This document discusses smoke control and management systems. It defines smoke control as using mechanical systems like fans to limit smoke movement, while smoke management uses passive and active systems. The goals are to control smoke movement and create a tenable environment for occupants during a fire. Common smoke control methods are containment, removal, and opposed airflow using pressure differentials and airflow direction. Smoke control systems must interface and coordinate with fire protection, HVAC and other building systems. They require acceptance testing after installation and annual retesting to ensure proper function.

1. Fire Protection Systems
Third Edition
Chapter 12 — Smoke Control and Management Systems

2. Objectives
‣Define the terms smoke control and smoke management.
‣State the design goals for smoke control systems.
‣State the design goals for smoke management systems.
‣Name the three general methods used to control smoke
movement.

3. Objectives
‣Describe the four pressure differential methods used to control
smoke.
‣Describe five design requirements or operational characteristics
of smoke control systems.

4. Objectives
‣List the different life safety and fire protection systems that
interface with smoke control systems and describe how they
interact.
‣Discuss the importance of the acceptance testing and annual
retesting of smoke control and management systems.

5. Introduction
‣Smoke and toxic gases migrate outside the fire area and
throughout a structure during a fire.
‣Can cause as much damage as burns
‣Exposed areas: stairways, corridors, elevator hoistways,
atriums, openings in walls, etc.

6. Introduction
‣Smoke control: mechanical systems that pressurize areas of
buildings with fans to limit smoke movement
‣Smoke management: passive and active systems used alone or
together to alter smoke movement
‣Life safety objective of systems is to create a tenable
environment for occupants and fire fighters; systems were
developed in the 1970s.

7. Introduction
‣Passive design approach
‣Uses walls, bulkheads,
doors, partitions, draft
curtains, fire dampers, high
ceilings, smoke and heat
vents, and sealed wall and
floor openings to create
barriers
‣Fire-rated construction
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning.

8. Introduction
•Active design approach
–Focus of this chapter
–Uses mechanical systems to exhaust, pressurize, and oppose
smoke with forced air
•Choice of design (passive, active, combination) depends on
many factors.

9. Introduction
‣Physical design and architectural features of structures facilitate
smoke movement.
‣Obvious: stairways, elevators, airshafts, ductwork
‣Less obvious: unsealed construction and space, etc.
‣Smoke spread also depends on many factors.
‣Buoyancy forces, stack effect, climate, ventilation and HVAC,
fuel load, etc.

10. Code-Required Smoke Control and Smoke
Management
‣Code-mandated installation is limited to certain kinds of
structures and occupancy classifications.
‣Design of many buildings facilitates quick evacuation, inhibits
smoke movement, and includes fire protection systems.
‣Smoke control systems are required for high-rises, atriums,
covered malls, underground buildings, stages, platforms,
correctional facilities, etc.

11. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Goal is to maintain tenability by mitigating smoke spread or
containing it.
‣Systems can be stand-alone or integrated.
‣100% outside air for positive pressurization and smoke relief
systems; 100% exhaust to the outdoors to contain/relieve
smoke
‣Methods: containment, removal, opposed airflow

12. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Containment by pressure differentials
‣Pressure differentials between affected and unaffected areas
help with smoke control.
‣Low pressure differentials reduce/contain smoke.
‣Pressurization is one of the most common methods of
smoke control.
‣Model building codes, standards, and publications outline
design requirements (NFPA 92, 92A, 92B, and publications
from ASHRAE).

13. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Stairway pressurization systems
‣Prevent/reduce smoke
intrusion into egress
stairways
‣Mechanical fans pump
outdoor air in and create a
pressure barrier.
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning

14. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Stairway pressurization systems (cont’d)
‣Perform best when combined with smoke removal/relief on
affected floors
‣Many design considerations affect performance.
‣Common in high-rise buildings

15. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Floating zone/floor-by-floor
pressurization
‣“Sandwich effect” or
“containment method”
‣Uses HVAC to create
negative pressure on
fire floors; applies
positive pressure above
and below
‣Design approach is
geared to contain the
smoke on the floor of
origin © A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning.

16. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Floating zone/floor-by-floor pressurization (cont’d)
‣Used in high-rises in addition to stairway systems
‣Smoke-laden air is removed; outside air flows in.
‣Air moves from high to low pressure.
‣Negative pressurization uses mechanical fans to remove the
smoke from the zone or floor through an exhaust shaft.

17. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Elevator hoistway pressurization systems
‣Similar to stairway systems
‣Mechanical fans pump outside air into hoistway and create a
pressure barrier to smoke.
‣Some designers think they should be part of complete smoke
management system for adequate pressurization.
‣Others are concerned about elevator doors being open.
‣Movement could cause drastic changes in the hoistway
pressure

18. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Refuge area pressurization
‣Refuge areas are usually
located on each floor of a
high-rise, near stairways,
or near elevator lobbies.
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning

19. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Refuge areas
‣Constructed with fire-rated materials and self-closing fire-
rated doors
‣Holding areas for people who need assistance
‣Typically combined with elevator hoistway or stairway
pressurization

20. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Smoke removal
‣Best suited for large volume spaces where smoke and toxic
gas flow freely
‣Systems can help create a tenable environment in egress
corridors, elevator lobbies, and refuge areas.
‣Lack of restriction causes other problems in addition to large
amounts of smoke and gas (e.g., delayed activation of
sprinklers and detectors).

21. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Smoke removal (cont’d)
‣Unpolluted air from a lower
level is fed up at a slower
rate than the exhaust
system rate.
‣Enables one or more
mechanical fans near the
upper level to exhaust the
smoke
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning.

22. Smoke Containment, Removal, and
Opposed Airflow
‣Containment by airflow direction
‣Can control smoke across openings when pressure
differential strategies are impractical
‣Common for fires in railway, subway, or vehicle tunnels
‣Least common strategy for containment because of the
complex control and necessary large air volumes
‣Risk of feeding the fire

23. Design Requirements and Operational
Characteristics
‣Design is challenging due to the uniqueness of environments.
‣Important to know the requirements of adopted model codes
and standards
‣Model codes include a variety of operational requirements.

24. Fire Protection Systems and Smoke Control
‣Without automatic or manual detection and suppression, smoke
control systems may be overwhelmed by fire.
‣Proper operation of detection and automatic sprinkler systems,
plus fire fighter response, is key to controlling smoke and gas.

25. Fire Protection Systems and Smoke Control
‣Interface with fire protection systems and other life safety
systems
‣Smoke control and management systems interface with fire
protection, HVAC, elevator, and backup power systems.
‣During design, smoke control zones, sprinkler zones, and
detection zones are coordinated.
‣Activation of automatic initiating device usually prompts
operation of smoke control systems.

26. Fire Protection Systems and Smoke Control
‣Interface with fire protection systems and other life safety
systems (cont’d)
‣If HVAC systems fail to shut down, this can be the strongest
contributor to smoke movement (usually coordinate well with
other systems).
‣Smoke detectors in elevator lobbies interface with elevator
systems to establish recall priorities.
‣Smoke control systems require both normal and emergency
power sources.

27. Fire Protection Systems and Smoke Control
‣Interface with fire protection systems and other life safety
systems (cont’d)
‣Functional components of smoke control systems require
monitoring.
‣Must have operational controls for each smoke zone

28. Fire Protection Systems and Smoke Control
‣Interface with fire protection
systems and other life safety
systems (cont’d)
‣Smoke control panel must
have status indication and
control function to show
location of all major
systems.
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett
Learning.

29. Testing and Performance Verification
‣Acceptance testing
‣Design professionals develop detailed test plans.
‣Testing occurs after all other life safety and fire protection
systems are tested and approved.
‣Testing is similar to other fire protection systems’ tests.

30. Testing and Performance Verification
‣Acceptance testing (cont’d)
‣Functional and integrated performance testing:
‣System response time
‣Air pressure differential
‣Door opening forces
‣Artificial smoke/fog can give visual confirmation of
performance but is not an actual representation.
‣All final tests must be witnessed and documented.

31. Testing and Performance Verification
‣Acceptance testing (cont’d)
‣Smoke control systems must undergo annual functional and
performance retesting to avoid disrepair.
‣Required by many state and local jurisdictions
‣Addresses individual components and integrated
performance
‣Similar procedures to acceptance testing
‣Some tests performed by owner’s personnel, some by
individuals who did initial testing
‣Annual testing
‣Systems should undergo annual functional and performance
testing.
‣Without this, systems can rapidly fall into disrepair or
failure.