SMOKE CONTROL IN SHOPPING CENTRES
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Smoke Control Smoke Control in Shopping Centres

Colt Design Service Front Cover Golden Square,Warrington. Jetstream impulse fans for the car park, Cyclone induction fans and reversible Jetsream impulse fans for the service road tunnel. OPV Seefire and Labyrinth ventilators for natural ventilation of the malls. Defender dampers, Seefire ventilators and Doorman door operators for the firefighting shafts. All the equipment controlled by an OPV system. INTRODUCTION In retail premises such as shopping centres, the Building Regulations have a strong emphasis on the provision of life safety systems such as smoke control. A well designed smoke...

“A product range, design capability and a service standard to rival anyone in our field.” UK TRACK RECORD Aberavon Shopping Centre, Aberavon Kingsbury Court, Aylesbury BHS Castle Quay, Banbury Castle Quay, Banbury Festival Place, Basingstoke Brunel Centre, Bletchley Bull Ring, Birmingham Pavillions, Birmingham Perry Bar, Birmingham Star City, Birmingham Wades Building, Birmingham Castlepoint, Bournemouth Rawson Market, Bradford The Baytree Centre, Brentwood Coopers Square, Burton-on-Trent Union Arcade, Bury Grafton Centre, Cambridge Grand Arcade, Cambridge Cannock, Cannock Eagle Centre,...

HOW DO FIRES START? In recent years, the development of the shopping centre concept has grown in significance and complexity due to the phenomenal increase in the number of proposals being submitted for consideration. Today, practically every major town and city has at least one such centre. The cause of all fires can be generally divided into two categories, accidental or malicious ignition (arson). Arson is still the largest cause of fire in occupied buildings, and the main cause of death and casualties is smoke. To the design teams, each project represents a new challenge and an...

“Experience shows it can take 30 minutes to totally evacuate a shopping centre.” GUIDANCE AND REGULATIONS SPRINKLER SYSTEMS Many regulations and codes must be met and the safety and comfort of the building’s occupants have to be the priority. Sprinklers and smoke control do different, but complementary jobs. A sprinkler system will control the size of the fire and thus reduce the amount of smoke generated. Reference can be made to the following; BS 5588 Part 10 Fire precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings. Code of practice for shopping complexes. In shopping centres it...

Protection of People (means of escape) With as many as 100,000 people in one day visiting some of the largest Shopping Centres, the burden of responsibility carried by the Design Team is awesome. Each scheme presents its own complexity of design problems that relate to the protection of those evacuating from the building in a fire situation. Regardless of the location of a fire, once people are aware of it, they should be able to proceed safely along a recognisable escape route to a place of safety. In order to achieve this, it may be necessary to protect the route. The problem is...

“An alarm is often not heard. When it is, people often ignore it or misunderstand the situation.” BUILDING DESIGNERS Building owners and designers share a responsibility to limit the potential for damage and tragedy caused by fire. Choice of building materials, the layout of escape routes, the number of exits and the installation of alarms, together with the installation of a smoke control system, are all key building design considerations. Using the principles of ventilation and containment, designers can ensure that occupants can escape quickly and safely and that fire-fighters can see...

Smoke Control (general principles) Smoke from a fire in an enclosed area, rises in a plume to the ceiling. As it rises, air is entrained into it which in turn increases the volume of the smoke. Smoke can fill a room in just a few minutes. Thick smoke can obscure exits signs and doorways, making escape hazardous and slow. As the smoke reaches the ceiling, a layer is formed, which is referred to as the smoke layer. Control of this layer is the main task of a smoke ventilation system. The typical speed of smoke travel is between 1 and 2 m/s. This can be faster than the escape speed of an...

“4% of all building fires occur in retail premises.This equates to over 4,000 fires per year.” Photographs (above & below). Star City, Birmingham. Colt was in contact with Crown House Engineering/Carillion to supply OPV glazed Meteor natural flap ventilators in the atrium and OPV Seefire natural louvred ventilators for the staircases, lobbies and corridors, as well as automatic smoke curtains

Smoke Control (atria & multi storey) The design procedures for smoke control in multi storey Shopping Centres are more complex than single storey buildings. Channelling screens are required to limit the width of the plume and reduce the mass flow of smoke. This can be achieved by either fixed screens or automatic drop down curtains. This is largely because the geometry of the building is significant, and Shopping Centres tend to have multiple levels, complex layouts with junctions and changing roof lines. With multi storey Shopping Centres, especially those with central open malls, the...

Figure F. Channelling screens limit the spread of smoke under balconies, reducing the amount of ventilation required. Figure G. There are many ways to ventilate a multi-storey complex depending on the actual design and layout of the building. 3.Ventilation direct from the fire floor using a fire rated mechanical extract system. This illustration depicts three different methods: 1.Ventilation utilising the central atrium. 2.Ventilation direct from the fire floor using ventilators in an external wall.

Smoke Control (inlet air) INLET AIR Inlet air is an important element of a smoke control system. For a smoke control system to operate effectively, inlet air must be provided via a dedicated source, remote from the smoke reservoir. Possible solutions are as follows: a) Utilising adjacent non fire zones by opening natural ventilators there. b) Low level inlet ventilation located below the designed smoke layer. c) Opening entrance doors automatically. Figure H. This illustration shows a two zoned system where the ventilators in the fire zone are providing extract and the adjacent zone is...