Glossary Term
Fire Damper
A fire damper is a device installed in a ventilation duct that normally remains open for airflow and closes during a fire to restrict the passage of fire through the duct. The current Red Ensign Group Yacht Code defines it in those terms and distinguishes automatic, manual, and remotely operated fire dampers by the way they close and are controlled.
The component sits at the meeting point between HVAC performance and fire compartmentation. IMO fire-safety provisions require automatic fire dampers in certain ducts passing through A-class divisions and require dampers to be manually operable from both sides of the division. IMO also requires automatic dampers, including remote-operated ones, to have a failsafe mechanism so they close in a fire even if electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic power is lost.
On yachts, fire damper work is rarely limited to swapping a blade assembly. Access hatches, identification marking, actuator arrangements, boundary insulation, coamings, and the integrity of the penetrated division all affect whether the installation is acceptable and serviceable. When ductwork is altered during a refit, fire-damper details normally need to be resolved within the engineering and design package before ceilings and linings are closed again.