Fire Curtains for Elevators in California

Brief:
The Kimball Residences is located in the historically rich National City, 5 minutes from downtown San Diego. The modern three-story apartment complex was built in 2018 and has 47 units.

Objective:
Prevent smoke flowing through the elevator shafts in case of a fire in the 3-story apartment building.

Challenge:
In the event of a fire, elevator shafts act as a chimney and smoke could quickly spread from one level to the next. Safe evacuation would be nearly impossible for individuals on the upper floors without elevator smoke and fire protection.

Solution:
Per IBC, protection of elevator hoistway door openings must be provided in buildings where the elevator connects more than three stories.

Fire Curtain Technologies achieved the required protection by enclosing the elevators shafts with five customized fire-rated curtains.

• 1 fire curtain for Floor B2 (Width 5′-0″ x Height 9′-0″)
• 1 fire curtain for Floor B1 (Width 5′-0″ x Height 9′-8″)
• 3 fire curtains for Floors 1, 2, 3 (Width 5′-0″ x Height8′-2″)

The Elevator Fire Curtain SD met all code requirements. The smoke and fire curtain is UL 10D labeled for fire resistance and additionally labeled UL 1784 for smoke resistance.