Provide conditions outside the fire zone that enable emergency response personnel to conduct search-and-rescue operations and to locate and control the fire Inhibit the migration of smoke from the smoke zone Maintain a tenable environment in areas of refuge and means of egress during the minimum required evacuation time Inhibit smoke from entering stairwells, means of egress, areas of refuge, elevator shafts, or similar areas A smoke-control system is used to achieve one or more of the following design objectives: Always feel free to contact me should you be so compelled to delve deeper into this subject matter.ĭefining Smoke Control and Smoke Management:Ī Smoke Control System can be defined as an engineered electro-mechanical system that uses mechanical fans and dampers in cooperation with electronic monitoring and controls to produce pressure differences across smoke barriers which inhibit or facilitate smoke movement. The intent here is to provide a solid framework around which more details and further conversation can take place. Since this is a Webblog and not intended to be a fully comprehensive lesson plan on these two different systems, only high level concepts will be discussed. Conversely, Smoke Management Systems are used during post fire events to remove smoke from a facility and/or restrict smoke from entering specific area’s of a facility during general evacuation. Similarly, a Smoke Control System manages the medium of smoke in order to increase egress times so that occupants can escape safely. Both the fish and the camel need water to survive, however a fish uses the water as a medium in which to live while the camel uses its water as fuel to travel great distances. To use an analogy from the animal kingdom which illustrates the differences between these two systems lets consider the use of water by a fish (Smoke Control System) and a camel (Smoke Management System). It’s important to point out that a true Smoke Control System vs a post fire Smoke Management System are two entirely different animals. Smoke control systems are one of the most complicated and often misunderstood systems within a facility, and rightfully so.

Smoke management system