Fire Curtains in Atrium (instead of fire wall)

[bakhtiyari]

According to IBC, Atrium spaces shall be separated from adjacent spaces by a 1-hour fire barrier constructed in accordance with Section 707. My question is that if fire/smoke curtains could be used as alternative instead of fire barrier in this case? Is there any product approved for this purpose?

Thank you in advance for comments.

 

[RLGA]

I am going through this on a project right now, but it has to do with smoke control more than separation.

There are products out there that have high fire-protection ratings. Note that I said "fire protection" and not "fire resistance." The separation required by fire barriers which are required to have a fire-resistance rating. Openings within fire barriers are required to have certain fire-protection ratings. Thus, curtains are considered an opening and not a fire barrier. Openings in fire barriers are also limited in area and width; thus, depending on how you plan on using the curtains, the area will likely exceed both.

The benefit of the curtains is to reduce the volume required for smoke control. This is not directly in the IBC but can be submitted as a code modification per Section 104.11.

 

[bakhtiyari]

I am going through this on a project right now, but it has to do with smoke control more than separation.

There are products out there that have high fire-protection ratings. Note that I said "fire protection" and not "fire resistance." The separation required by fire barriers which are required to have a fire-resistance rating. Openings within fire barriers are required to have certain fire-protection ratings. Thus, curtains are considered an opening and not a fire barrier. Openings in fire barriers are also limited in area and width; thus, depending on how you plan on using the curtains, the area will likely exceed both.

The benefit of the curtains is to reduce the volume required for smoke control. This is not directly in the IBC but can be submitted as a code modification per Section 104.11.

Thank you for your reply. Some of these curtains have been tested and have a fire resistance rating. In this case, is it not still possible to use them as an alternative for fire barriers?

 

[RLGA]

Fire curtains are tested per the recently introduced (2014) UL 10D standard. To provide the fire barrier separation that is required for atriums, the assemblies would need to pass ASTM E119 or UL 263, which have radiant heat requirements, whereas UL 10D does not. Thus, wall assemblies and some glazing assemblies that can pass this test can be used as fire barriers.

However, since the fire curtains currently on the market probably could not pass the ASTM E119/UL 263 heat radiant portion of those standards, they are tested using UL 10D. Therefore, fire curtains cannot be used as a substitution for the fire-resistant fire barrier--they can only be used as fire-protected openings.

The 2021 IBC is the first IBC edition to include the UL 10D standard. Section 716.4 only permits fire curtains to be used to protect openings for smoke and draft control assemblies. If you are subject to an earlier edition of the IBC (which is my case), the use of a fire curtain would have to be approved via a code modification per IBC Section 104.11.

 

[ADAguy]

Have used fuseable linked drop down doors and water curtains in Beverly Hills.

 

[reznor59]

Fire curtains are tested per the recently introduced (2014) UL 10D standard. To provide the fire barrier separation that is required for atriums, the assemblies would need to pass ASTM E119 or UL 263, which have radiant heat requirements, whereas UL 10D does not. Thus, wall assemblies and some glazing assemblies that can pass this test can be used as fire barriers.

However, since the fire curtains currently on the market probably could not pass the ASTM E119/UL 263 heat radiant portion of those standards, they are tested using UL 10D. Therefore, fire curtains cannot be used as a substitution for the fire-resistant fire barrier--they can only be used as fire-protected openings.

The 2021 IBC is the first IBC edition to include the UL 10D standard. Section 716.4 only permits fire curtains to be used to protect openings for smoke and draft control assemblies. If you are subject to an earlier edition of the IBC (which is my case), the use of a fire curtain would have to be approved via a code modification per IBC Section 104.11.

There are very few products that meet the standard, but they do exist. Won Door has their movable firewall system, and this product is a 2hr system but meets ASTME119 too.

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[reznor59]

According to IBC, Atrium spaces shall be separated from adjacent spaces by a 1-hour fire barrier constructed in accordance with Section 707. My question is that if fire/smoke curtains could be used as alternative instead of fire barrier in this case? Is there any product approved for this purpose?

Thank you in advance for comments.

Have you talked to the AHJ about this yet? There are Prosenium protection curtains that meet the ASTME119 standard and at least some of those look to be rated at 1hr.

Another alternative is to look into the glazing options that comply with 404.6. This is all but guaranteed to get cost prohibitive since the glazing and framing systems that typically work in these conditions are stupid expensive... Like $200+/sf for the glazing and $200+/LF for the framing.

 

[Builder Bob]

performance based code

 

[bill1952]

Fabric Fire Safety Curtains per NFPA 80 chapter 20 and required for separating the audience from a stage are not at all the same as Fire Protective Curtains Assemblies per NFPA 80 chapter 21. I presume "Prosenium protection curtains" refers to Fabric Fire Safety Curtains, which would definitely not be suitable in exterior installations, since water will damage the fire resistant fabric coating.

From NFPA 80:
"With the exception of fabric fire safety curtain assemblies, this standard addresses assemblies that have been subjected to standardized fire tests."

I can't speak for the chapter 21 assemblies but don't *think* they are suitable for exterior use.