Fire is a devastating force. It grows quickly, reaches peak temperatures very quickly and can cause structures to become unstable, making fire-fighting efforts difficult. As a result, technologies have come to market in the last several decades aimed at reducing the effects flame and heat have on all types of structural elements.
Intumescent products are typically used in passive fire protection to delay the collapse of a structure, which can occur if load-bearing elements reach a critical temperature due to prolonged exposure. The elements requiring protection are generally the steel, the concrete or the timber of a building/built-structure. While there are multiple factors to consider, for steel the critical temperature is approximately 750 °C.