BLE News and Updates for the Smoke and Fire Curtain Industry

Fire Safety Implications of Home Improvements: Altering the Internal Layout of Residential Buildings by Adding or Removing Internal Walls

2010-01-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Building a new wall to subdivide a room or create a new room can affect the means of escape from fire. If in doing so a situation is created whereby the route for leaving an existing or new room is only possible through another room then an egress (escape) window from the existing or new room (inner room) will be needed as well as, possibly, one or more smoke alarms.

If the floor level of the inner room is greater than 4.5m above ground level (as with the top floor of a typical three storey house for example) the use of an egress window may not be safe and therefore an alternative solution will need to be sought. This may well be one that does not create an inner room situation in the first place.

Some walls around stairways (typically in houses 3 storeys or more in height) need to have fire resistance to ensure a fire in one of the rooms off of the stairway doesn’t unduly affect the means of escape from other rooms in the house. In other houses (such as in two storey houses) the walls may not need to have any particular fire resistance, but would still afford some protection to the stairway by containing the fire and smoke for a period of time.

The impact of the removal of an internal wall on fire safety should be carefully considered. In two storey houses, the removal of such a wall could normally be compensated by the provision of mains powered interlinked smoke alarms and egress windows from the other rooms off the stair. However, in houses of three storeys and greater this compensation may not be sufficient. The exact features needed will vary on a case by case basis.

A new wall (including any door leading through it), which separates a room from the stairway may need to have adequate fire resistance (typically in three storey houses) and, in the case of a door, be self closing.

The Advantages of Using Fire Curtains to Comply With Approved Document B (fire safety), Part B (2006 Ed., amended 2007)

2010-01-11T04:01:00.000-08:00

This document sets out defining principles for building control and design in the UK. Volume 2 Part B specifically looks at fire safety in buildings other than dwellinghouses. The five key aspects the document identifies are shown below. In particular points B1 and B5 reference the requirement to provide protected means of escape, and to slow the passage of fire through a building to both protect the occupants and aid the fire service. BLE smoke and fire curtains are perfectly designed to help achieve these goals whilst having the advantage of remaining hidden and out of the way during times of normal building use. Our curtains boast significant aesthetic, weight and cost advantages over bulky fire shutters and expensive glass screens to achieve the best possible finish without compromising on fire safety.

Part B. Fire safety

The Regulations consider five aspects of fire safety in the construction of buildings:

B1 Means of escape
1. That sufficient provisions are made in design of the building so that in the event of fire the occupants can escape to a place of safety by their own efforts. This includes incorporating a suitable fire alarm system to give early warning of fire to the occupants and users of a building.

B2 Internal fire spread (linings)
2. That the internal linings of a building do not support a rapid spread of fire

B3 Internal fire spread (structure)
3. That the structure of the building should not collapse prematurely and should slow the spread of fire through the building and in unseen cavities and voids by providing fire resisting walls and partitions where necessary;

B4 External fire spread
4. That the spread of fire between buildings be discouraged by spacing them apart sufficiently and controlling the number and size of openings on boundaries;

B5 Access and facilities for the fire service
5. That the building (and the site layout & access roads) are designed in such a way as to aid the fire brigade fight fire and effect rescue of persons caught in a fire.

Fire Compartmentation Laws for Buildings in London

2010-01-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

The London Building Acts (Amendment) Act, 1939 Part III, Section 20 requires that large buildings are sub-divided into fire-containing zones to both protect occupants and property and slow the progress of fire throughout the building. BLE smoke and fire curtains are ideally suited to achieve such protection whilst facilitating the incorporation of open doorways and spectacular open atria that would otherwise have to be closed off using walls and fire doors.

Section 20 applies where:

a building is to be erected with a storey or part of a storey at a greater height than (i) 30 metres; or (ii) 25 metres if the area of the building exceeds 930 square metres
a building of the warehouse class, or a building or part of a building used for the purposes of trade or manufacture, exceeds 7,100 cubic metres in extent unless it is divided by division walls in such manner that no division of the building is of a cubical extent exceeding 7,100 cubic metres.

Merry Christmas from all the team here at BLE!

2009-12-23T01:45:00.000-08:00

As Christmas is almost upon us we would like to take the opportunity to wish all of our customers, distributors and partners a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

In what has been a challenging year it has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with each and every one of you, and we hope that we can continue to do so for a long time to come.

