Penetrations by air ducts of any floor or ceiling assembly must be protected by what?

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The requirement for protecting penetrations by air ducts through floor or ceiling assemblies is centered around mitigating the spread of fire and smoke. Shaft enclosures provide a specified method for ensuring that these penetrations are properly safeguarded. They create a dedicated space designed to contain smoke and fire, thus preventing them from traveling through the ducts and potentially compromising other parts of the building.

Shaft enclosures are crucial in high-rise buildings or areas where ductwork intersects fire-rated assemblies, as they maintain the integrity of the fire-resistance rating of the wall and floor systems involved. This requirement aligns with fire safety regulations to ensure that ductwork does not become a pathway for fire or smoke to move from one level of a building to another.

In contrast, fire walls and smoke barriers serve different functions in the overall fire protection strategy. Fire walls are structural elements that separate different areas of a building to provide a barrier against fire spread, while smoke barriers are specifically designed to limit the movement of smoke between areas. Insulation materials, while important for energy efficiency, do not provide the fire-resistance qualities necessary in this context. Therefore, shaft enclosures are the appropriate protection method for the penetrations of air ducts through floor or ceiling assemblies.

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