The Passive Fire Knowledge Group: A different kind of industry collaboration

The construction industry is not short of guidance, standards, working groups or technical committees. Yet many of the challenges surrounding passive fire protection continue to persist. Design assumptions are made without sufficient evidence, fire safety requirements are often considered too late in the design process and valuable knowledge can remain isolated within individual organisations.

The Passive Fire Knowledge Group (PFKG) was established to address this challenge in a different way.

The PFKG is a unique not-for-profit collaboration bringing together contractors, consultants and trade associations with a shared goal: to improve the delivery of well-designed, specified and installed passive fire protection. Rather than representing a single discipline or commercial interest, the group provides a forum where different parts of the industry can openly discuss challenges, share experiences and work collectively towards practical solutions.

Passive fire protection sits at the intersection of design, procurement, construction and building operation. No single organisation or discipline owns the entire process.

Architects, fire engineers, building services designers, specialist contractors, manufacturers, main contractors and building owners all influence the final outcome. While each may have specialist expertise, many recurring issues arise at the boundaries between these disciplines.

Historically, the industry has often approached passive fire protection as a specialist subject that can be resolved later in the project lifecycle. However, experience repeatedly shows that fire performance is heavily dependent on coordination, planning and informed decision-making from the earliest design stages. The PFKG recognises that addressing these challenges requires collaboration rather than working in silos.

The group’s mission is to investigate, understand, inform and promote knowledge and research across all areas of passive fire protection. Whilst the topics explored by the group are diverse, much of its work centres around three closely connected themes:

These themes reflect many of the challenges currently facing the construction industry and provide a framework for how the group investigates issues, shares learning and develops knowledge-sharing resources.

Rather than separating these subjects into distinct workstreams, the PFKG recognises that they are often closely linked. Questions relating to fire test evidence can influence design decisions, design decisions can affect installation outcomes and all of these areas rely upon a competent and informed workforce. As a result, the group approaches challenges collaboratively, drawing upon the collective expertise of its members to explore issues from multiple perspectives.

Much of the group’s discussions focus on the processes that support the successful delivery of passive fire protection. This includes the design, specification, procurement and installation of systems, as well as the coordination required between different disciplines throughout a project lifecycle. The group actively explores ways of promoting early consideration of passive fire protection and improving the consistency of decision-making across projects.

The availability, interpretation and application of fire test evidence also remain a recurring topic. The group regularly examines situations where existing test methods, fields of application or available evidence may not fully address the challenges presented by modern construction methods, evolving products or increasingly complex building designs. By encouraging open discussion, the group helps improve industry understanding of both the opportunities and limitations associated with fire test evidence.

Education and competence underpin all aspects of the group’s work. In an environment of increasing regulatory expectations and greater accountability, the PFKG seeks to support learning across the entire supply chain. This extends beyond passive fire protection specialists and includes designers, contractors, clients, building owners and project delivery teams. A key objective is helping people understand not only what may be required, but why those requirements exist and how they contribute to safer buildings.

What makes the PFKG particularly valuable is its commitment to converting technical discussions into practical outputs. The group investigates industry challenges, identifies root causes and publishes articles and knowledge-sharing resources that encourage best practice, raise awareness and support the delivery of higher-quality passive fire protection.

One example is the group’s first published knowledge share, Knowledge Share 001: MEP Service Positioning and Separation within Compartment Walls. This addresses a common industry challenge where penetration seals require a high degree of coordination between designers, MEP specialists, manufacturers and installers. Without sufficient information from service designers and product manufacturers, penetration sizes and required spatial separation distances cannot be confidently coordinated during design.

The publication highlights the importance of engaging stakeholders early. By allowing adequate space within compartment walls and floors from the outset, project teams can significantly reduce the risk of later design conflicts and improve the likelihood that tested and certified penetration sealing solutions can be successfully delivered on site.

Publications are developed by subject matter experts, peer reviewed from multiple industry perspectives and approved through the group’s governance process before publication.