Many thanks for your business, and we hope to speak to all of you again soon in the New Year!

How do Smoke Curtains fit into your Fire Risk Assesment?

2009-02-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

On 1st October 2006 the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order came into force, replacing the Fire Precautions Act 1997, and over 100 other pieces of related legislation. Fire safety checks and certificates aren't conducted and issued by the Fire Brigade any more - instead it is now your responsibility to conduct a fire risk assessment.

Fire is a major risk in most business premises. So much so, that most organisations suffering a large fire go out of business within three years. Thousands of UK businesses are getting this wrong. Here's how not to be one of them...

Competent fire risk assessment requires a special kind of foresight - you need to be able to see the unseen, expect the unexpected, predict the unpredictable. Hopefully, through the instalation of fire alarms, sprinklers, smoke curtains and fire curtains etc most of the hard work is already complete.

However, despite the recent change in the law, many businesses are not taking their fire risks seriously. But, fire is the one of the most likely events that could affect your business and, unless controlled, will spread quickly, creating smoke damage as well as fire damage. Even if contained, the remainder of your premises can still be damaged, either by smoke or water. Without proper risk assessment and management, the outcome would be that your business would not be operational for some time.

Your three key tools for protecting your business from the devastating effects of fire are: a Fire Emergency Plan; a plan of action to improve your risk profile; and a contingency plan to help your business keep trading in the event of a disaster. Only through careful examination of your premises, practices and processes, can you identify relevant risks and take appropriate precautions.

Fire Safety In the Workplace -

2009-02-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Each year people die or are seriously injured as a result of fires at work. Besides loss of life, fire costs UK business millions of pounds, from damage to property, loss of business, fines, compensation claims and insurance premiums.

Many fires can be avoided by taking fire precautions. If a fire does break out, the effects can be minimised by having effective controls and procedures in place.

In England, Scotland and Wales, rules introduced in October 2006 replaced most existing fire safety legislation. Fire certificates are no longer required, and the emphasis is on preventing fires and reducing risk.

Anyone who has some control over premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire. The regulations apply to all non-domestic premises.

In many offices and public buildings the utilisation of either a smoke curtain system or fire curtain system or a combination of the two to create a protected means of escape, thereby helping to demonstrate reasonable steps have been taken to ensure people can safely escape.

Flagship Fire System For The Uk’s Favourite Department Store

2009-02-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Fire Curtain

Undisputedly one of the top ten department stores in the UK, John Lewis Oxford Street is the flag ship of the John Lewis Partnership. With over 140 years on the same site, the store spans seven floors, stocks over half a million lines and is synonymous with excellent customer care, quality and reliability.
So, when it came to choosing a company to create the fire and smoke protection strategy as part of a £64m renovation and improvement programme in 2007, the John Lewis Partnership selected market-leading BLE Smoke & Fire Curtains – recently awarded the international UL standard for quality.
BLE designed, manufactured and fitted all of the fire and smoke safety equipment in partnership with architects Davis Langdon & Everest. The UK manufactured equipment, which will eventually be rolled out to all of the John Lewis stores, has an exceptionally neat finish to ensure it blends seamlessly with the breath-taking new design. The smoke and fire curtains are instantly retractable with very simple mechanisms, ensuring minimal disruption during maintenance and repair.
The complete redesign of the 300,000 square foot store increased selling space by 16% and centered on the creation of two striking, light and airy atria. The fire strategy had to address the potential hazards created by these two vast wells, containing 24 new escalators, plus the additional of a 17,000 square foot food hall in the basement - the first food hall in the chain - and the opening of two new restaurants.
BLE engineers worked out-of-hours for four months to install the equipment, ensuring that John Lewis Oxford Street could remain open during the refurbishment without ever compromising the safety of shoppers in the store.

