No matter how elaborate a building is, it restricts mobility after a while! Like a courtyard or an open field, a building doesn’t have a stretch of free-space. Hence, in places like a detention center, immigration centers, hospitals, or police stations, a sudden fire can cause tremendous damage. A place that restricts people’s movement imposes challenges on fire evacuation. It indeed is difficult to let people exit in such buildings or enclosed spaces when there’s a fire as compared to when there’s no fire.
How can such a situation get resolved? The fire dampers can help. In huge buildings and security centers where people require specific channels and routes, to stay safe and reach the ground – the fire dampers are essential. There have been instances of buildings and security centers catching up a fire, that could get managed better had there been fire dampers. It would have allowed people and security staff more time to move out of the spot. To know more about this, you can check out fire damper testing.
How do fire dampers help?
The fire dampers get made of galvanized steel. It works inside the ventilation system for stopping the fire and smoke from spreading, by closing down in an emergency. There are various types based solely on how they would get fitted. However, the galvanized steel systems are most common and come with a swing-shut, spring-loaded door. There are security facilities that still don’t have the correct fitting for the fire dampers, made mandatory by the law. It doesn’t indicate that it isn’t a crucial addition to ventilation or heating system.
Things to consider
Installing a fire damper is not the only task buildings, and security centers have! There’s more to this. It is essential to inspect the fire dampers regularly. Based on the building’s system, the inspection should take place every one to two years. You need to check the mechanism and also the system, to see if it’s triggering the functions correctly. The fire dampers can also get linked to a fire alarm in a security unit. Alternatively, it can also have its separate sensors configured to function over a specific temperature. And when it gets combined with fans inside a system, it is one of the best ways to eliminate the toxic smoke from a building or security center. Hence, it’s essential to ensure that the fire dampers are in perfect working condition.
Simply put, fire dampers help to buy more time for evacuating a building. It is also helpful in securing people from poisonous gas and smoke that gets released during a fire emission. Usually, the early stages of fire are when there are noxious fumes and gas. Even though one can’t see but inhale it, these gas and fumes can harm the health and the respiratory system in many ways. Most security units and facilities have updated and effective methods to address and remedy any fire emergency. Even then, the best security systems get limited by various factors, like building and construction design. Hence, the presence of fire dampers can slow down the speed at which the fire and smoke spread. And this helps people to leave the building safe.