Beyond its own membership, the PFKG also creates opportunities to engage with a wide range of industry bodies, enabling challenges to be explored from different viewpoints.

We recently engaged with the Gypsum Products Association (GPA)f ocusing on drywall systems and the practical challenges encountered during real-world construction. Bringing together manufacturers, contractors and passive fire specialists in this way helps improve understanding of how products perform in practice, encourages early identification of potential issues and supports the development of more coordinated and practical solutions across the industry. This broader exchange of knowledge allows emerging challenges to be identified earlier, encourages more informed decision-making and ultimately supports better fire safety outcomes across the built environment.

The practical value of the knowledge that PFKG shares is increasingly being demonstrated on live projects. On a recently completed commercial office and retail development in Central London, the principles contained within Knowledge Share 001: MEP Service Positioning and Separation within Compartment Walls were used to support early engagement between the design team and specialist firestopping contractor. The guidance enabled firestopping requirements derived from tested and certified penetration sealing details to be incorporated into the BIM model at an early stage, allowing designers to identify where arrangements would fall outside the limits of available test evidence and require additional assessment. This provided sufficient time for compliant solutions, including technical assessments where necessary, to be developed and agreed with the relevant stakeholders before installation commenced.

A similar benefit was realised during the planning phase of another project where the project team identified that facade cavity barriers were proposed between differing supporting constructions. Drawing on the principles highlighted within Knowledge Share 014: External Wall Cavity Barrier & Fire Stop Substrates, stakeholders consulted at an early stage that the proposed arrangement fell outside the scope of typical tested and certified details and would require a clearly defined route to compliance. Early collaboration all stakeholders enabled the detail to be assessed, and a decision made to obtain a technical assessment. The process was significantly more efficient because stakeholders clearly understood their respective design responsibilities, approval requirements and dutyholder roles.

Perhaps the most important contribution of the PFKG is the cultural change it seeks to promote. The construction industry has historically relied on fragmented knowledge, organisational boundaries and assumptions based on previous projects. While many individuals and organisations have driven improvements, meaningful change requires a collective approach.

The PFKG promotes evidence-led decision making, early integration of passive fire protection into design and clearer ownership of fire safety responsibilities across project teams. These principles closely align with the recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt, whose Building a Safer Future report called for greater collaboration, improved competence, stronger accountability and a culture that prioritises building safety throughout the entire project lifecycle.

The challenges facing passive fire protection continue to evolve. New construction methods, changing regulations, increasing building complexity and higher expectations around competence all place greater demands on the industry.

A technical challenge often encountered across the industry is the interface between systems.

Fire dampers, fire doors, penetration sealing systems and other passive fire protection products are tested within specific supporting constructions and defined application parameters. However, modern wall systems, innovative construction methods and increasingly complex building designs can create situations that fall outside those tested arrangements.

As a result, details that may initially appear straightforward can quickly become technically challenging. Minor variations in wall construction, service arrangements or system interfaces can significantly affect the applicability of available fire test evidence. These issues often remain unnoticed until later stages of a project and are frequently identified only when specialist passive fire contractors review the proposed arrangements against the available fire test evidence.

Addressing these challenges requires earlier engagement with specialists, greater understanding of the limitations of test evidence and improved coordination between design disciplines. Encouragingly, the industry continues to make progress through enhanced training, improved qualifications, stronger quality management processes and the earlier involvement of specialist contractors and manufacturers in the design process.

The Passive Fire Knowledge Group demonstrates what can be achieved when competitors become collaborators, when expertise is shared openly, and when the collective goal is improving quality and safety across the entire industry.

Ultimately, the group’s ambition is simple: to help ensure that passive fire protection is properly understood, properly considered and properly delivered, resulting in safer, more resilient buildings for everyone.

Chris Greenhough is a CIOB member and fire engineering manager at Skanska. You can follow The Passive Fire Knowledge Group page on LinkedIn.