SMOKE MANAGEMENT IN HIGHRISE

STRUCTURES
02/01/2012
BYJOSEPHCHACONANDSTEVEKERBER
Mostmodernbuildingcodesdefineahighrisestructureasabuildinggreaterthan75feetinheight
fromthelowestleveloffiredepartmentvehicleaccesstothehighestoccupiablefloor.Whenfires
occurinhighrisestructures,therespondingfirefightersarefacedwithmanychallenges.Becauseof
theuniqueaspectsofhighrisebuildings,routinefiretactics,includingventilation,canbecomevery
difficult.Respondingfirepersonnelmustbefamiliarwithfixedsmokemanagementsystemsaswell
asoptionsforpositivepressureventilation(PPV)toensurethesafetyandeffectivenessof
firegroundoperations.

Thespreadofsmokeandtoxicgasisrecognizedasamajorhazardinallstructurefires.Inhighrise
buildings,smokecantraveltolocationsremotefromthefirethroughstairwells,elevatorshafts,and
otherverticalopenings.Assmokespreadstoupperfloorsandthroughstairwells,visibilityand

toxicitybecomemajorconcerns.Firefightingoperationsandevacuationcanbecomplicatedby
smokefilledstairways.Usingbothbuiltinor"fixed"smokemanagementsystemsandPPVcan
increasethesurvivabilityofoccupantsandeffectivenessoffirefightingoperations.
FIXEDSMOKEMANAGEMENTSYSTEMS

Somemodernhighrisestructuresareprovidedwithfixedsmokemanagementsystems.These
systemsaredesignedtoprovideatenableenvironmentforsafeegressforbuildingoccupants.As
statedinthe2009InternationalBuildingCode(IBC)Section909.1,thesesystemsarenotintended
forassistanceinfiresuppressionandoverhaulactivities.Althoughnotdesignedforuseinfire
suppressionandoverhaul,fixedsmokecontrolsystemscanbeusedinconjunctionwithother
firegroundtacticstoeffectivelymanagesmoke,heat,andotherproductsofcombustion.
Ontheupperfloorsofatypicalhighrise,mostsmokemanagementsystemsusethepressurization
methodofsmokecontrol.Inmostcases,thesystemisdesignedtoprovideanegativepressureon
thefirefloor.Thisnegativepressureisobtainedbyexhaustingthecorridor(ormajorpathofegress)
onthefirefloor.Activationofthesmokecontrolequipmentisprovidedthroughazonedsprinkler
system,engineeredsmokedetectionsystems,ormanualactivationatthesystem'scontrolpanel.
Thefixedsmokemanagementsystemsalsoincludepositivepressurizationofallstairwellsthat
servethehighriseportionofthestructure.Thispositivepressureisobtainedthroughmechanical
fansthatinjectoutsideairintothestairwell.Thepurposeofmaintainingthepositivepressure
differentialinthestairwellistokeepthestairwellclearofsmokeandtoxicfumesthatmaymigrate
intothestairwellduringafire.Smokecanflowonlyfromahigherpressuretoalowerpressure.The
firecreatesitsownpressure,andfanscreateaslightlyhigherpressuretocontrolorstoptheflowof
smoke.Mostfirealarmdevicesinthestructure,includingsprinklerwaterflowalarms,smoke
detectors,andheatdetectors,willactivatethestairwellpressurizationfans,aswellasmanual
activationatthesystem'scontrolpanel.
Anothertypeoffixedsmokemanagementsystemuseswhatisreferredtoasthe"exhaustmethod"
tomanagesmoke.Thistypeofsystemiscommonlyusedincoveredmalls,atria,orotherlarge
spaces.Thesesystemsaredesignedwiththeintentofmaintainingthesmokelayeraminimumof
sixfeetabovethehighestwalkingsurface.Thisisachievedbyusinglargemechanicalfansnearthe
ceilingtoexhaustsmokefromthespace.Thesesystemsalsousemechanicalfanstoprovide
supplyor"makeup"air.
POSITIVEPRESSUREVENTILATION

Forthefireservicetoprovidethesamelevelofprotectionthatafixedstairwellpressurization
systemdoes,itrequiresthinkingbeyondthecurrentPPVuseofventilatingandexaminingthefan's
abilitytopressurize.Whenastructureispressurizedandaventisprovided,thePPVfancreatesa
residualpressureinsidethestructurethatishigher,forcingtheflowtothelowerpressureoutside.
Theincreasedpressureprovidedbythefanworkswiththeincreasedpressurecreatedbythefire
andcombinesthenaturalandmechanicalventilationforcestospeeduptheventilationprocess.

