Business owners have legitimately grown more concerned about the calibre and effectiveness of their fire safety measures. Preventing a fire from starting in the first place is the easiest approach to stop fires from spreading, but sometimes it is already too late!
The common methods people use to stop fires in their tracks include:
- Fire Doors
- Fire Curtains
- Fire Shutters
- Cavity Barriers
Fire Doors
A passive fireproofing strategy for a structure must include fire doors. Gypsum, steel, and combinations of these materials can all be used to create fire doors. Additionally, they may have windows with anti-shattering wire mesh and windows constructed of borosilicate or ceramic glass, both of which offer greater fire protection than regular glass.
Fire doors are flush with the frame to improve their ability to put out fires. These are sometimes coupled with an intumescent strip, which swells in the presence of heat and is fastened to the bottom of the door, preventing smoke from penetrating underneath.
Fire doors are commonly designed to include a closing mechanism. Usually fitted at the top of a door, these spring-loaded or hydraulic mechanisms force the door closed, preventing fire and smoke from passing from one area to another.
Fire Curtains
Simply put, a fire curtain is a very strong piece of fire-resistant material that hangs covertly from a ceiling, lobby, or doorway until a smoke or fire alarm is activated inside the structure, at which point it is lowered. In that regard, it is for the containment of flames or the prevention of flames spreading, either laterally or vertically, and increasing the risk to people’s lives.
Fire curtains have many locations throughout a building, which is one of their key advantages as a component of a building’s safety system. For instance, a non-load-bearing wall and fire-rated windows can be replaced by a fire curtain, allowing open-plan building designs to comply with the necessary rules. Vertical curtains can also be used to cover elevator lobbies and elevator shafts, stopping the spread of smoke and flames. They can also wrap around corners, so their flexibility and versatility is second to none.
Fire Shutters
A fire shutter is a slatted steel shutter intended to stop fire and smoke from spreading throughout a building. In the case of a fire, it can be coupled with a fire system to shut down automatically. A fire curtain and a fire shutter are different in that a fire curtain is made of glass fibre cloth while a fire shutter is made of steel. They both work to prevent fire and smoke from spreading within a building.
It’s vital to understand that these shutters are only intended for use on the outside; they are not intended for use on inside doors or spaces, and they are only intended to cover one window or door. They cannot turn corners or wrap around an aperture or item to protect it because they are not designed to cover large openings, doors, or windows with odd shapes. They can play a significant role in fire mitigation, but they cannot stand alone.
Cavity Barriers
Blocks of fire-resistant material called cavity barriers are used to seal off a cavity in order to stop a fire from spreading. Cavities are empty spaces that have been encircled by various architectural components. They often have no use. These don’t include spaces in chutes, flues, pipes, conduits, or ducts, but you can find them in walls, contained by structural beams or other construction elements. Smoke, hot gases, and flames can flow from one compartment to another using a chimney that is installed in the exterior wall.
No matter what method you use, fire safety is one of the most important aspects of keeping people safe, so feel free to contact us to discuss what your options are and what the best method for you would be.
