PFS inspects, surveys, documents and helps you manage the firestop systems and fire-resistive joint systems that keep a fire where it started. Independent of every installer, manufacturer and supplier. Based in Calgary, Alberta.
The standard inspection methodology we apply for the on-site field verification of installed penetration firestop systems.
The standard inspection methodology we apply for the on-site field verification of installed fire-resistive joint systems and perimeter fire barriers.
The international standard for bodies performing inspection; Type A is the independent third-party category. Our quality management system operates on this model to protect technical objectivity and commercial independence.
The accreditation criteria for Special Inspection Agencies. Our inspection procedures, documentation and quality controls are built to align with these criteria.
PFS Passive Fire Solutions Inc. is an independent inspection and advisory firm. We do not practise professional engineering, perform laboratory testing, or issue engineering judgements.
Does the passive fire protection in this building do what the drawings, the listings and the code say it does — and can you prove it?
What exists, where, and what condition it appears to be in — penetrations and joints located, photographed, and recorded as observed, against a listed system where one can be identified and as unidentified where it cannot.
How it works →The inventory becomes a living digital record, reviewed on an agreed cycle, with an annual status summary the owner can plan against.
How it works →Independent third-party inspection of installed firestop and joint systems during construction. Deficiencies advised to the installer within one working day; every inspection form issued to the authorizing authority and the installer within one working day.
How it works →A review of the contractor's firestop turnover package for completeness and consistency — what is there, what is missing, and what that means.
How it works →Specification review under Section 07 84 00 for owners and design teams; non-project-specific QA/QC systems, documentation and training for contractors.
How it works →Tell us the building, the stage it is at and what you need the record for. We will say which service fits, which does not, and why — before a proposal.
Contact PFS →The National Building Code of Canada requires penetrations of a fire separation, and the joints that keep a fire separation continuous, to be sealed by a firestop tested to CAN/ULC-S115 with the required F or FT rating (NBC 2020 Articles 3.1.9.1 and 3.1.8.3). That is the standard an installation is inspected against during construction.
Once the building is occupied, the National Fire Code of Canada takes over. Where fire separations are damaged so as to affect their integrity they must be repaired, and where materials used to provide fire protection are damaged or removed they must be repaired or replaced so that the integrity of the fire separation is maintained (NFC 2020 Division B, Article 2.2.1.2). The Code also requires records of the tests and corrective measures it calls for to be retained for examination by the authority having jurisdiction (NFC 2020 Division C, Article 2.2.1.2). Alberta applies both codes through the National Building Code and National Fire Code – 2023 Alberta Editions.
An inventory that says what firestop systems exist and what they were installed to, a record of what was reviewed and when, and evidence of what was repaired, is what those articles ask for in practice. It is also the difference between a fire separation that can be maintained and one that can only be guessed at. Every PFS service produces or keeps that record.
That is the whole point. PFS operates on the ISO/IEC 17020 Type A model: no ownership, employment or financial interest in any firestop installer, manufacturer or supplier, and no inspection of anything we advised on. Every engagement is screened for conflicts before a proposal is issued, and the answer to a client who would like a finding softened is no.
Our quality system is documented against the IAS AC291 Accreditation Criteria for Special Inspection Agencies — an ISO/IEC 17020 scheme — with the intention of applying for accreditation. PFS is not currently an accredited Special Inspection Agency, and we say so on every document we issue.
PFS was founded by Corey Beckett after close to two decades in firestopping — estimating, project management, tested-system selection, quality assurance and closeout — most recently as a firestop division manager and the Designated Responsible Individual for a UL Qualified Firestop Contractor program. He has passed the UL Firestop Exam and is active in the Firestop Contractors International Association, in its committees and in code and specification development.
That background is why PFS knows what a deficient installation looks like, what a defensible one looks like, and how to tell a contractor the difference without wasting anyone's day.
More about PFSFirestop systems get penetrated by later trades, damaged during renovations and forgotten during tenant fit-outs. A building that was right on the day of occupancy is often wrong five years later. PFS exists to document, maintain and manage rated assemblies through the life of the building — not just to inspect them once.
Tell us what you need. We will tell you plainly whether we are the right firm for it.