Thissameprinciplecanbeusedtoventilateastairwellorahallway,butitleavesthesectionofthe
stairwellorhallwaybetweenthefireandthetopofthestairwellorremainderofthehallwayfullof
smokeandhotgasescontinuallyuntilnomoresmokeandhotgasesarebeingsuppliedbythefire.
TheresidualpressureprovidedbythePPVfanslowstheamountofsmokecomingintotheareato
beprotectedbecausethereislessofapressuregradientleadingintothisarea,butsmokeandhot
gasesarestillenteringthisspace.Freshairforcedinbythefanmixeswiththesmokeandhot
gasesasittravelspastthefireandoutofthevent.Thisdilutesthetoxicityofthesmokeandcools
thehotgasesbutdoesnoteliminatetheproblemofacontaminatedstairwellorhallway.
PPVfansusedwithoutaventareabletocreateanelevatedstaticpressure.Thestaticpressure
canbeusedagainsttheincreasedpressurecreatedbythefire.Thefirewantstonaturallyventilate
outofthefirefloororroomandintothestairwellorhallway,whichhasalowerpressure.Ifthestatic
pressurecreatedbythefanisgreaterthanthepressurecreatedbythefire,thennosmokewillflow
intothestairwellorhallway.
NISTRESEARCH

TheBuildingandFireResearchLaboratoryattheNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology
(NIST)conductedawiderangeofexperimentswithPPV.Theseexperimentsincludedboth
laboratoryandfullscalefireexperimentsinvacanthighrisebuildings.NISTevaluatedtheabilityof
PPVfanstopressurizeahighrisestairwelltopreventtheinfiltrationofsmoke.
NISTevaluatedmanyvariablessuchasfansize,fanangle,setbackdistance,numberoffans,
orientationoffans,numberofdoorsopen,andlocationofventsopentodeterminetheimpactof
each.Fanswereorientedbothinseriesandinparallel.Doorsthroughoutthebuildingwereopened
andclosedtoevaluateeffects.NISTdeterminedthatPPVfansusedcorrectlycanhelpkeepsmoke
outofthestairwellandprovideasafeegresspathforoccupantsandasaferenvironmentforcrews
operatinginsidethestructure.
ThefullscaleexperimentsdemonstratedthattomaximizethecapabilityofPPVfans,thefollowing
guidelinesshouldbefollowed:
PPVfansshouldbeplacedfourtosixfeetsetbackfromdoorwaysandangledatleast5
backward.
PlacingfanssidebysideinaVshapeismoreeffectivethanplacingtheminaseries(photo
1).
OpeninginteriorstairwelldoorsreducesthedesiredimpactofPPV.Asignificantincreasein
pressurecouldbeachievedbyclosingthedoorwaytothewidthofahoseline.
Whendealingwithhighrisebuildingfans,atleast24inchesarerecommendedbecauseofthe
largevolumesbeingpressurized.
Carbonmonoxide(CO)generationbythefansisminimalcomparedtotheCOcreatedbythe
fire.

Thetallerthebuilding,themorefansthatmaybeneeded.Onefanatthebaseofastairwell
cancreateenoughpressuretostopsmokespreadfromawelldevelopedfireina10story
building.Tallerbuildingsrequirefansplacedinthebuilding.Placingthefantwofloorsbelow
thefirefloorinlargerstructuresisagoodruleofthumb.
Fansshouldbesetbackandangledjustasiftheywerepositionedatanoutsidedoorway.
Placingalargetrailermountedtypefanatthebaseofthestairwellisanothermeansof
generatingsufficientpositivepressureintothestairwell.

(1)Fansplacedinaseries(top)andfansplacedsidebyside(bottom).(PhotocourtesyofNISTIR
7412.)
Temperaturesinthestairwellweremonitoredusinginfrared(IR)camerasduringthefullscalefire
experimentsconductedbyNISTinaChicagohighrisebuilding.Photo2depictsthermalimages
fromanIRcamerathatshowshotgasesenteringthestairwellthroughtheopendoorway.The
imagebelowshowsconditionsinthestairwellafterthePPVfanwasstarted.Asshownthroughthe
IRcamera,hotgasesarenolongerenteringthestairwell.

(2)ThermalimagesfromanIRcamera.(PhotocourtesyofNISTIR7468.)
UsingPPVfanstoincreasethepressureinsideastairwellrequiresasystematicandcoordinated
effortbythefiresuppressioncrews.ThismethodofPPVaswellasfixedsmokemanagement
systemscanprovideasafeandtenableenvironmentforinteriorcrewstooperatewithinthestairwell
aswellascreateanatmosphereinwhichoccupantscanevacuatewhilefirefightingoperationsare
takingplace.ItisimportanttorememberthatPPVusedtoincreasepressureinastairwayisa
differenttacticwhencomparedtopositivepressureattack(PPA),whichusesafanatthebackof
theinitialattackcrewafterensuringanexhaustpointhasbeenestablished.
PREPLANNINGHIGHRISESTRUCTURESFORVENTILATION

