire strategy and the fire plan drawings first, so findings are judged against what the building was designed to do rather than against a generic standard.

This is a visual inspection. Every compartmentation line is examined, including hard-to-access areas such as loft voids and air ducts, along with a representative sample of fire doors. It is not an intrusive investigation: construction is not opened up and finishes are not removed. Where the survey finds evidence that something behind a finish needs verifying, that is raised as an action rather than resolved on the day. The survey does not replace your fire risk assessment; it examines in depth what the assessment can only sample.