It’s Fire Prevention Week!
With house prices “going through the roof”, multi-family homes are becoming more popular. But if you’re converting a unit you must install fire separation to ensure safety.
Where we live, we need to create a one hour fire break between units, that will slow the fire from spreading through the property and hopefully give enough time for the fire department to respond and families to get out.
To create our fire separation we use fire rated caulking, 6″ Rockwool Safe and Sound insulation and 5/8 fire rated drywall. Rockwool is a great product that helps sound transfer between the units as well as the fire protection.
HVAC is another route that the fire can travel so we require an in duct smoke detector, it will detect the fire and shut down the furnace to prevent it from feeding the flame.
Interconnected Smoke and C02 alarms are required in every room and they are really loud so that there is no way you are sleeping through it. Two points of escape is necessary as well so that if the fire is blocking one area then you can get to the second exit to escape.
If you are looking for an apartment to rent, have your in-laws moving in or creating an income property, fire safety should always be taken seriously because it is a matter of life or death. Ask what the property owner has done to create a safe unit, to ensure it’s up to code in your area.
Also a friendly reminder to test your smoke detectors, check your fire extinguishers and have an exit plan with your family!
