In a commercial building with an active kitchen, such as a casino, hotel, conference center, or other hospitality facility, even the most robust fire alarm and containment system will not be enough to keep guests safe. When a fire breaks out in a commercial building, the alarm system alerts guests while the sprinklers or fire containment method goes to work putting out the flames. While that protects the structure from burning down, it fails to address another aspect of the fire that is even more deadly than the flames: the smoke and toxic fumes created by burning materials. To protect occupants from the dangers of burning fumes and smoke, commercial buildings should have a fully integrated smoke evacuation system in place to remove dangerous fumes before they impact the health of occupants.

The need for a fully integrated smoke evacuation system for buildings that have active kitchens cannot be overstated.  Smoke and fumes can spread from the kitchen to every level of a casino, hotel, or other commercial building in a flash.  This creates a significant hazard, since majority of fire-related fatalities are actually caused by breathing in the deadly fumes and gasses created by the fire, not by burns from the flames.  The smoke created by heated and burning materials from a building fire contains a deadly mixture of invisible chemicals and gasses including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. Breathing in these fumes can inflict catastrophic damage to lungs and the respiratory system of victims, making it difficult for them to get sufficient oxygen.  Blurred vision, confusion, and other unconsciousness can follow, leaving victims unable to get themselves to safety. Even when victims survive, the deleterious effects of these fumes and smoke can linger for years, damaging their health and harming their quality of life.

In order to safely contain and eliminate the smoke and fumes from a kitchen or other fire, casino and hospitality facilities need a smoke evacuation system that can utilize the full resources of their building management system. Advanced Control Corporation can install a building smoke evacuation system that seamlessly integrates with your building management system. In the case of a fire, your building smoke evacuation system will respond instantly, putting your building’s HVAC and ventilation system to work to confine and channel smoke away from occupied areas.

Once the smoke evacuation system detects the presence of smoke, it activates fans and dampers to control air pressure and channel the smoke away from occupied areas of your facility. Exhaust can be used to keep doors and dampers closed so that zone barriers remain intact. Fire partitions, fire barriers, fire doors, and other passive containment measures can be incorporated into your facility to further limit the spread of smoke in the case of a fire.