The aim of fire prevention is to stop fires from starting, to hinder their development and to block the reaction by means of successive rapid extinction intervention.

Fire-stop protection measurements are divided into two categories, passive protection and active protection.
Passive protection measurements aim at:
• Reducing damages to structures;
• Avoiding, or limiting, the toxic effects of burning products.
Passive protection measurements, which are complex and articulate, are normally expressed in terms of fire behaviour, compartmentation, ventilation systems, fire escape routes and so on.
Unlike passive protection measurements, active protection measurements are aimed at lowering the frequency and intensity of fires by means of early detection methods and by extinguishing fires when they are still in the initial development phase.