Fireproofing a skyscraper can be one of the most challenging jobs for any specialist involved in this line of work, not just in terms of product selection, meeting specification and performance but most importantly on-site timely completion.

Imagine the moments of evacuating people from a high-rise in the event of a fire, and then think of those precious extra minutes a good fireproof coating can provide, to make the difference between life and death. This is what Almoayyed Safety & Industrial Centre (ASIC), has given the Almoayyed Tower's steel structure: a top-quality fireproof coat with a world-renowned fireproofing material
For the tower's structural steel frame, ASIC chose Carboline's Pyrolite 15HY cementitious fireproofing material, because of its superior physical properties over similar products in the market.
'We devoted a lot of time to ensure that reliability is built into every aspect of our work,' comments Shah Alem, the manager of the Bahrain-based firm. 'Critical performance requirements are closely examined before we recommend the most appropriate and cost-efficient system. Installations are then undertaken in accordance with best industry practices.'
The fire protection requirement on this project ranged from three to four hours. Coating thickness varying from 22 mm to 55 mm was required depending on section size of the steel and fire rating. 'Building up the high thickness was a major challenge, considering the time frame given but was accomplished thanks to our technical expertise,' says Alem.
On higher floor levels, strong winds during the winter months of November and December posed an additional challenge to the workers for application. This was when ASIC was required to carry out bulk of the work.
'Spraying the peripheral beams proved a testing task for our workers whose safety was at risk because of the high winds, and working from cantilever supports,' he says.
The height of the building also made transportation of material and equipment a major problem, while special hi-tech machines were used to ensure the coating had a smooth finish to confirm to project specification.
ASIC commenced work on the project in September 2002 and worked round-the-clock to spray approximately 31,000 sq m of steel surface area, meeting the high standards set by the consultant while co-coordinating with the other trades involved on site. ASIC also supplied fire-rated acrylic sealants for the wall openings and pipe wraps for the penetrations.
Work was completed on time to enable the glazing contractor to commence its work.
ASIC met the challenges of this project with their technical expertise, extensive support by way of training and technical guidance from Carboline satisfying its clients demands with commitment to quality and dedication to safety.

One-stop-shop
ASIC, part of Almoayyed International Group (AIG) Bahrain (website www.almoayyedintl.com), is now ISO 9001:2000 certified for achieving and maintaining international quality standards.
It offers clients a spectrum of products in fire engineering, providing clients with an easily accessible 'one-stop' shop facility to cover all fire protection needs.
'We offer the convenience of a single point of contact for a fully coordinated and technologically integrated system,' says Alem.
In sprinkler systems, it offers latest innovations including high-speed sprinklers, Metron-activated heads, fast-response heads and on-off sprinklers that respond to fires and then shut off as the fire is extinguished but reactivate if required, as well as a full-colour range of sprinklers to meet aesthetic requirements.
In automatic fire detection system, ASIC offer ranges from conventional type devices to aspirating high-sensitivity systems.
ASIC designs and installs various gaseous extinguishing systems and is able to offer unbiased and independent reviews and recommendations on FM200, FE13, CO2 and Inergen system requirements, according to Alem.
ASIC can design and install water spray systems to control and extinguish fires or to provide cooling to structures. It has considerable experience in the correct application of all forms of water spray systems, for both medium and high-velocity systems.
Engineers are on hand to advise on the correct application, the level of concentration to be used and will select the right hardware to adequately deal with the client's risk with foam systems using different methods such as sub-surface injection systems, top-pouring systems, high-expansion foam and foam monitors.
ASIC has the experience and expertise to design fully hydraulically calculated fire mains fabricated in coated steel, ductile iron or any other approved piping material.
It uses products manufactured by the leaders in the fire protection industry such as Ansul, Pyro-Chem, Naffco, Central Spraysafe, GE-Kilsen, Haws and Spacsiani, among others. Though ASIC's personnel are trained and certified by each manufacturer, it maintains its independence from all of them, enabling it to use the most appropriate system available for a particular application, Alem points out.
ASIC's passive fire protection for commercial new-build and refurbishment projects cover the following key areas:

It uses products from the leaders in the firestop industry: 3M, Carboline (Pyrolite and Pyrocrete), Leigh's (Firetex), Flameguard, SEAC, Pyroplex and Eurobond.
ASIC also offers a complete range of safety, security and environment protection systems and meets the requirements of water, air and sewage treatment and waste handling market.
Almoayyed Safety believes it has the infrastructure and capabilities in place to carry out challenging projects and is now poised to expand its horizons into other markets such as Qatar over the next year, says Alem.