In any building a ceiling helps slow the spread of fire and when a hole is cut into a ceiling this creates a potential path for fire to spread. A fire rated recessed light (downlight) is a product that restores the fire integrity of a ceiling once the hole has been cut for the light. Maintaining this barrier allows occupants more time to escape the building and for the fire to be extinguished.
Fire rated downlights have an important role in fire safety, as they effectively block the hole cut into the ceiling. On each downlighter they have an intumescent pad, which will expand when it reaches a certain temperature, and ultimately slow the spread of fire. Different fire rated downlights have different fire rated times, varying from 30 to 90 minutes.
