Whether to ensure the safety of office, school, or hospital inhabitants, purchasing flame retardant curtains can create a more secure working environment. By working with the right furnishing specialists, you provide your customers only with the very best. If investing in fire curtains, here’s everything you need to know about how they work and how they’re manufactured.
Advanced Materials
As you might’ve determined, the most important element of a fire curtain is its fire fabric. After being woven, the fire fabric is coated by chemical engineers who strive to achieve the highest level of safety. Each curtain is then given a rating according to its fire resistance and deployed for fitting.
High-Functioning Features
Similar in nature to the metal shutters used in storefronts when closing up for the day, fire curtains descend vertically and are unrolled from the top. Automatic versions of these curtains can be deployed mechanically and retract according to a building’s fire alarm system. In other cases, they can be deployed remotely.
Unlike metal shutters, however, fire curtains are flexible and compact, allowing them to be more properly fitted into a certain space, thus providing it with better compartmentation and reducing the negative impact on aesthetics. Fail safes are also incorporated into their design, which allows gravity to pull the curtain in position should there be a power cut or if its motor fails.
Fire Curtain Applications
Ideal for both large and small spaces or open-plan areas, fire curtains can be fitted onto cubicle curtain tracks and even hospital curtain tracks. When factored into the design aesthetic of a building, they can be easily recessed into walls or ceilings, keeping them from becoming visible to guests and employees.
Retrofitted curtains fit in perfectly with their surroundings and can even be designed to suit historic and heritage buildings.
The Stunning History of Fire Curtain Design
Traceable to the late 1800s, blinds and curtains were being designed to suit custom solutions and requests. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that fire curtains became a vague idea. In an attempt to discover a non-invasive method of controlling hot smoke, engineers then developed the first automatic smoke curtain. Known as a Gravity Fail-Safe System, this type of mechanism is now a benchmark that is used worldwide.
Working closely with leading architects, curtain makers have been more dedicated than ever to create high-performance fire safety systems that are suitable for all types of spaces. Created to ensure the security of inhabitants, protect buildings, and reduce the impact of fires, fitting fire curtains into your building can prove an ultimate safeguard and be the safety solution you need.
Conclusion
If you haven’t yet considered adorning your office walls with fire curtains, better late than never! They’re an excellent method of saving on insurance and preventing disasters from occurring in the first place.
At Direct Fabrics, we stock flame retardant curtains for schools, offices, hospitals, and every type of building. Need something that suits your aesthetic? We carry a massive supply of curtains in every style and pattern and even specialise in roller blinds, blackouts, and sheer materials!