Skip to content
  • QUOTE
  • 888.653.333
  • info@safti.com
  • Products
    • Fire Protective Glass Tested to NFPA 252/257, UL 9/10C, ULC S104/S106; Blocks smoke and flames.
    • SuperLite® I
    • SuperClear® 45-HS
    • SuperClear® 45-HS-LI
    • SuperLite® I-XL
    • SuperLite® I-XL IGU
    • SuperLite® X-45/60/90
    • SuperLite® II-XL 45
    • Ceramics
    • Fire Resistive Glass Tested to ASTM E119 / UL 263 / ULC S101; Blocks smoke, flames and radiant heat.
    • SuperLite® II-XL 60
    • SuperLite® II-XL 90
    • SuperLite® II-XL 120
    • SuperLite® II-XLB 60
    • SuperLite® II-XLB 120
    • SuperLite® II-XLM 60
    • SuperLite® II-XLM 120
    • SuperSecure® II-XLS 45-120
    • Fire Rated Walls 60-120 minute fire resistive glass and frame assemblies tested to ASTM E119 / UL 263 / ULC S101.
    • GPX® Architectural Series Fire Resistive
    • GPX® Curtain Wall
    • GPX® Hurricane
    • GPX® Ballistic
    • GPX® Blast System
    • GPX® EZ Frame
    • Fire Rated Doors Full vision 20-45 minute fire protective doors and 60-90 minute temperature rise doors tested to NFPA 252 / UL 10C / ULC S104.
    • GPX® Architectural Series Fire Protective
    • GPX® Architectural Series Fire Resistive
    • GPX® Builders Series Fire Protective
    • GPX® Builders Series Temperature Rise
    • GPX® Hurricane
    • GPX® Ballistic
    • GPX® Vision Kit
    • Fire Rated Openings 20-45 minute fire protective glass and framing assemblies tested to NFPA 257 / UL 9 / ULC S106.
    • GPX® Architectural Series Fire Protective
    • GPX® Builders Series Fire Protective
    • GPX® EZ Frame
    • Fire Rated Floors 60-120 minute fire resistive glass floor assemblies tested to ASTM E119 / UL 263 / ULC S101.
    • GPX® FireFloor
    • Fire Rated Fences 20-60 minute fire rated glass fence for WUI areas or designated fire zones.
    • SAFTI FENCE
  • Literature
  • Specs
  • Details
  • Learn
    About Us
    Videos
    Case Studies
    Articles
    Blogs
    Continuing Education
    Literature
    BIM Library
    Industry Links
    Press Releases
    Testimonials
    Technical Bulletins
    Newsletters
    Product Selector
  • Gallery
  • Reps
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Fire Protective Glass
    • Fire Resistive Glass
    • Fire Rated Walls
    • Fire Rated Doors
    • Fire Rated Openings
    • Fire Rated Floors
    • Fire Rated Fences
  • Literature
  • Specs
  • Details
  • Learn
    • About Us
    • Product Selector
    • Articles
    • Blogs
    • BIM Library
    • Case Studies
    • Newsletters
    • Press Releases
    • Continuing Education
    • Literature
    • Technical Bulletins
    • Testimonials
    • Industry Links
    • Videos
  • Gallery
  • Reps
  • Contact
Menu
  • Products
    • Fire Protective Glass
    • Fire Resistive Glass
    • Fire Rated Walls
    • Fire Rated Doors
    • Fire Rated Openings
    • Fire Rated Floors
    • Fire Rated Fences
  • Literature
  • Specs
  • Details
  • Learn
    • About Us
    • Product Selector
    • Articles
    • Blogs
    • BIM Library
    • Case Studies
    • Newsletters
    • Press Releases
    • Continuing Education
    • Literature
    • Technical Bulletins
    • Testimonials
    • Industry Links
    • Videos
  • Gallery
  • Reps
  • Contact
Articles
Fire Rated Glass in Education Facilities
ABCs of School Fire Protection
Fire Rated Glass in Education Facilities

ABCs of School Fire Protection

ByTJ Mababa
| April 10, 2015

Active and Passive Fire Protection Guidelines

ABCs of School Fire Protection – The best way to ensure school fire safety is to combine active and passive fire protection systems. Active fire safety includes sprinklers and evacuation plans. Passive fire protection involves choosing fire resistant materials that protect people and property 24/7.

Stop, drop and roll is a directive learned by thousands of school children. It was the 1958 fire at Chicago Our Lady of the Angels elementary school killing 87 children and three nuns that caused Americans to get serious about fire prevention and safety in schools.

