Custom Roll Shutters and Privacy Screens Fire Shutters and Polydoors

FIRE PROTECTION

Fire Protection

In order to save/protect lives and property against fire, some homes must meet a number of building code requirements which includes but not limited to having smoke detectors and fire alarms throughout all levels of a building.

Similarly, FIRE SHUTTERS are a fire safety feature that were mostly used in commercial buildings. However, there has been an increase in the use or requirement of fire shutters into residential properties. This is no fluke but an extension of a broader strategy to create and promote more efficient ways to reduce the risk of fires, especially to prevent a fire from spreading. When talking about using fire shutters for fire protection, this is popularly referred to as fire compartmentalization.

Fire Shutters prevent fire from spreading to other parts of a building especially across to neighbours but can also be used as a locking security shutter.

How do Fire Shutters work?

Fire Shutters are barriers installed in doorways and windows that stop or slow the spread of fire until emergency services can arrive.  Fire Shutters are constructed from materials that withstand 45 minutes of heat from fire, allowing people to escape from a building and protecting against spread to adjacent property.

These shutters can be connected to and triggered by a fire alarm, or have a built-in smoke or heat detector to automatically drop and create a barricade.  Some may have both.  And, some types will roll down under their own weight while others will have mechanics that close the door using a quick motorized system.  Additionally, certain motorized door fire shutter systems are designed to close downwards only to a certain level and act as a smoke barrier so people can still escape underneath the opening at the bottom.  The purpose of fire shutters is to:

  • Limit the damage a fire can do;
  • Stop it from spreading; and
  • Prevent loss of life through compartmentalization.

Installation of Fire Shutters

Proper installation by a certified installer is a must to ensure that the shutters operate correctly in any fire situation.  If they fail to operate properly or at all, they could inadvertently help the fire to spread or trap people on the wrong side. An order for fire shutters generally takes 5 to 7 weeks to manufacture and 1-3 days for installation. Once complete, a drop testing is performed and documentation provided to present to city officials responsible for permits.

Are Fire Shutters Mandatory?

New building codes require that fire shutters be installed if a new build is less than four feet to the property line.  All windows and doors on the wall facing the property line will require Fire Shutters.

If the distance to the property line is under four feet, the requirement to install Fire Shutters also applies to existing properties when building an addition or if cutting out new window or door openings.

Rental apartment buildings and multiplexes with a fire escape require Fire Shutters on window openings facing the fire escape.

Commercial

For safety, some commercial door and window openings require, by code, the installation of a commercial Fire Door or Fire Shutter.  Fire Shutters are required to be inspected and drop-tested at regular intervals.

Residential

For the most part, residential Fire Shutters have been used when a homeowner has concerns about fire safety and chooses to install them as a preventative measure.  They can also be required in order to obtain building permits when there is not a four foot clearance from the property line.  For example, in some dense residential areas of Toronto, Fire Shutters allow Fire Code compliance when mandatory setbacks and distances cannot be met.  They provide a safety barrier when neighbouring houses would not otherwise be able to have openings on sides facing one another.

Can these shutters be manually opened and closed from the inside?

The Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code regulations on fire safety are based on codes developed by the National Fire Protection Association (“NFPA”) in Quincy, Massachusetts.

NFPA 80, “Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives” is where the provisions for the installation, testing and maintenance of rolling steel fire doors and similar protection for openings are found. NFPA 80 allows these special shutters to be released manually with a switch, lever or button of some kind. Once released, these rolling steel fire doors must close automatically. These doors automatically close by the operation of a “fusible link” positioned at certain points along a wire rope that holds tension on the closing device. The fusible link will soften in the heat of a fire and when the cable eventually parts, the tension on the cable releases and the lever moves on the closing device, allowing the shutter to close.

This wire rope and pulley arrangement is on each side of these doors/openings. The cable having the fusible links connects to the closing device, which is usually a lever attached to the drum that the rolling door wraps around, located at one end of the coiled door. Where no fire alarm system or smoke detectors are provided, the other end of the wire rope passes through pulleys and pipes so that there is a fusible link on each side of the door and one above the door. These doors are installed and listed as a complete system; and their installation, operation, testing, etc. is separate from the fire alarm system installation.