Building Protection Video Highlights

(DESCRIPTION) Text, Tomorrow's world today. People work on a construction site. (SPEECH) When you're in the construction industry, you have to think about how your building will be protected. We've already explored the importance of air and vapor protection, and now we're going to look at fire safety. (DESCRIPTION) Two men in hard hats and reflective vests stand outside a skyscraper. (SPEECH) So Ryan, here we are, the hustle and bustle of New York City. Now, I know one of the first things I think about when I think about New York is skyscrapers. But what a lot of people don't think about, if something goes wrong all the way up there, you need time to get out and that's where you guys come in. Absolutely, that's where 3M fire barrier comes into play. We address aspects of fire protection, through penetrations, construction joints and flexible wraps. We're going to get a look at all of that inside? All inside. Are we going to the top? We're going to the top. Let's go. (DESCRIPTION) DID YOU KNOW? Spanning an entire city block and 1000 feet high, 50 Hudson Yards will be New York City's fourth largest commercial office tower. Ryan and the host go inside the building under construction. (SPEECH) [MUSIC PLAYING] So Ryan, we made it to floor 29. It's not quite the top of the building yet, hopefully we're still going to get there. But why did you bring me here? Yeah, this is a great place to show you the construction joint aspect of our fire barrier portfolio. Within a building like this, there's a lot of fire-rated walls and floors. And at the intersection of those two rated assemblies, there's a need to maintain that continuity. So that in the event of an emergency, people can go from one space to another. In this case, you're looking at a fire-rated gypsum wall, which separates the egress stairwell from the usable space within the building. And that joint up there is protected with our FireDam Spray 200, so that we stop the passage of smoke and toxic gases, and fire in an emergency. OK, (DESCRIPTION) A worker sprays the joint with a reddish substance. (SPEECH) because as we look at this big empty space, pretty soon there are going to be maybe over people working just right here. And they need to have a safe pathway out of the building, in case of an emergency and they have to evacuate. They sure do. So the application of this product maintains that seal, so that we maintain a dynamic joint. And that gives them a safe stairwell that they can get downstairs, and gives them the time to do it. That's the intent. OK, so now-- We're going to be looking at our flexible wrap products. All right, that sounds great. Let's go. Let's go. (DESCRIPTION) The men enter another room with ducts crossing overhead. A worker spreads a red substance where the ducts meet the wall. (SPEECH) All right, Ryan. I know I said I wanted to get to the top of this building. I really hope that we do, but just like everybody else, I guess we have to start at the bottom. So here we are in the basement, and what are we looking at? Yeah, this is one of the most important aspects of fire protection. This is through penetration firestopping. This wall here is listed for the resistance of fire for two hours. But when you install mechanical, electrical, and plumbing penetrations through that wall, the building code requires that you maintain the integrity of the wall by way of installation of a UL listed firestop system. And that's what this material is. It's basically filling in the gaps, so that no smoke or fire can get through that if there is an emergency. That's right. This is 3M's CP 25WB+ product. It's an intermittent material that's installed within the annular space around the penetrants. And in the event of a fire or heat exposure, it expands to maintain that seal. OK, now these don't look like regular pipes. Do these two things work together to maintain that integrity? Yeah, this is a unique mechanical system. These are fuel oil containment pipes. This building is outfitted with emergency backup generators on the upper floors, to protect them in the event of a flood and a power outage. And all of that fuel comes from the fuel tank storage room located over here. Runs horizontally through these containment pipes, and then vertically to feed the generators. Because it's such a critical function, we need to protect these pipes so they operate properly. And 3M's Endothermic Mat product applied in various layers around that pipe, can preserve that protection of the pipe for a 2-hour duration. Wow, so this is basically to maintain all of the electrical systems that are necessary to keep the building going in case of emergency, so people have time to get out. Exactly right. All right, can we head up to one of the other floors, and see how that fire barrier protection system works? Let's go. OK, thank you. (DESCRIPTION) The men enter a top floor with the city visible behind a metal grate. (SPEECH) So Ryan, we made it. 58th floor, top of the building. Over 800 feet. Wow, well, the view of Manhattan is spectacular, but I know you didn't bring me up here just to show me the Empire State Building. That's right. Let's go inside. All right, (DESCRIPTION) Men work covering large square ducts with shiny material. (SPEECH) so Ryan, I want to dive right into this. Tell me what these men are working on. Yeah, this is a stairwell pressurization duct. So its primary function is to deliver fresh air to the egress corridor that we discussed earlier. So that in the event of an emergency, people can get out of the building safely. So this is going to pump fresh air into the stairwell, which is going to both keep smoke out and then also give them a fresh supply of oxygen as they make their evacuation. That's exactly right. And because of that, it's important this duct remain viable for a 2-hour duration. And our 3M Fire Barrier Duct Wrap 615+ provides that protection. Well, how does it do that? It provides an insulative protection around the duct. So that in the event of an external fire, it can be operational. And that will really help people to have the time to get out of the building. Right. (DESCRIPTION) Text, 3M. Science. Applied to life.