by 
The Curious Bag
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Unless your feet are getting warm from sitting on hot exhaust pipes, your car has a firewall. Firewalls do exactly what they sound like they should, but are more complicated than most might think.
Function
A firewall's basic function is to separate the passenger compartment from the engine compartment, but serves a few others as well.
Protection
In addition to protecting occupants from napalm-like oil in the event of a fire, firewalls form a crucial part of a car's unibody crash-protection "cocoon."
Impact Dispersion
Apart from protecting passengers from a dislodged engine, firewalls are designed to channel frontal impact energy around the passenger compartment and into the roof and door panels.
Insulation
Firewalls usually have between 1/2" and 3/4" of fiberglass insulation that keeps heat and sound out, and cool air in.
Quiet Steel
Many newer cars use a firewall made of "quiet steel." This laminate steel contains a layer of visco-elastic material that keeps interior noise levels to a minimum.
Source:
Resource:
Old vs. New Car Crash Protection
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