Popular shopping centres in Singapore register an average hourly footfall between 7000 and 10,000, which is projected to grow in the coming days. Now, the safety of visitors lies in the hands of the mall owners or management, who invest quite a good amount on the facilities and security management in shopping malls. Smoke screens are essential equipment that every shopping centre must install to ensure the safety of human lives as well as the property. This equipment is capable of offering a crucial screen to ward off smoke and provide enough time to the shoppers, store owners, staff and other people to get out of the building safely.
Smoke curtain and its Uses
In Singapore, smoke curtains are installed in public places like shopping centres, hospitals, restaurants, and factories. This product can restrict smoke to a particular area and prevent it from spreading to different parts of a building. Once the smoke from one section of the building is restricted to a zone, it gives enough time to the people trapped inside the building to find their way out or to take refuge in a safe zone inside the building. The crucial 15 to 20 minutes proves vital because people can escape to safety, which reduces the loss of human lives and fire-related injuries by a huge margin.
A smoke curtain looks and feels like a normal curtain that we have in our homes albeit with a little difference in their functionality. It effectively blocks or restricts smoke from spreading from one floor to another. Thus, the customers, as well as staff, get enough time to escape the building while firefighters are also able to move quickly to douse the flames.
Smoke curtains are capable of restricting the smoke for around 2 hours. It can withstand a raging fire for more than 2 hours, which is enough time for the shoppers to get out of the building. Smoke curtains are primarily used in the following places:
- Shopping malls
- Commercial and retail stores
- Train stations and airport
- Office buildings
- Industrial units
How to find a good quality smoke curtain system?
Thousands of people visit shopping centres during Christmas and mall owners, or retailers must make full-proof arrangements for their safety. Thus, it’s imperative that a good quality smoke curtain system must be installed inside the shopping centre. Shopping malls, theatres, or retail stores, airports, and train stations should have good quality smoke curtain installed. This will ensure total safety of the holiday shoppers without distorting the look and feel of the space.
Singapore has some of the most reputed online retailers of smoke curtain systems, and you can get in touch with them to find one suitable for your building. However, it’s imperative that you do a little research on the types of smoke control systems appropriate for different buildings. The safety of human lives comes first, and you must make all the necessary arrangements to counter emergencies like fire.
Smoke control systems (comprising of smoke curtain and exhaust systems) are mandatory in Singapore for public buildings with open area more than 5000 m²