My own operating premise, as to the purpose of the Code, is centered around it's two fundamental - and historical - objectives:
- If a fire breaks out: Keep it from spreading from building to building to building and burning down an entire neighborhood or City - as used to happen back in the day.
- If a fire breaks out: Allow the Occupants enough time to exit the building safely.
The purpose of the Code is not to construct buildings in such a way as to prevent fire damage to the building once a fire breaks out. It's to insure the two points above.
Now that fire sprinklering is rule, and not the exception, the role that fire stop penetrations play in the Code has not caught up. 100 to 150 years ago, tens of millions of Americans used to live in Cities with fire departments that were far less effective than they are today. And most buildings weren't sprinklered. It was pretty much taken as a given, back in the day, that once a fire broke out, the building was pretty much going to burn down. But as long as it met the two stated objectives above, the Code was seen as success.