What Smoke Extraction Solutions Are Chosen, According to Current Regulations

Since ancient times, humans have battled with their oldest invention – Fire.

Recent studies show that more than 85% of fire victims are caused by the smoke resulting from the burning of materials within the building. Thus, smoke extraction plays a vital role in ensuring the possibility of evacuating people under normal visibility and breathing conditions.

In case of fire, smoke extraction has a triple role. On one hand, through smoke extraction, air quality is ensured until people are evacuated. On the other hand, smoke extraction aims to create visibility in evacuation corridors. It should be noted that equally important is the fact that smoke extraction allows the evacuation of heat accumulated in the upper third of the building, which, if not released, can affect the roof structure.

Categories of Smoke Extraction Solutions

Smoke extraction elements are divided into two categories. Firstly, those that evacuate smoke, and those that introduce fresh air. It should be emphasized that regardless of how they are operated – manually or automatically, current regulations must be respected, specifically, EN12101-2 Standard.

For rapid and efficient smoke extraction, air intake is done through the lower part of the building located in the lower third. Also, according to P118/1999 Standard, air intake must be achieved through a surface of at least 60% of the smoke-extractable area.

KADRA proposes a series of smoke extraction elements with organized natural draft such as hatches and window actuations, as well as door actuations for fresh air intake, with which we can achieve a complete solution for evacuating hot gases with organized natural draft. Additionally, the smoke extraction solutions in KADRA’s portfolio also serve as daily ventilation.

About Smoke Hatches

KADRA hatches can be CO2 gas-operated or electric, at 24V. The latter have the advantage of requiring no maintenance costs and can serve multiple purposes: smoke extraction in emergencies, daily ventilation, or access.

This category of hatches can be the perfect solution for residential buildings, where we want easy roof access and good ventilation, as well as in the event of a fire, for proper evacuation of hot gases.

In addition, you can enjoy natural light and, in this way, save on electricity. Thanks to very good thermal insulation, you will not have increased heat consumption and, implicitly, you reduce thermal energy consumption.

How to Choose Smoke Hatches Correctly According to the Law?

We present several areas of application for KADRA smoke hatches, depending on the classifications imposed by the P118/2013 standard

Class 1

Nursing homes or facilities for elderly or disabled people;
Auditoriums, conference rooms, meeting rooms, association halls, community halls, screening rooms, performance halls where the stage can be isolated;
Restaurants, cafés, bars, brasseries;
Hotels, guesthouses;
Gaming halls;
Educational buildings;
Healthcare buildings;
Places of worship;
Administrative buildings, banks, offices;
Indoor sports buildings;
Museums.

Class 2

Performance halls with a stage integrated into the audience area, where the sets are made of A1 or A2-s1d0 products;
Multi-purpose halls;
Dance halls, ballrooms, cabarets.

Class 3

Performance halls with the stage integrated into the audience area, where the sets are made of combustible products (those in classes E and F being prohibited);
Malls, shopping centers, stores;
Libraries, documentation and archive consultation centers;
Exhibition halls, halls of any kind.

KADRA has stood out on the Romanian market, both through its high-quality products and especially through the ability of its engineers to provide support and consultancy in finding the optimal solutions for each project, as well as by proposing complex and integrated solutions in any field of activity.