FIRE & SMOKE CONTROL

Fire Dampers are required by all building codes to maintain the required fire resistance ratings of walls, partitions, and floor when they are penetrated by air ducts or other ventilation openings.

One of the basic requirements of building fire protection as required by all building codes is the compartmentation or division of buildings using fire rating walls, floors, or other partitioning methods. This compartmentation is intended to contain any fire to the compartment of the fire origin and thereby minimise damage to property and protect the lives of people living and/or working in the building.

Smoke dampers on the other hand can be effectively employed to control the spread of smoke or by simply shutting off the circulation of air and smoke through ducts or ventilation openings or more actively to be applied as part of an "Engineered Smoke Control System"

A duct or ventilation opening in any of the fire rated partitions would permit a fire to spread from the compartment of origin to adjoining compartments.

Fire dampers are installed in these ducts or ventilation openings. Upon detection of heat, these dampers close (at melting of a UL Stamped fusible link or through a thermal cutoff and Solenoid) thus blocking the opening and thus prevent the spread of fire into the adjoining compartment.

Smoke dampers applied in a "Passive Smoke Control System" simply close and prevent the circulation of air and smoke through a duct or a ventilation opening.

Or they may be applied as part of an "Engineered Smoke Control System" to control the spread of smoke by using the building's HVAC system and/or dedicated fans to create pressure differences.

Higher pressures surround the fire area and prevent the spread of smoke from the fire zone to other areas. In this application, the smoke dampers are motorised with electric or pneumatic actuators. They can be controlled by a smoke or a heat detector signal, or in a variety of ways by the building control system to accomplish the intent of the design.

Combination Fire Smoke Damper performs the function of both a Fire Damper and a Smoke Damper at a same location. Combination Fire Smoke Dampers must be qualified under UL Standard 555 as a Fire Damper and under UL Standard 555S as a Smoke Dampers.