Smoke and fire protection: Navigating the labyrinth of regulatory compliance

Jon Fleet, Smoke Control & Access Solutions Director, Whitesales, discusses therequirements and guidelines behind fire and smoke regulatory compliance

- Jon Fleet

There are few things more likely to cause destruction of property and loss of life than an uncontrolled fire, and there are dozens of requirements and guidelines detailing the steps which must be taken to prevent this. For developers, these regulations offer some protection: Being fully compliant repositions responsibility for fire outbreaks from those responsible for the design, planning and construction work onto the regulatory requirements themselves.

Unfortunately, these regulations can also represent a considerable headache. Because specification requirements are so stringent, it can be surprisingly easy to find oneself out of compliance when, for example, certified fire protection equipment installed on one project is deemed unsuited for application in a similar context. A couple of degrees of inclination or ambient temperature can make all the difference, rendering a product officially inappropriate and therefore landing the developer responsible within the scope of liability, sometimes for considerable damages or even criminal proceedings.

Taking a look, for example, at the regulations covering natural smoke and heat exhaust ventilation reveals the comprehensive, stringent and complex nature of the testing and certification requirements, and the variety of applications in which varied classifications are acceptable or not. The specification for natural smoke and heat exhaust ventilators is EN12101-2, laid out in a 44-page document which covers design requirements, an expansive set of testing protocols, marking stipulations and installation and maintenance information.