Fire dampers prevent fire and smoke from spreading
A building is divided into fire and smoke compartments in order to restrict the space and time dependent spread of fire and smoke during a fire. To achieve this goal, the spread of fire and smoke from the affected fire compartment to other compartments must be prevented. Walls and ceilings that separate fire compartments from each other must therefore have the necessary fire resistance.
Many modern buildings are equipped with air conditioning systems. The ventilation ducting of these systems penetrate walls and ceilings and makes the building vulnerable as far as the required fire resistance rating is concerned. Without further measures, fire protection would no longer be guaranteed. Fire dampers ensure, however, that ventilation ducting is isolated when a fire occurs.
