Video Transcript

BS 1703 specifies how chutes should be built. This standard states that chutes should be vented at the roof line.

I’m not a scientist, but the Venturi effect or the chimney stack effect is well known certainly to firefighters.

The biggest risk that we really need to be thinking about and managing properly when designing a shoe is smoke. Especially the residential facing elements.

There are two areas where the hopper frame is attached to the wall, that needs to be smoked tight. And when the door self closes, that also needs to be smoked tight.

And there are separate standards that relate to smoke tightness and we’ve had our products tested to those standards successfully.

A smoke seal might look to be in place, it might look to be intact, but when there’s smoke behind it, does it leak?

We engage in cyclical inspections, but also localised smoke testing with all our clients. So we work along with the landlord or the managing agent, we understand the smoke detection systems so we don’t interfere with them when we’re smoke testing.

We’ve developed a process that doesn’t affect residents. There’ll be no panic, there’ll be no smoke leaking into other areas.

If you think about the mechanics here, in the presence of a fire in the chute, a cold smoke seal, which is what we use in the manufacturing office, will melt in the presence of fire. And that is why we believe it’s critical that as well as a cold smoke seal that we also fit intumescent seals to our homes so that when the smoke seal eventually perishes and melts in the presence of fire the intumescent seal will have evacuated and sealed any gaps preventing fire and smoke entering the residential areas.

From a manufacturing point of view the cost of doing such a good job is negligible and I believe that everybody should be doing that.