Fire and smoke curtain barriers allow for a greater freedom of design while ensuring minimal visual impact. This allows designers to be more radical with building design by increasing usable space.
When used as part of a fire-engineered design solution, barrier assemblies can become a critical element of that design. If barrier assemblies do not deploy to their operational position, the fire-engineered design solution would be compromised.
However, in the event that other fire protection systems or elements do not function, e.g. due to total power failure, the barriers in the fire-operational position provide fire separation.
BS 8524-1 specifies requirements for the design, testing and classification of active fire curtain barrier assemblies, for installation in accordance with the recommendations of BS 8524-2.
It covers the reliability and durability, fire resistance, smoke containment and impact resistance performance of the active fire curtain barrier assemblies, their control devices and ancillary equipment.
As fire-separating elements, barrier assemblies are required to provide two main functions:
1) To maintain any compartmentation of buildings needed to limit the spread of fire and smoke;
2) To allow access to protected escape routes, both vertical and horizontal, without any loss of fire resistance, and to limit smoke entry into these routes, i.e. protected corridors and protected shafts.
These requirements are applicable to active fire curtain barrier assemblies of any material that are designed to provide fire resistance.
Relationship with other publications
This British Standard has been developed from PAS 121, which will be withdrawn on 31 July 2013. This British Standard is published in two parts:
BS 8524-2 gives guidance on those issues that were originally specified in PAS 121 that have not been covered by the present part of BS 8524. These include specifying, installing and maintaining active fire curtain barrier assemblies, with recommendations for different assembly applications, wiring, power supplies and the emergency egress control.
Contents