Smoke Control Essentials

Course Description
Smoke control is an essential part of many effective and innovative fire strategies for buildings and structures worldwide. Through case studies, interactive lectures, and small teams working through practical examples, this course provides the fundamentals concepts and principles needed to design state-of-the-art systems effectively – the focus is on practical design. Topics include smoke control design strategies and analysis techniques for stairwell pressurization, elevator smoke control, zoned smoke control, and atria and large spaces systems.

Learning Objectives:
After completing this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Describe basic fire dynamics and other factors that influence smoke movement.
  • Describe the four basic smoke control methods, understand key design considerations for these very different methods, and understand where and how to apply each method.
  • Understand the basic code requirements for high-rise buildings, atrium spaces, covered malls, and underground structures.
  • Apply smoke control principles to develop conceptual pressurization systems designs (stair pressurization, elevator pressurization, and zoned systems).
  • Apply smoke control principles to develop conceptual designs for Atrium and other large spaces.
  • Understand basics principles of systems controls, system testing, integrated testing, and special inspection.


Recommended Materials & References

Handbook of Smoke Control Engineering (ASHRAE, 2012)
NFPA 92: Standard for Smoke Control Systems (NFPA, 2018)
International Building Code, (ICC, 2018)