Our fire RETARDaNT and FIRE resistant products

The Firefree Coatings, Inc. line of products are water-based, intumescent coatings that can withstand extreme temperatures (up to 2000° Fahrenheit) for an extended time (over two hours). They are the first coatings to bring a true fire barrier to a wide variety of materials including sheetrock, wood, lath and plaster, concrete, sheet metal, tin, foam, foam composite panels as well as advanced materials such as fiberglass and carbon fiber. As a result, Firefree coatings can provide a high level of fire protection to many industries including construction, insulation and transportation (land, air, sea). Firefree coatings are unique because of their unmatched level of performance as a fire retardant (prevents flame spread/flashover) and/or as a fire resistant (resists fire penetration). As a result of their performance in limiting flame spread and fire penetration, Firefree coatings have the proven ability to help in containing a fire by preventing both (i) the occurrence of flashovers and (ii) the fire from penetrating walls and ceilings, thus resulting in saving lives and preserving the structural integrity of the property.

Firefree coatings ares fully tested and proven. Firefree coatings are the first and only coatings to pass the fire industry’s most stringent tests for either fire retardancy and/or fire resistance. As a fire retardant, FF88 was the first coating to pass the industry’s most severe tests (UBC 26-3 /UBC 8-2 room corner tests) for a wide variety of materials, showing the ability to prevent vertical flame spread/flashover. As a fire resistant coating, FF88 has also passed the industry’s most stringent test (ASTM E-119) showing the ability to prevent fire penetration for up to two hours on a wide variety of materials. FF88 has been tested at accredited third party IAS fire testing laboratories, classified with Underwriters Laboratories (U/L) and approved by Factory Mutual (FM Global).

Firefree coatings are non-toxic, environmentally friendly and applies as easily as paint. Because of their ease of application and minimal inconvenience to occupants, Firefree coatings are a very cost effective method to provide fireproofing, often resulting in 40% to 60% savings compared to traditional methods, which often require massive amounts of material and labor as well as extensive disruption to occupants.

Why are Firefree coatings so unique?

Firefree coatings have passed the fire industry’s most stringent tests for fire retardants. The first generation of fire coatings (“fire retardants”) were based on the now obsolete concept that fires spread mainly horizontally. Thus, these coatings were designed to slow the horizontal progress of a fire (providing little fireproofing) and were only required to pass the simple ASTM E 84 test, which measures horizontal flame spread, mostly on low or non-combustible materials such as cement board.

As the industry’s understanding of fire grew, it became apparent that the greatest spread from a fire comes from vertical flame spread. As the initial materials burn, the flames will travel vertically and gases will collect at the ceiling. These gases will soon ignite causing flashover, a fireball explosion that will burst into other parts of the structure. FF88 is the first coating to have passed the most stringent fire retardant tests for vertical flame spread/flashover (UBC 26-3 / UBC 8-2 room corner tests) and the FM 4975 ceiling test on a wide variety of materials.

Firefree coatings have passed the fire industry’s most stringent tests for fire resistants. Another key factor in flame spread is fire penetration of the walls or ceilings. As the initial source materials burn, the fire will start penetrating the walls and ceilings, leading to their rapid deterioration and a resulting spread of the flames to adjoining rooms. Additionally, the penetration of the fire in the walls and ceilings will lead to their contributing to the fire by becoming additional fuel to the initial fire. FF88 is the first coating to have passed the most stringent fire test, the ASTM E119 which measures resistance to fire penetration for a wide variety of materials.