Replacing the Traditional Fire Door: Hospitals

The International Building Code (IBC) provides the rules and regulations that are most widely adopted in the United States. These construction and design codes provide fire door regulations to ensure the safety of a building’s occupants.

For most buildings, fire doors are typically located around stairwells and elevator shafts as to limit the ability for smoke to leak from floor to floor due to IBC mandates. However, fire and smoke containment systems can be a little more complex for buildings in the health care industry such as hospitals.

Hospitals require secure access points, the ability to push gurney through doors, and the capability to quarantine areas of infectious diseases and research labs. Therefore, traditional fire doors aren’t always the best option. By replacing clunky fire doors with deployable smoke and fire curtains, hospitals can maintain the flow of traffic for emergency situations without sacrificing safety and still uphold all IBC requirements.

Flexible fire-rated curtains provide a variety of benefits to hospitals, including:

  • Increased safety – fire curtains cannot be held open with furniture or door stops like traditional fire doors
  • Better traffic flow – fire curtains are installed into wall or ceiling cavities and therefore help maintain clear and open hallways for when second really matter
  • Complimentary to complete fire management – deployable fire curtains are a great addition to a comprehensive fire management system including exhaust fans and sprinklers

Smoke Guard provides a variety of smoke and fire-rated curtains for all your building’s needs. If you have more questions, contact a Smoke Guard representative today. Our experienced team can help answer technical and code-related questions to find a fire safety solution that fits your budget and needs.