New regulations outlined in BS 7671:2018 require all cables to be supported so that they are prevented from premature collapse in the event of fire. SWA Firefly Fire Safety Clips and Cleats provide an all metal fire resistant range of cable fixings that will hold cables and cleats in place during a fire, thereby increasing the safety of firefighters and people escaping from burning buildings.
The Firefly range of fire resistant clips and cleats covers all cable sizes from small data-comm cables to large 50mm diameter, offering full compliance to the new regulations in the 18th Edition.
SWA Fire Fly Cable Clips
SWA’s Firefly range of 18th Edition cable clips offer full compliance to the new regulations. They solve a very real problem and one that can have tragic consequences too. Whilst overhead cabling does not normally present a risk, in fact, having cables neatly out of reach in plastic trunking is a very sensible safety measure. But all that changes as soon as fire breaks out.
The plastic quickly melts and the combined weight of the cables brings it all down, blocking escape routes in offices and industrial buildings. Those fallen cables then become a major safety hazard as people try to escape, often in poor visibility because of smoke and amid noxious fumes. From 2004 to 2014, there were 14 fatalities as a result of people becoming entrapped in cables. The figure includes firefighters who are at particular risk of entanglement because of the equipment they carry.
SWA Firefly clips have been specifically designed to solve this deadly problem, while at the same time complying fully with the new regulations brought in to tackle it. Their unique spring-loaded design ensures they dig in tighter as a fire takes hold, embedding themselves firmly into the substructure they are affixed to and virtually eliminating the risk of overhead cables falling.
The spring loading also allows for the easy addition or removal of cables in the months and years after installation. Crucially, they have been proven to retain their shape and strength in the searing temperatures of a building fire.
Firefly fire safety clips recently won eight Warrington Fire Safety Certificates, covering the entire range. The tests were conducted using Prysmian Plus fire alarm cable, and the clips stayed in place as temperatures reached 930ºC for 120 minutes, easily surpassing the required resistance time of 45 minutes set to allow fire alarms to ring for as long as possible.
SWA Firefly 18th edition cable clips are 100% compliant with the BS7671:2015 Wiring Regulations, which make it mandatory to secure all surface cables in escape routes. The regulations, which came into effect from July 2015, prohibit non-metallic clips or plastic trunking as the sole means of support for fire alarms, HVAC, CCTV and general electrical cabling.