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Thai Royal Mint - Opts for BLE Fire & Smoke Curtains

2009-01-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

BLE fire and smoke curtains are distributed around the world by reliable and trusted international contractors, many of whom have worked with BLE for years. So, when the distributor in Thailand, Dilok Rodmorl, was asked to develop the smoke and fire safety system for the new Thai Royal Mint, the company brought in engineers from BLE Fire and Smoke Curtains - manufacturers of the most trusted and reliable fire equipment in the world.
BLE worked alongside Dilok Rodmorl to develop the sophisticated fire curtain and smoke safety system required by the insurance companies and the Thai government. The system included the installation of 14 huge automatic fire curtains that formed a barrier around the entire internal perimeter of the building to protect the equipment and machinery.
The Thai Royal Mint is one of the most important financial institutions in the country. Not only is it responsible for producing currency, it also manufactures commemorative coins and medals, royal orders, plaques and other metal art objects. In addition, the Mint installs and repairs safes, security doors and strong rooms for government agencies throughout Thailand.
The construction of the new Mint began in 1996 to replace the old building which was old, in poor condition and far too small. The new mint, the fifth in Thai history, was completed in 2001 on a site of 50.4 acres and with the capacity to produce 1,000 million coins per year.
The prestige of providing the smoke curtains and fire system for the Thai Royal Mint led to much greater market presence for Dilok Rodmorl. They have since worked on other significant projects across Asia, all in conjunction with BLE Smoke and Fire Curtains.

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PROTECTED MEANS OF ESCAPE, FOR XSCAPE, COURTESY OF BLE

2009-01-28T08:28:00.000-08:00

In the vibrant and progressive modern city Milton Keynes, it is probably no surprise to find the UK’s largest indoor real ski slope, and Europe’s first purpose-built body flying tunnel, in the ground breaking Xscape building.
Built in 2000, the Xscape indoor snow and leisure centre is a land-mark feature on the Buckinghamshire skyline. However, the architecture of this iconic structure proved problematic for the original smoke and fire system designers. So, eight years after being created, BLE Smoke and Fire Curtains was brought it to bring the system bang up to date.
BLE fitted a huge static fire curtain around the perimeter of the building to address the gap immediately beneath the roof-line, replacing the original fire curtains that were fitted at launch. BLE’s market leading automatic smoke curtains were used to create a protected vent in the central atria around the rock-climbing wall, all linked up to the main fire and smoke control system.
A huge number of tailor-made, shaped static curtains were manufactured specifically to fit all the maintenance stairwells and corridors, ensuring a protected means of escape throughout the building.
Because of the complexity of the architecture, the contract was extraordinarily labour intensive. However, BLE was commissioned to complete the work based on the company’s track record for innovation and resolving complex fire and smoke safety issues. The team at BLE ensured that existing problems in the Xscape building were overcome practically and economically – and within only two weeks of being awarded the contract.

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THE SEAT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE OPTS FOR SMOKE CURTAINS

2009-01-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

They say that the combined revenues of companies founded by affiliates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) would make the twenty-fourth largest economy in the world. Hardly surprising perhaps, from a university faculty that has produced 72 Nobel Laureates.

So when the MIT, a world-leading centre of scientific excellence, commissioned a new Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex the institute selected a smoke protection system from BLE Fire and Smoke Curtains - installed by the USA distributor CYSA Developments.

The new Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex, designed by Charles Correa Associates, is the world’s largest neuroscience centre and a triumph of urban design and engineering. However, the building also posed big challenges for the engineers and architects.

The seven-story, 412,000 square foot state-of-the-art complex houses three separate research organisations, creating a world-class centre for brain research. In addition, there are wet and dry laboratories as well as facilities to support biology, biochemistry, behavioural and cognitive research. There is an auditorium, cafe, seminar rooms and a five-story day-lit atrium. Additionally, the complex spans an active freight railway that runs through a tunnel below the atrium level.

In partnership with CYSA Developments, engineers from BLE worked on the smoke model with Turner, the site management company, and then designed the smoke management system to suit the challenging architecture. BLE’s automatic smoke curtains were used to create smoke zones around the building, incorporating stage descents to ensure protected means of escape throughout the complex. BLE manufactured all of the equipment and supervised the CYSA installation, ensuring that the invaluable research undertaken at the MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex is protected against smoke for years to come.

