Thousands of commercial, residential, and institutional buildings across the country were built before the development of modern fire and life safety codes. While these buildings are often valued for their historic architecture and central locations, they can present significant challenges when it comes to protecting occupants during a fire.
Aging structures may contain unprotected openings, outdated fire protection features, and deteriorated systems that can increase the risk of smoke spread. Addressing these vulnerabilities requires an approach that updates fire protection systems in ways that improve safety without disrupting how the building is used.
Why Aging Buildings Are More Susceptible to Fire + Smoke Damage
Several factors contribute to the fire safety risks associated with older buildings:
- Outdated Materials and Systems: Older wiring, insulation, framing, and finishes may lack the fire resistance of modern materials. Over time, exposure to the elements and normal wear can further degrade their performance.
- Limited Compartmentation: Many older designs were not constructed with fire-rated walls, doors, or barriers needed to slow the spread of flames and smoke between spaces.
- Deferred Maintenance: Fire doors, smoke seals, and sprinkler systems can fail to perform if they have not been properly maintained or upgraded to meet current standards.
- Modifications That Undermine Fire Protection: Renovations and layout changes can create openings or gaps that allow smoke to move freely if fire protection upgrades are not included.
Without proper updates, these factors can allow fire and smoke to spread quickly throughout a building, making evacuation more difficult and significantly increasing the risk of injury.
The Role of Fire + Smoke Containment in Improving Building Safety
Controlling both fire + smoke movement is critical for life safety. Smoke generally travels faster than flames, quickly reducing visibility, impairing breathing, and causing disorientation during evacuation. At the same time, unchecked flames can compromise structural elements and create dangerous conditions within minutes.
Effective fire + smoke containment systems offer important benefits, including:
- Protecting Egress Routes: Deployable smoke curtains and fire-rated barriers help maintain clear exit paths, giving occupants more time to evacuate safely.
- Limiting Vertical Spread: Smoke and heat barriers seal off elevator shafts, stairwells, and atriums, slowing the movement of smoke and flames between floors.
- Improving Building Resilience: By isolating fire and smoke to their point of origin, containment systems reduce overall damage and support safer firefighting efforts.
Smoke Guard’s containment systems, such as the M2100 vertical smoke curtain, the M200 and M400 elevator smoke protection systems, and the M600 atrium curtain, are designed to integrate with new and existing structures. These solutions help aging buildings meet modern life safety requirements with minimal disruption to existing finishes and architecture.
Meeting Current Fire and Smoke Code Requirements
Current codes, including the International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC), and NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code), emphasize the importance of controlling both fire and smoke movement in multi-story and high-occupancy buildings.
When updating older properties, building owners and project teams should evaluate:
- The integrity of fire-rated walls, floors, ceilings, and doors to prevent the spread of flames and smoke
- The protection of elevator shafts, stairwells, and vertical openings, which can serve as pathways for smoke and heat if not properly sealed
- The condition and performance of fire doors, smoke seals, and rated assemblies, ensuring they meet current operational and rating requirements
Deployable smoke and fire containment solutions can help bring aging buildings into compliance with modern codes. These systems offer effective protection while minimizing disruption to the building envelope and preserving architectural features.
Best Practices for Upgrading Fire Safety in Aging Buildings
Improving fire safety in existing structures begins with a detailed evaluation of fire and life safety systems. Recommended steps include:
- Conduct a Fire and Life Safety Assessment: Work with licensed fire protection engineers and/or consultants to identify gaps in existing fire and smoke control measures. Such representatives should be able to assist with understanding minimum and standard requirements for retrofitting existing structures from relevant authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) .
- Upgrade Egress Paths: Focus on providing solutions for enhancing stairwells, corridors, and elevator lobbies to support safe evacuation and limit smoke infiltration during an emergency.
- Maintain and Inspect Fire Protection Systems: Fire doors, smoke barriers, alarms, sprinkler systems, and detection equipment should be regularly inspected, tested, and maintained according to applicable standards and relevant AHJ requirements.
- Plan for Code Compliance: Collaborate with code officials and fire marshals to ensure upgrades align with local and national fire and building regulations, especially when retrofitting historically significant or architecturally sensitive structures.
Investing in targeted fire and smoke control improvements not only protects building occupants but also extends the functional life of the structure while reducing liability.
How Smoke Guard Supports Fire + Smoke Safety Improvements
Smoke Guard designs and manufactures a full range of fire and smoke containment systems to help building owners modernize safety measures in aging structures. Our deployable smoke curtains, elevator smoke protection systems, and fire-rated barrier assemblies are engineered to:
- Integrate with existing architecture with minimal disruption to finishes or building layouts
- Meet or exceed IBC, IFC, NFPA 105, and UL 1784 standards for smoke and fire containment
- Improve occupant protection during emergencies by helping maintain tenable conditions during evacuation
Smoke Guard’s team works closely with architects, engineers, and contractors to develop retrofit strategies tailored to the unique needs of older buildings. Our solutions support code compliance, life safety improvements, and long-term building resilience.
To learn more about Smoke Guard’s containment systems and how they can help improve fire and smoke protection in aging buildings, visit smokeguard.com.