Firesuppressionpersonnelmustbefamiliarwithallthebuildingsintheareastowhichtheymaybe
calledtorespond.Gatheringpreincidentintelligencegreatlyimprovesfirefighters'tactical
capabilities.Familiarizationwithstairwelllocations(includinglocationofexitdischargetoexterior),
interiordoorways,andfixedpressurizationsystemsisimperativepriortousingPPV.Somebuilding
featurestoidentifyduringpreplanningarethefollowing:
Whatisthemethodofsmokecontrolpressurizationorexhaust?
Arethestairsprovidedwithautomaticstairwellpressurization?
Whattypeofcontrolsisavailableatthesystemscontrolpanelforstairwellpressurization
(Figure3)?
Dothestairsservingthehighriseportionofthebuildingexitdirectlytotheexterior?
Canonefanormultiplefansbepositionedatthegroundlevelentranceoutsidethestructure?
Wherearethestairwellsupplyventslocated?Dotheyhavesingleormultiplepointinjection?
Wherearethesmokeexhaustventslocated?

Figure3.SmokeControlPanelwithAutomaticandManualFanControl

Allstairwellpressurizationsystemsarenotthesame.InsouthernNevada,alocalcodeamendment
requiresacontrolledreliefventtodischargeaminimumof2,500cubicfeetperminuteintheupper
portionofthepressurizedstairway.Thepurposeofthisventistorelieveexcesspressuresinthe
stairwhendoorsareopenedandclosed.Whenadoorisopened,thepressureinthestairis
reducedandthereliefventwillclose,divertingtheexcessairtotheopendoor.Whenthedoor
closes,theventservesasareliefforexcesspressuresinthestairtoreducedooropeningforces.
ThesetypesoffeaturesmustbeidentifiedpriortousingPPVtomanuallyincreasethestairwell
pressure.IfthisreliefventweretoremainfunctionalduringtheuseofPPV,thedesiredeffectofthe
additionalfanswouldnotbeachieved.
Whenfixedstairpressurizationsystemsaredesigned,aminimumpressuredifferentialisrequired
betweenthestairwellandthefloor.Themaximumairflowallowedintothestairwellislimitedbythe
forcerequiredtoopenthedoorfromthefloortothestairwell(usually30poundsofforcetoallow
childrenandelderlyoccupantstoexit).Whenfiresuppressioncrewsarriveandthebuildinghas
beenevacuated,thelimitingforcerequiredtoopenthedoorisnolongeraconcern.Atthispoint,if
necessary,crewscansupplementairflowintothestairwellusingPPVtoensureatenable
environmentforstairwelloperations.
Althoughnotconsideredamethodofsmokemanagement,somebuildingsarerequiredtobe
providedwith"mopup"capabilitiesforfiredepartmentuseafterthefirehasbeenextinguished,to
clearanyresidualsmoke.ThesesystemsusetheexistingHVACequipmenttopurgesmokefrom
theareaunderconsideration.Thesetypesofsystems,theiruse,andcapabilitiesshouldalsobe
identifiedduringpreplanning.

FixedsmokemanagementsystemsaswellasPPVcanincreasetheeffectivenessoffirefighting
operationsbyreducingtheamountofsmokeandsuperheatedgaseswithinthestairwell.
Firefightersmustbefamiliarwiththehighrisebuildingsinwhichtheymightbecalledtorespond.
Familiarizationwiththestairwellandfixedsmokemanagementsystemisimperativepriortousing
PPV.
ForcopiesofNISTreportsandvideos,visithttp://www.fire.gov/PPV/index.htm.
JOSEPHCHACONhasmorethan10yearsofexperiencedesigningandtestingfireprotection
systems.HehasabachelorofsciencedegreeinmechanicalengineeringfromtheUniversityof
NevadaLasVegasandamasteroffireprotectionengineeringdegreefromtheUniversityof
Maryland.HeisalicensedprofessionalengineerintheStateofNevadaandisacareerfirefighter
withtheHenderson(NV)FireDepartment.
STEVEKERBERisafireresearchengineeratUnderwritersLaboratories(UL).Hisareasof
researchincludeimprovingfirefightersafety,fireserviceventilation,lightweightconstruction,and
smokemanagementfiremodeling.Heisa13yearveteranofthefireservice,withmostofhis
serviceattheCollegeParkFireDepartmentinPrinceGeorge'sCounty,Maryland,whereheserved
inranksupthroughdeputychief.Hereceivedhisbachelor'sandmaster'sdegreesinfireprotection
engineeringfromtheUniversityofMarylandandisworkingonhisdoctorateinfiresafety
engineeringatLundUniversityinSweden.Heisalsoaregisteredprofessionalengineer.
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