Smoke Control Series – Part Three: System Trends and Code Changes  

This last cycle of public input and committee review yielded a few notable updates to both the NFPA 92 Standard for Smoke Control Systems and NFPA 204 Standard for Smoke and Heat Venting.  Below is a short recap of the most notable. 

NFPA 92 2024ed 

A few updated terminologies were applied throughout the document, notably the use of “Firefighter” and removal of “UUKL” references we most common. These were primarily done to build consistency throughout the standard. 

Chapter 6 page 19. 6.4.1 Control systems shall be listed in accordance with UL 864, Control Units and Accessories for Fire Alarm Systems, as smoke control system equipment. 

Annex A page 26. A.3.2.4 The means for identifying listed equipment may vary for each organization concerned with product evaluation; some organizations do not recognize equipment as listed unless it is also labeled.  The AHJ should utilize the system employed by the listing organization to identify a listed product. 

Page 32. A.4.5.1.1 When a communicating space where the design fire originates opens to a large volume space, the communicating space is generally not required to meet the tenability requirements, as a smoke control system cannot be reasonably expected to maintain tenability in the immediate vicinity of the fire origin. For very large communicating spaces containing the fire, see M3.4. (This was addressed in a special task group dealing with questions from fire officials that interpreted open floor plans, possibly an atrium with adjoining floors or office space with open central space considered an atrium. Should the atrium exhaust smoke control system be sized to also maintain tenability in the adjacent floors where the fire originates. This is covered in other parts of the building code and in most cases will be fully sprinkled buildings. 

New Trends – Smarter Life Safety Systems 

What is a trend? “A trend is a prevailing tendency or inclination, a general movement, a current style or preference, or a line of development. It can also be a verb meaning to show a tendency, to become deflected, to extend in a general direction, or to generate interest online.” 

In life safety trends are typically slow to develop, however, with the advent of the full adoption of IoT and web-based applications, trends are accelerating and becoming more prevalent in our industry. A few examples would be the development of remote testing which can be found in NFPA 915. This became common practice just 3 short years ago during the Covid Crisis. Buildings were still required under law to be inspected and verified to be safe so an alternative solution was sought. This is also true for self-testing smoke detectors. Sensitivity diagnostics of a smoke sensor have been around for a few decades and work very well, the new ability for the device to produce a physical smoke particulate and verify smoke entry with activation is now available. This reduces system testing times and maintenance costs. 

We are all aware of the advancements in EV’s and autonomous driving vehicles. Innovation in the transportation sector has been progressing rapidly, in part thanks to the agile start-up world and fast-moving giants, such as Tesla and Google. While there are currently no fully legal self-driving vehicles in the United States, there are thousands of prototypes and test vehicles operating on public roads.  This has all been possible due to innovation and Artificial Intelligence programming. 

While the transportation industry is evolving rapidly, the building automation space and life safety industry are slow to adapt these new technologies.  For example, since the invention of the thermostat about 130 years ago, we have seen slow innovation in the built environment or building automation space compared to other industries.  It is estimated that global construction today will equate to building an entire New York City every month for the next 40 years! 

HVAC systems, like fire alarm life safety systems, are still designed as fixed systems or programmed for a static environment, even though weather and seasons are fluid and dynamic. A fixed response approach is costly for a building owner. Inefficient systems can contribute to higher energy bills and maintenance costs which both have negative effects on the environment. In fact, HVAC systems account for 51% of the total energy usage in commercial buildings. Inefficient and poorly managed systems are also responsible for occupant discomfort and a major contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases. 

Since building automation systems, which use the HVAC components for smoke control in some cases, most likely contributed to these inefficiencies and therefore have ample room for improvement. 

AI technology can be used today to move reactive systems to pre-emptive systems. Making buildings more efficient and greener. This is also possible for life safety systems in a building such as fire detection and notification systems, fire service access elevator systems, occupant evacuation systems and even 2-way emergency communications systems coupled with exit signage. While the former example is available today, it will take a decade or more for life safety systems to embed this level of AI technology in its platforms. 

Just imagine connecting an artificial brain to a building’s multiple life safety systems so that it can think by itself and make decisions by itself. It seamlessly integrates into a building’s existing HVAC/BAS system, analyzes the building for a period of time after commissioning and uses its algorithms to send precise operating instructions to the smoke/heat sensors, understands waterflow rates, temperature changes in elevator lobbies, monitors fire pump and emergency generator temperature, fuel levels, power phase and current draw for the entire system. 

AI will do this by analyzing information from a multitude of internal and external data points, combining time series data with deep learning engines and delivering high quality predictions for each area and system within the building. This future technology will enable exceptionally accurate predictions about the built environment, empowering the deployment of algorithms to drive overall safety within the structure based on usage and environmental changes over time. The result is a 24/7 self-operating building that requires little human intervention over the life of the systems. Functioning at optimal efficiency and ensuring perfectly executed testing, inspections and maintenance routines month after month and year after year. 

Space Age Electronics is already seeing adjacent industries beginning to reach into the life safety world. Building Automation and HVAC contractors, elevator contractors and security integrators are developing tools that are bridging the gaps between independent systems. We can envision a single interface that can display all critical events as needed and enable direct control of various systems within a building based on authorization and necessity at any given time. The reduction of physical hardware in a control room and seamless operation will be the next technological breakthrough for life safety.