Distinction between active and passive protection?

• A. Active protection relies on building fabric to resist fire; passive protection involves systems that require action.
• B. Passive protection relies on building fabric to resist fire; active protection involves systems that require action.
• C. Passive protection relies on building fabric to resist fire; active protection involves systems that require action.
• D. Active protection and passive protection are the same.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that protection is split into what the building itself does versus what systems do in response to a fire. Passive protection uses the building’s own fabric—the walls, floors, doors, fire-rated assemblies, and compartmentation—to resist fire and slow its spread without needing any action or energy input. Active protection, on the other hand, relies on systems that must operate or be activated (or energy-powered) to detect, suppress, or control the fire—such as alarms, sprinkler systems, smoke control, and extinguishers.

So, passive protection is about fire resistance built into the structure, while active protection is about responding systems that act during a fire. Automatic sprinklers are a good example of active protection because they require a trigger to release water, whereas fire-rated walls and doors are passive because they perform their job by their material properties and construction, regardless of any system activation.

That distinction is what the correct choice communicates: passive protection relies on building fabric to resist fire, while active protection involves systems that require action.