Safety consideration of fire shutters in large building space

The effectiveness of fire shutters as a component in the fire safety design of a large building is examined from the perspective of a minimum escaped velocity (MEV) by the occupant in order not to experience pain from the exposure to the shutter's thermal radiation. Using typical fire shutter's geometry determined from a survey of 14 large shopping malls in Hong Kong and the shutter's temperature reported in the literature, the range of MEV and its dependence on shutter's parameters are determined. Shutter's geometry and the occupant's initial location relative to the shutter are shown to be important factors affecting the required MEV for safety. For a particular compartment's geometry, a safe escape (SE) region can be identified as a function of the fire shutter size, escape door's location, and the expected walking speed of an occupant. The size of the SE region can be used as a quantitative design criterion for the design of a fire safety system involving the fire shutter. © 2003, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.