Fire retardant coatings are products used to reduce flammability or improve fire endurance to provide additional time to get out of a burning building. These coatings also help protect the structural steel to prevent the collapse of a building in the event of a fire.
Fire retardant coatings can be used on all surfaces that are necessary to reduce the surface burning characteristics of combustible materials and/or to delay the penetration of heat. Once in contact with an open flame, fire retardant coatings decompose and puff up. This forms a thick, dense, spongy layer that checks flame spread and delays heat penetration. These products do not prevent a fire from burning down a building; only delay the penetration of heat to the structural steel, buying firefighter’s time to put out the fire.
