If the doors are meant for fire fighter INGRESS, then
what does it matter if smoke vents are eliminated, since
we are presuming then, that the doors required for
occupant egress are satisfied.
If the doors spacing is required for occupant EGRESS,
and the larger door spacing that is allowed when vents are present--
is maintained after smoke vens are eliminating,
then it STILL should not matter,
because in MOST instances, these smoke vents are
to operate AFTER the ESFR sprinkers, and usually for
fire fighter salvage and overall operations.
The issue of smoke venting in large, single story, open
plan buildings is one of smoke and mirrors, and frankly
i think far too many FPE's use it for mental masturbation
to make themselves look (or feel) useful at the design meeting.
While it may be a CLOSE call in some fires, I have yet to
hear of OCCUPANTS not successfully evacuating from
some large fires in these types of occupancies. I will
gladly stand corrected.
I know SOME fire departments out there must have
SOP's on smoke venting of large, single-story,
open plan structures. I would like to hear from them what are
their SOP's:
1. the time they desire for the building to clear of
smoke via smoke venting in still air
2. the time they desire for the building to clear of
smoke via smoke venting in a 15 mph wind
3. their intention (if any) to use smoke venting as a life
safety tool for the egress of OCCUPANTS, (i
realize it is used for search and rescue, but that
is past the point in the timeline where self evacuation
is possible).
4. how many vents and which vents they intend to
open (upwind, downwind), and which doors they
plan to open in concert.
I ask for these smoke venting SOP's to make my designs
more harmonious with fire department practices. After all,
what is the purpose of these vents?
a. interruption of normal, tested and listed sprinkler activation
b. increased sales of a building feature that is the equivalent
to the oversized starter first contemplated for the Model-T?
c. self evacuation of occupants
d. search and rescue for the fire department
e. salvage and overall for the fire deparment
Yes, I am being a little sarcastic, but sincerely though.
scot deal
excelsior fire engineering
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