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A major fire can have a devastating affect on both property and the people. Although active fire protection such as sprinklers put out a fire, the smoke from that fire remains for a period of time. Smoke is dangerous and kills when not looked after in the appropriate fashion. This is why ventilation systems for the control of smoke are important. Smoke can behave very differently in tall buildings than in low buildings. The predominant factors that cause smoke movement in tall buildings are stack effects, the affect of external wind forces, and forced air movement within the building. Smoke removal and venting practices are complicated by stack effects, which will tend to favour natural air movement vertically through the building as a result of differences in temperature and densities between the inside and outside air. Several incidents in North America during the past 40 years have demonstrated that serious fires can occur in modern high-rise buildings and that these fires can generate tremendous quantities of smoke, and that smoke can spread rapidly throughout these buildings. Most notable were the 1970 One New York Plaza fire, the1973 Hyatt Regency O’Hare Hotel fire, the 1980 MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, a 1981 fire in North York Ontario at the Inn on the Park Hotel, the 1983 First Canadian Place in Toronto, Ontario, One Meridian Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the First Interstate Bank in Los Angeles, California in the 1990’s. More recently, the NIST Reports on the World Trade Center disaster discuss various aspects of the post impact condition of the exit stairwell. The NYC Building Code did not require stairwell pressurization in sprinklered buildings. However, the NIST NCSTAR 1-7, WTC Investigation Report contains the following quotations and comments: A survivor from a floor in the 20s in WTC 1: “The stairwell was lit the entire way down. There was a grayish color smoke which smelled like fuel. The more we reached the lower floors the stronger the smell became. On the 6th floor, the sprinklers were on, which slowed us down because we wanted to be cautious and not slip or fall.” Interview 1000044 (NIST 2004)” “The explosion significantly damaged floors, walls, and doorways in subgrade levels and forced large amounts of smoke well away from the immediate area. In one report, visibility was reduced to 0.3 m (1 ft) within about 1 min at the 44th floor of WTC 1, largely through the spread of smoke in elevator and stairwell shafts (Isner and Klem 1993b). Before beginning evacuation, many occupants experienced smoke on occupied floors and encountered even heavier smoke as they descended the buildings in the stairwells.” Pressurization and smoke exhaust systems are methods of controlling the smoke in the event of a fire. Life safety systems such as these are required to be fire rated so that service they provide will be continued in the event of a fire. DuraSystems DuraDuct products are fire
rated duct systems. DuraSystems DuraDuct was the first fire
rated duct to have been tested in North America. DuraDuct
systems have been tested to ISO 6944 an international standard
for fire rated duct systems and carry a UL and ULC label. The
following are features of DuraDuct systems:
DURADUCT COMES IN THREE MODELS: Although DuraDuct systems were initially
designed for life safety duct systems they have multiple other
uses. Due to their blast and acoustical properties coupled with
their structural strength the systems can be used in a variety
of installations. These installations include the following:
Click here to be taken to the Test Index to view our Products' tests and certificates Click here for DuraDuct Downloadable .pdf Brochure
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Impact / Blast Resistant
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