The Importance of Smoke Seals in Buildings and Offices

A fire warden, or any individual allocated the responsibility of overseeing the fire safety precautions of an office building or any other business establishment, are aware of this fact and make it a point to invest in fire doors and smoke seals for their workplace. The use of smoke seals is especially important in protecting escape routes from smoke which, as mentioned, is a greater threat than the fire itself.
One of the most critical elements in a building's fire protection measure, a fire door functions by defending a room from being engulfed by smoke and flames, thus providing people inside a building precious time to escape, professional fire-fighters to arrive at the scene of the fire, and saving property from damage and destruction. Fire doors with smoke seals have been found very useful in apartment complexes, multiple-storey buildings, school dormitories, among many other possible applications.

Nowadays, door smoke seals can be easily purchased in a wide range of sealing capacities to respond to the demand from business owners aiming to comply with Fire Safety Regulations as well as from the construction industry. However, they should still be combined with fire-rated doors having a similar capacity in order to obtain the best and safest results. At present, there are two kinds of door smoke seals, the smoke seal with fins and the brush smoke seal. Brush seals are the older type, having been around since 1979. Although effective, a disadvantage of brush seals is that they cannot properly contain the acoustics in a given room or space. This type of seal is described as "acoustically transparent" because air passes through easily the brush fibers.

Another drawback to the brush-type smoke seal is that in increases friction, making it tough to open the door. In emergency situations such as an evacuation procedure during a fire details like this can be exacerbated by panicky individuals. On the other hand, fin-style seals are a more modern and thorough answer to door smoke seal problems. In addition to enhanced acoustic containment features, they radically reduce friction. The result is a door that is easy to access. A condition for the fin-type smoke seal, however, is that it should be attached continuously around the door.

Once a decision has been made to invest in a fire-rated door and the accompanying smoke seal, a business must make sure to purchase such protective supplies from reputable manufacturers. Durability is essential if the smoke seals are fitted to a door that is in constant use in order for it to retain its integrity and resist damage. Additionally, purchase only from smoke seal manufacturers who can present evidence that their product conforms to the smoke leakage performance indicated by approved building regulations.