Passive Fire Specialistscompartmentation, fire stopping, fire doorsFind a contractor
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Sheet PF-00 · General arrangement

Passive Fire Specialists

Passive fire protection is the walls, floors, seals, doors and dampers that hold a fire where it starts. Get a specialist contractor to survey yours, fix what is broken and keep it checked.

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Section through a seven-storey buildingA building section showing floors as compartment lines in red, a stair core with fire doors, a service riser with sealed pipe penetrations, a duct with a fire damper, cavity barriers in the external wall, a ceiling void, coated steel, and height lines at 11 metres and 18 metres.11 m18 mGLL0L1L2L3L4L5L6PF-01PF-02PF-03PF-04PF-05PF-06PF-07PF-08
Compartment lineHeight where the rules changeSection, to scale, 3 m storeys. Illustrative, not a design.
  1. PF-01Compartmentation surveys
  2. PF-02Fire stopping
  3. PF-03Compartmentation remediation
  4. PF-04Fire door inspection
  5. PF-05Fire door installation
  6. PF-06Fire damper testing
  7. PF-07Cavity barriers
  8. PF-08Intumescent coatings

01

What passive fire protection does

A building is divided into compartments: each flat, each floor, the stair, the riser, the plant room. The walls and floors between them are built to resist fire for a set time, commonly 30, 60 or 120 minutes. Passive fire protection is everything that keeps those compartments whole.

It fails quietly. A cable run punched through a wall, a fire door wedged open, a ceiling void that runs over the top of a wall, a damper that seized years ago. None of it shows until there is a fire, which is why surveys and records matter more here than almost anywhere else in a building.

PassiveActive
JobContains fire and smokeDetects or fights fire
Works byBeing there, all the timeSwitching on when triggered
ExamplesCompartment walls, fire stopping, fire doors, dampers, cavity barriers, coatingsAlarms, sprinklers, smoke vents, emergency lighting
Usual failureDamaged by later work and not noticedFaults show up on testing

02

Schedule of services

Most buildings need these in order: find the defects, fix them, then keep them checked. Each sheet covers what is involved, what a good quote includes and published prices.

RefServiceWhat it coversStage
PF-01Compartmentation surveysFind the breaches: risers, voids, ceilings, plant rooms.Find
PF-02Fire stoppingSeal service penetrations and gaps in fire-resisting walls and floors.Fix
PF-03Compartmentation remediationRebuild walls, floors and ceilings that no longer hold fire back.Fix
PF-04Fire door inspectionQuarterly and annual checks, door surveys and reports.Keep checked
PF-05Fire door installationCertified doorsets, repairs and replacements.Fix
PF-06Fire damper testingDrop tests, resets and records for ductwork dampers.Keep checked
PF-07Cavity barriersClose concealed cavities in walls, cladding and roofs.Fix
PF-08Intumescent coatingsFire protection for structural steel and timber.Fix

03

Which rules apply to your building

For existing buildings in England the duties stack up with height. Each band adds to the ones above it. Scotland and Wales have their own regimes; ask your fire risk assessor.

  1. H1Any building with common parts or non-domestic use

    • Fire Safety Order 2005: a responsible person, a fire risk assessment and fire precautions kept in good repair.
    • Fire Safety Act 2021: in blocks of flats, the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors are inside the assessment.
    • Fire door information given to residents every year in buildings with two or more flats.

  2. H2Flats with a storey over 11 m

  3. H3Higher-risk: 18 m or 7 storeys, with 2 or more homes

    • Building Safety Act 2022: registration with the Building Safety Regulator, a named accountable person, a safety case and a golden thread of information.
    • Building work goes to the Building Safety Regulator as building control, through gateways.
    • Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 for high-rise residential buildings: floor plans and external wall information given to the fire and rescue service.

New building work in England follows Approved Document B, which sets compartment sizes, fire resistance periods, fire stopping and cavity barriers. Height thresholds from the government guidance on higher-risk buildings and the fire doors fact sheet, read November 2026. General guidance, not legal advice.

04

What real passive fire protection jobs cost

Survey and remedial work is priced on access and on what is found once ceilings come down, so the clearest evidence of real cost is public contract values as published on award notices. Smallest first. A guide to scale, not a quote.