Thanks to code changes and fire-safety education launched in the 1960s, the number of fatalities from campus fires has dropped significantly. Still, school fires persist. K-12 school officials place nearly 15,000 calls a year for help in battling campus fires. While fatalities are rare, the rate of injuries from school fires is higher than in either homes or in non-residential structure fires. School property damage is estimated at over $100 million a year.

The next step in limiting injury and damage caused by school fires is to adopt a balanced fire protection approach that combines active and passive fire protection systems. Most people are aware of active fire protection measures, like fire alarms, sprinklers, and fire extinguishers that help detect and suppress fires. What many people do not realize is that often invisible, passive fire protection measures deserve a lot of credit for containing dangerous heat, smoke and flames, which is critical to safe egress.

Passive Fire Protection Always at Work and Maintenance Free

ABCs of School Fire Protection
Interior glazing connects with out-of-doors. CSU Fullerton, California

For decades, the focus of fire safety has been on active fire-protection measures. These active measures must be installed and maintained in compliance with NFPA 101, NFPA 1 and the ICC Fire Codes. Unfortunately, active systems can fail due to poor maintenance, sabotage or natural disaster. In a 2009 Campus Safety Magazine survey, campus officials named system maintenance as the biggest fire-protection challenge: 58% of K-12 officials and 53% of university officials cited system maintenance as their number one concern.

This is precisely why incorporating passive fire protection measures is so important. Despite its name, passive fire protection is always at work. Passive fire protection refers to the strategic use of fire-resistive materials in building construction and remodeling, examples of which are gypsum, masonry and fire resistive glazing.

Up to 25 years ago, architects could only use conventional fire resistive materials like gypsum and masonry in order to meet the 1 and 2 hour wall criteria. With the advent of technologically advanced fire resistive glazing that performs like a transparent wall, they can now incorporate clear vision in their designs while still meeting the fire and safety requirements of the code.

These fire resistive building materials create fire barriers, firewalls, fire partitions, fire doors, protective openings and smoke barriers that form compartments, or occupancy separations, that contain flames, heat and gases at the point of origin so that building occupants may exit the building safely. Passive fire protection works 24/7 without mechanical triggers, which makes it reliable and virtually maintenance-free.

Perhaps the most important benefit of incorporating passive fire protection is the fact that fire-resistive building materials are the best defense against dangerous radiant heat; invisible electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light with little resistance. When these waves strike an object, they are absorbed and their energy is converted to heat. If the object is a combustible material, a fire will start when the materials ignition temperature is reached. Radiant heat is extremely dangerous to building occupants since it can quickly reach a level that causes unbearable pain, followed rapidly by second degree burns, preventing safe egress.

While active fire protection measures work to extinguish smoke and flames, they do little to protect people and property from dangerous radiant heat transmission, which poses a serious threat to both life safety and the spread of fire. By using fire-resistive building materials such as fire-resistive glazing to create occupancy separations protecting people and property from radiant heat, school corridors remain safe for egress and the structural integrity of school buildings is preserved.

School officials can best ensure that campus fires are quickly detected, suppressed, contained, and that people can safely leave a burning building by focusing on both active and passive fire protection measures.

Share:
PrevNext ArticleFire Rated Glazing in Schools FAQs
Previous ArticleLight and LearningNext
Back to Articles

Engineering. Design. Code.

Whether you’re looking for fire-rated walls, doors, openings, floors or a specialty service, we have the solution for you. With over 40 years of experience in testing, innovating, and providing technologically advanced fire-rated glass and framing products, we deliver unyielding performance and quality at a competitive price.

Let's Talk!

  • 888.653.3333
    (English)
  • 888.653.3333 ext. 652
    (Spanish)
  • info@safti.com
  • Representative Map
Address
Corporate
100 N Hill Dr, Ste12, Brisbane, CA 94005
Factory
220 S R Street, Merced, CA 95341
Contact
Phone
888.653.3333 - English
888.653.3333 ext. 652 - Spanish
Fax
888.653.4444
Email
info@safti.com

Sign up for our Newsletter!

Get notified of industry updates and new product alerts.

© 2023 SAFTI FIRST. All rights reserved.​
Disclaimer & Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Instagram Twitter Linkedin Facebook Youtube Vimeo
Suggested Pages
Case Studies
Videos Archive [INACTIVE]
Request a Quote
SuperClear® 45-HS-LI
Continuing Education
Request a Quote
Continuing Education
Videos
SuperClear® 45-HS-LI
Case Studies
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.


This website uses cookies to improve user experience. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the website to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the website more useful to you. By using our website, you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookies Policy. Learn more.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}