Six smoke ventilation installations were completed across the UK in Bath, Exeter and London. Four of the major projects were carried out for Mansell Construction in accommodation serving universities in London. WindowMaster engineers completed installations at Newington Court, Charles Moreton Court, Canto Court and Rahere Court.
Each of the installations included smoke ventilation panels which control actuators on windows and roof lights in corridors. The control panels also interface with fire alarm systems.
WindowMaster smoke ventilation solutions are designed to ensure that smoke and heat are led out of a burning building so that escape routes for residents and access routes for fire fighters are kept smoke free.
WindowMaster’s James White said: “It is surprising how little attention is sometimes paid to the smoke ventilation systems and their maintenance. Currently, the inclusion of smoke detection systems in buildings is only advisory so they are therefore neglected.
“But as fire regulations increasingly require the inclusion of adequate smoke ventilation we are now seeing an increase in enquiries for systems such as the ones we have delivered to Unite Student Housing.
“WindowMaster’s compact and intelligent system automatically ensures that windows, vents and roof lights are opened in the event of a fire.”
The solutions are based on WindowMaster’s extensive range of single zone and modular multi-zone smoke control panels. The system can be stand-alone or can interface with the fire alarm. It uses panels with battery back-up and line monitoring to control the façade and roof windows so that they automatically open and close in the event of smoke being detected.
The system can be retrofitted on many existing windows as well as being installed on new buildings. It can operate on a broad range of window types, including top and bottom opening, sliding and parallel opening.
Where WindowMaster has installed its own systems its service team provides a transitional path from installation contract to the building end user to avoid the ‘finish and run’ situation which can occur with construction projects. The service team also provides maintenance agreements in order to ensure the correct operation of these life-safety installations and the longevity of the system’s effective use.
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