BuyerWorkTypePublishedValue
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation TrustLocate and test fire and smoke dampers, one yearDamper testingOctober 2025£11,729
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation TrustFire compartmentation surveySurveyMay 2025£14,600
City of London (Barbican Estate)Intrusive surveys of risers, plant rooms and below-ground spaces at two blocks, then fire stoppingSurvey and worksSeptember 2023£68,370
NHS trust, Warrington HospitalSurvey of compartment walls in one hospital wingSurveyFebruary 2025£82,692
University of the West of EnglandFire remedial works to 18 flatsRemediationJuly 2024£92,664
Newcastle City CouncilFire stopping to mid and high rise residential blocksFire stoppingMarch 2024£98,000
East Suffolk CouncilFire stopping, compartmentation and door works at one block in LowestoftRemediationMay 2023£332,329
Believe HousingPassive fire compartmentation surveys and remedial works (lot 1), two yearsFrameworkJanuary 2026£3,770,000
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustSurveys and remedial works for fire stopping and compartmentation breaches, three yearsFrameworkFebruary 2026£4,400,000

Fire door inspection, from published UK contractor price guides, autumn 2026, typically runs from £10 to £30 a door for a visual check to £35 to £80+ for a full survey. Open the cost guide and door estimator.

05

Evidence the work is right

Passive fire protection is only as good as its evidence: what was tested, how it was installed and whether anyone can prove it afterwards. Insist on:

  1. Third-party certification

    A current certificate under a recognised installer scheme for this kind of work, checked on the scheme's own register.

  2. Tested products, named

    Each seal, door or coating named, with test evidence that matches your wall, floor and services.

  3. Photos and labels for every item

    So the next fire risk assessor, and the golden thread for higher-risk buildings, has a record.

  4. Survey before price

    A quote for remedial work should follow a survey, not replace one.

06

How the job gets done

  1. Survey

    A surveyor checks the compartment walls, floors, risers, voids, doors and dampers, and records every defect with a photo and its location.

  2. Price the schedule

    Your contractor prices each defect against the survey, naming the tested product for each fix.

  3. Remedial works

    Worst items first, floor by floor, with access, asbestos checks and hot works permits arranged before anything is opened up.

  4. Records and checks

    Photos, labels and certificates for every item, then a cycle of door checks, damper tests and permits for any new work through a compartment.

07

Questions about passive fire protection

What is passive fire protection?

The parts of a building that hold fire and smoke back without needing to switch on: fire-resisting walls and floors, fire stopping around pipes and cables, fire doors, cavity barriers, fire dampers in ducts and fire protection on structural steel. Active fire protection is the equipment that responds to a fire, such as alarms and sprinklers.

What is the difference between active and passive fire protection?

Active systems detect or fight a fire and need a trigger: alarms, sprinklers, smoke vents. Passive protection is built in and works all the time by containing fire and smoke. Most buildings rely on both; passive protection is what keeps escape routes and other compartments safe while people leave.

Who is responsible for passive fire protection in a building?

The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order: usually the employer, owner, landlord or managing agent. In higher-risk residential buildings the accountable person also has duties under the Building Safety Act to manage fire and structural risks.

How much does passive fire protection cost?

It depends on the building and what is wrong with it. Published fire door inspection prices run from £10 to £80 or more a door. Public contracts for compartmentation surveys range from £14,600 for one NHS site to £82,692 for one hospital wing, and fire stopping and remediation contracts from £92,664 for 18 flats to £332,329 for one block. See the cost guide.

Do passive fire protection contractors need to be certified?

There is no legal licence, but UKAS-accredited third-party certification schemes exist for installers of fire stopping, fire doors and coatings. Many clients, insurers and housing providers ask for them. Ask for the certificate number and check it on the scheme register.

What is Approved Document B?

The government guidance on how to meet the fire safety requirements of the Building Regulations in England. Volume 1 covers dwellings and Volume 2 other buildings. It sets out compartmentation, fire stopping, cavity barriers and fire doors for new building work. It does not apply directly to existing buildings, which fall under the Fire Safety Order.

Find a passive fire protection contractor

Three short steps: where the building is, what the job is, and how to reach you. It takes about two minutes.

This is a free matching service, not a passive fire protection contractor. We find one who covers your area and name them to you first. Nobody contacts you until you say yes.

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