Stair Pressurization Fan

In case of fire in a high rise building, an SPF uses clean outside air to pressurize the air in stairwells. The pressurized air helps people escape the fire and firefighters battle the fire.

Stairways are Fire Escape Routes

Nowadays, stairwells have better fire ratings than the rest of the building. In other words, so people can get out when the rest of the building is on fire, stairways don't burn.

Stairways Full of Smoke

The stairways may not burn, but they can still fill up with smoke. The smoke can not only make it harder to see as one is getting away from a fire, but it can:

• Make it harder to breathe - possibly causing injury or death
• Close off the escape route - possibly causing people to seek another pathway of escape

Open Doors

The problem is, as people are escaping the fire, they have to open the door to the stairway. When the door is open, preventing the stairway from being used by later escapees, smoke follows and billows into the stairway.

Smoke Push Back

The idea behind the stair pressurization is that during a fire the stairway should have more pressure than the rest of the building. That way, when the doors open, the higher pressure in the stairwell pushes the smoke back onto the floor, keeping the escape route clear of smoke.

The smoke free escape route also doubles as a smoke free entrance route for the firefighters as they combat the fire