A beginner’s guide to fire shutters: Everything You Need To Know

Fire is both useful and dangerous. In many respects, fire is taken for granted. You light candles, barbeques, and even gas-powered stoves to cook on. But, unchecked, a fire can sweep through your house and destroy it.

You may not realize it but at least 50 people are killed every year from house fires, many of which are avoidable. Of course, not all fires can be prevented. Faulty wiring is one of the biggest causes of house fires which is why you should have it inspected annually. But, that doesn’t guarantee it won’t cause a fire, it just lowers the risk.

This is why you also need to be aware of the most appropriate preventative measures. There are two types. The classic smoke alarm will alert you to a fire and can help you to get out before you’re injured or worse by the fire.

The second preventative measure doesn’t stop a fire from happening. It recognizes that sometimes, despite taking all the right precautions, fires happen anyway. In these instances, you need preventative measures that will hinder the progress of the fire. This will give you the time you need to escape.

High-quality fire shutters are one of the most effective preventative measures you can install.

What Is A Fire Shutter?

It’s a barrier that prevents smoke and fire from spreading. In most cases, they’ll be able to contain a fire for 2 hours. This doesn’t mean it won’t spread throughout your home. But it won’t spread past the fire curtain, it will have to find another way around your house.

This means you should fit them to the sides of your exit pathway. Keeping the smoke and fire out of the exit path will allow you and your family to get out of your home safely. That is all that really matters when you have a house fire.

How Do They Work?

The fire curtain is effectively a barrier that is fitted to the top of the wall inside your house. You can choose how many and where they should be deployed.

Choose the right smoke alarm and you’ll be able to connect it to your fire curtain. When the smoke alarm goes off the fire curtain will be told to descend. It effectively forms a complete barrier between the ceiling and the floor.

If the power goes out the fire curtain has a battery back-up. If this should be drained for any reason then the fire curtain will automatically drop using gravity.

It should be noted that it comes down slowly to prevent anyone from being trapped or injured in the process.

Used properly the fire curtain can effectively restrict the spread of a fire. It gives you the time to get out and the fire service a chance to tackle the blaze without destroying the rest of your home.

Most people assume that a fire will never happen in their home. Finding out the hard way that you’re wrong shouldn’t be an option. The fire curtain will protect you and help to save your life.