Six Benefits of Fire Safety Curtains

Fire safety curtains have become more commonplace at commercial buildings in the past decade. While curtains have been used extensively, most curtain use for commercial settings was limited to theaters.

While the use of curtains evolves in commercial settings, for others - including fire department personnel have expressed frustration in knowing exactly which standards apply.

A fire safety curtain, also known as a fire curtain barrier or active fire curtain barrier system, is a fire-separating element designed to automatically deploy upon receiving a signal from a smoke protection device, gravity-deploy on a loss of power or sensor to;

Protect escape routes without any loss of fire resistance and to limit smoke entry into these routes i.e, to protect corridors and lift shafts.

Compartmentalise a building – a fire curtain will deploy to effectively confine a fire.

As an important lifesaving system designed to provide protection from fire, the fire curtain is a modern, non-invasive alternative to traditional non-loadbearing walls, fire doors, glazing, and fire shutters.

They can also be concealed above a ceiling and weighted to assist with deployment and limit deflection caused by air movement. 

Designed to remain hidden within a ceiling until deployed, fire curtains are increasingly specified by architects as a means of ensuring that modern, open plan living spaces meet stringent fire regulations.

Traditionally, fire curtains are made from E-glass and fibreglass fabrics that can withstand temperatures of up to 600°C. However, recent fire protection research into fire-resistant materials has led to glass fibre fabrics being woven with a metal thread. This adds strength, resistance to flex fatigue and increases the temperature resistance to 1000°C. The flexibility in strength and material properties that this brings allows fire curtains and smoke curtains to be adapted to all situations.

Benefits of fire safety curtains

Whether installed at schools, personal home, business offices or shopping malls fire curtains are capable of providing a more than adequate level of protection for many situations. They have a range of other characteristics that set them above some other types of fire guards.

Below are the main benefits to help you decide whether this type of fire protection is best for your building.

Fire curtain increased safety

Fire curtains are designed to protect against smoke, protecting both individuals and the building itself. It’s specifically designed to prevent the flow of smoke from one area to the next – the silicone coated fibreglass fabric swells when heated to form a barrier that heat and smoke particles cannot permeate. This allows for people in the building to evacuate without being affected by smoke or fumes.

Accessible in emergencies

Although it’s possible to install them with guide rails, it’s also possible to install them so they simply overlap with the surrounding wall. A fire curtain installed in this way will work just as well but can be easily pushed aside to allow access in an emergency. They are ideal for crowded or public buildings where easy escape routes are desirable.

Fire curtain legislation

If installed in the workplace, employers and business owners have a duty to provide adequate fire protection wherever it is practicably possible. Safety measures such as installing smoke curtains go a long way towards helping businesses comply with SA legislation as outlined by the government.

Aesthetics

The curtain fits into a slim box casing that sits out of the way above your doors or hatches and can be coloured to blend in with your walls, dropping automatically only when it is needed.

Convenience

This subtle design also makes it perfect for areas where space is important. Hospitals, for example, could benefit from this type of fire protection, as heavy fire doors or shutters need frames and guide rails that reduce the width of the corridor. This could cause problems when moving beds and wheelchairs.

Peace of mind

Fire curtains eliminate the need for a member of staff to go charging into a potentially hazardous building in order to ensure fire safety measures are in place. Because fire curtains function via automatic deployment that is triggered via the building or the curtains alarm system, once an alarm sounds the curtains will automatically deploy into their protective positions to ensure that all spaces are compartmented, all escape routes protected and the spread and damage of fire are limited.

This can prove to be an invaluable benefit especially in schools or workplace where there is a lot of people spread throughout a building.

Combined, these six benefits guarantee that if you install fire curtains in schools, personal home, business offices or shopping malls, they will not only perform in the event of a fire but that their reliability will last.