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Smoke Curtains: The best piece of innovation for years

2009-01-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

Smoke Curtains

- The best piece of innovation for years

Health and safety is becoming ever more important for all public places. In a bid to combat the hazards of the outbreak of fire many innovations have been made from smoke alarms to fire doors. However one of the best modern innovations in fire protection and safety is the development of the smoke curtain.
Smoke curtains are barriers that are designed to contain and channel smoke and heat away from areas within a premise. Smoke curtains activate in response to a fire alarm automatically descending to secure the areas in which they have been installed. This assists with the quick and safe evacuation of people by protecting the various means of escape.
The amount of research and design that has gone into manufacturing fire and smoke curtains is quite remarkable. Smoke curtains can be installed very easily wherever you deem fit and restrictions of space is not a problem. Due to this smoke curtains are very versatile when you compare it to its counterpart the fire door. This versatility has meant that fire curtains are now becoming the standard fire safety equipment in many industries including Shopping centres, supermarkets, hotels, airports and theatres.
Smoke curtains are made from woven glass fibre fabric and is normally rolled onto a steel tube. Within it is a 24V DC motor, a sealed heavy duty ball bearing and an electronic control circuit. The roller in total (including the fabric) is housed in galvanised mild-steel head boxes which are normally bolted to the building. In the event of a fire signal the smoke curtains descend and automatically retract once the fire signal stops. The smoke curtains are controlled by the motors via a synchronised speed circuit which ensures that all curtains are raised at similar rates. Smoke curtains descend through gravity at all times and have back-up systems in case of a mains failure.
How do the curtains resist the heat and smoke? This is quite impressive and in simple terms it is due to the metal side guides between the curtain and the building. These create a seal between the fabric and the building and so no smoke or fire can penetrate through the fabric. It is imperative therefore that the seal between the metal side guides and the building are water tight.
If thinking about installing a smoke curtain within your premises it is important that the preparation before hand is thorough. The area of a building in which you are to fix the curtains should have a solid substrate and timber truss (eg blockwork, concrete or brickwork) to provide sound fixing for all 4 sides of the smoke curtain. The smoke curtain should not be exposed externally or under damp conditions so ensure the area you are to install the smoke curtains is dry. It goes without saying that safety, is extremely important and so installation should be carried out by a professional.

When choosing a professional ensure that they are qualified and that the smoke curtains they use comply with British and European Standards. Also ensure that regular maintenance is carried out and they are checked.

This is just a quick overview of what smoke curtains can do. They really are a must have for businesses and the fact that they are discreet, effective and easy to install make them one of the best investments for the fire safety today.

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Fire Curtains: the forefront of safety

2009-01-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

FIRE CURTAINS

The forefront of safety

As health and safety becomes more of an issue and an important one at that, having fire curtains installed within business areas is an extremely important investment. European standards that will eventually be introduced which will require that fire curtains be installed into public buildings which include offices.
>Fire and Smoke Curtains in their simplest form are simply barriers that are designed to minimise the spread of fire and smoke. In the case of an outbreak of fire these barriers can be brought down to secure an area allowing more time for people to make a safe and quick escape from a premises. Fire curtains can be programmed to move into position normally descending downward to protect a passageway which aids people in their safe escape.
A Fire Curtain works by having side guide channels either side of the curtain which acts to retain the fire resistant curtain material which is subjected to the pressure caused by fire. A good fire curtain should have an insulation value of at least 30 minutes.

The technology of fire curtains is cutting edge and they have many benefits one of which is helping with the architecture of a premise. Instead of having bulky fire doors and fire shutters, fire curtains allow for a lot more flexibility both for refurbishing buildings or constructing new ones. People continually want to make the most out of the space they have and fire curtains can be discreetly placed in buildings meaning that they do not get in the way and yet will be there when you need them to be. This is extremely important for businesses such as supermarkets and open plan offices here you do not want to jeopardise the look of the surrounding area and ye
The benefits to your safety make fire curtains a very good investment. Safety should be at the utmost priority for all businesses and so it is important that you choose a quality fire curtain from a reputable company. Fire curtains should be fully tested in accordance with British and European Standards (BS) and if in any doubt whatsoever about this you should ask to see documentation to clarify this. The technology involved in the fire curtain you purchase should be fail-safe and this means that they should be supplied with battery backup and emergency power operation in the event of a mains failure. You should also check to see if the control systems<smoke curtains are designed to be robust and as simple as possible to provide minimum maintenance requirements while providing for features such as retract buttons, obstruction sensors and audio visual warnings.Safety is extremely important and over time you may not have much of a choice when it comes to installing fire curtains. The really do however make a massive difference to your workplace not just for safety but also for the whole look of your work area. Knowing a little bit more about fire curtains should help you in your search for the product as you venture on your quest to make your business a lot safer.

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