Cable Fire Loads and Cable Routes

Hazard picture

Cable routes and ducts concentrated in confined spaces represent a dense fire load of insulation and sheathing materials. A short circuit, an overload fault or an external fire can spread along the cable runs across several floors or fire compartments, particularly through unsealed penetrations in walls and floors. Where cable grades are unfavourable, toxic and corrosive smoke gases also develop, damaging escape routes and electronic equipment over a wide area.

Protective measures

Key measures are the fire-rated sealing of cable and pipe penetrations, the use of cables with tested, limited flame propagation, and adequate separation or coating of densely packed cable bundles. In sensitive areas such as cable cellars or cable floors, fire detection, smoke extraction and, where warranted, fixed suppression systems supplement the structural protection.

Insurance relevance

Cable routes are among the areas with disproportionate loss potential, because a locally confined electrical fault can quickly develop into a major loss with a long business interruption. Risk surveys therefore specifically examine the quality of fire stopping, cable loading and accessibility for maintenance and firefighting.