SPONSOR CPD PROGRAMME Continuing professional development (CPD) is the regular maintenance, improvement and broadening of your knowledge and skills, to maintain professional competence. It is a requirement of CIBSE and other professional bodies. This Journal CPD programme can be used to meet your CPD requirements. Study the module and answer the questions on the final page. Each successfully completed module is equivalent to 1.5 hours of CPD. Modules are also available at www.cibsejournal.com/cpd Dampers for the control of fire and smoke in building ventilation systems This module focuses on the provision of fire and smoke dampers for ventilation systems to help to improve building safety Robust compartmentation and smoke control are critical in containing fire and protecting a buildings occupants and contents. The consequences of loss of compartment integrity has been tragically implicated most recently in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report1 that, in the analysis of the expert evidence, suggests a number of factors will have contributed to the loss of effective compartmentation. This CPD will specifically focus on the provision of fire and smoke dampers for ventilation systems that contribute to delivering a safer built environment by sustaining compartmentation. Oral evidence indicated that it was unclear whether smoke entering some of the lobbies through the dampers in the smoke control system was as a result of the fact that the system was designed to deal with a fire on only one floor, or whether there were non-compliances in the system which led to that smoke spread. The Phase 1 Report found no conclusive proof that there was an issue with fire and smoke dampers. The control of smoke and containment of fire in the ventilation ductwork in any building are just two of the essential requirements for fire safety. Fire and smoke control systems must be designed, installed and maintained as part of a methodical, holistic and ongoing process. There are several relevant standards and guidelines some of which have seen very recent updates that, if properly considered, enable designers and operators to deliver safer systems. Referring to the 2019 CIBSE Guide E Fire safety engineering, for compartmentation to be effective, the enclosing boundaries such as walls, ceilings and floors must be able to resist the spread of fire. In terms of dampers, this requires that ducts penetrating fire-resisting boundary elements are provided with fire dampers (or that the ducts are also fire resisting), and that the stability of the structure supporting the fire-resisting boundary (and damper) must be maintained for the required period. Spaces that connect compartments known as protected shafts such as stairways and service shafts, also need to be protected to restrict fire spread between the compartments. So, where ducted ventilation services could compromise the integrity of that compartmentation, fire dampers and smoke dampers can provide a controllable solution. The principal testing standard is BS EN 1366 Fire resistance tests for service installations. BS EN 1366 consists of several parts for different elements of a HVAC system Part 2 deals with fire dampers and Part 10 with smoke control dampers. Fire dampers A fire dampers primary function is to maintain compartmentation and prevent, or impede, the spread of fire through the ventilation ductwork. Fire dampers are designed to allow air to flow through in normal operation but then shut suddenly with a thermal release mechanism at the outbreak of a fire, and are designed to failsafe close. The release mechanism is a thermally actuated device designed to respond to a rise in temperature of the surrounding area and release the fire damper blades at a predetermined temperature. It can interface with mechanical, electrical, electronic or pneumatically operated mechanisms, which are positioned integrally or remotely from the device. www.cibsejournal.com December 2019 47 CIBSE Dec19 pp47-50 CPD.indd 47 22/11/2019 15:28