Trafalgar BladeRUNNER: Slimline Retrofit Fire Collar

Fires can easily spread through floors where plastic pipes penetrate, and floor waste grilles/shower drains present a higher level of risk. Standard intumescent fire collars will not close quickly enough to prevent early spread of fire through the floor grate. Cast-in floor waste collars, incorporating mechanical shutting mechanisms, are required to effectively close off the penetration to prevent the risk of fire spread. Incorrect fire collars are often installed resulting in compliance and life safety issues. This requires expensive and complex rectification, such as construction of fire-rated bulkheads, which is always resource and labour heavy and prone to human error.

The BladeRUNNER is a 22mm thick retro-fit fire collar designed with a blade mechanism to neatly fit around existing pipes (40mm-100mm sizes) to upgrade non-compliant and dangerous service penetrations. The product includes a spring-operated blade with intumescent linings, which are released once they are exposed to fire. The blades cut through the PVC pipe and close the penetration mechanically. Once closed, the intumescent materials heat up and expand into the penetration to fill up all gaps and remains shut for up to 4 hours (or an FRL of -/240/240, the highest rating in the Australian building code).

The result of the BladeRUNNER is a cost-effective solution (up to 90% cost reduction) to strata, councils, inspectors and the wider construction industry to upgrade non-compliant fire collars with a slimline solution without the need to construct expensive and bulky fire board enclosures or bulky retrofit collars. Without a cost-effective solution, many existing buildings ignore the defective fire collars in fear of expensive rectification bills. Without rectification, these penetrations result in non-compliance issues and life safety risk in the event of a fire. BladeRUNNER provides this economical and common-sense approach, providing a fully fire tested retro-fit upgrade solution.

The slimline BladeRUNNER is designed to allow for easy installation without compromising space on the underside of the concrete slab. This ensures it can be retrofitted without impeding other services which have already been installed. The BladeRUNNER comprises two halves to be bolted to the slab around an existing pipe. Each half contains a mechanically operated, high tensioned, blade with intumescent lining. The blade is restrained by a fusible link, which releases when exposed to fire. The blade is positioned on a guide so it can only propel forward with end stops located towards the front to ensure the blade doesn’t overextend. Once the blades reach the stop, they seal the penetration and the intumescent will swell on exposure to heat. This system provides 4-hour fire protection which is the highest rating that can be achieved under the NCC (National Construction Code). Australian designed, Australian made, by an Australian Owned business. With testing ongoing and other variants to suit various plastic pipes and other service materials and substrates, the design of the BladeRUNNER has changed the way passive fire rectifications have been carried out in the last year, allowing contractors to significantly reduce their expenditure and finish jobs faster.