Hence to overcome this critical hazard it is important that buildings
get designed by not only considering fire but also the smoke.
This is the reason that some building codes around the world
require the building to be designed by considering smoke barrier
compartmentation as well.
In the National Building Code of India 2016, smoke barriers are
added as a separate definition for better clarity.
It is very important to understand that for any compartment to
function, it always requires utility services which lead to creating
a penetration in these smoke barriers in the first place. This is
also recognized by NBC 2016 and hence in the scope definition of
Firestop, it has been given equal attention as to Fire. Please see
below:
At the same time currently, NBC 2016 doesn’t specify the rating
needed to qualify a barrier as a smoke barrier.
But for this, help can be taken by referring IBC where Smoke barriers
complying with IBC Section 709 are used in several sections within
the code to compartment the building. The smoke barriers are
required in locations where occupants may be unable to evacuate;
therefore, the code is using a defend-in-place type of protection.
This could include hospitals, jails, ambulatory care facilities and
areas of refuge as a part of an accessible means of egress.