A team of designers and engineers from Fläkt Woods recently attended a conference in Brazil, which aimed to raise the profile and importance of fire safety in commercial buildings.
The three-day trip involved meeting Brazilian government and industry officials in a concerted effort to improve standards for effective smoke and fire removal systems.

With key contributions from Fläkt Woods' design engineers, the company has been integral in forming Brazil's first Smoke Control Committee. This will address a wide variety of fire safety issues to create a unified set of new standards for the country's flourishing construction industry.

During the conference, Fläkt Woods' team highlighted the potential problems caused by installing inadequate smoke/fire control systems. In addition, they emphasised that Brazil's construction industry needs to develop a team of specialist designers, who have the required knowledge of fire dynamics, existing international standards and smoke venting products. Doing so will ultimately help ensure effective systems are specified and installed on future projects.

The conference also identified the importance of taking a holistic approach to fire safety and encompassing both active and passive fire protection systems. This addressed the current approach in the country, which has a heavy emphasis on sprinkler devices. Fläkt Woods demonstrated the need for smoke control systems to work in conjunction with sprinklers in order to ensure the fire size and smoke release is controlled.

Finally, the British team of design engineers highlighted that without reliable controls and feedback, smoke removal systems may not perform as intended. Consequently, Fläkt Woods accentuated the need for experienced controls experts, as well as effective commissioning maintenance and regular inspections of the equipment.

Allan Hurdle, managing director at Fläkt Woods, said: 'The conference tackled the challenges the Brazilian construction industry faces, and how fire safety should be at the core of all building design. There's clearly a strong passion and desire for change, so if we can help facilitate it by offering our broad expertise in this sector, it would be an incredible achievement for the country and Fläkt Woods alike.'

He added: 'After all, making these improvements will ultimately help save lives, and that's something we are extremely passionate about.'

Fläkt Woods will continue to visit industry officials in Brazil later this year and will meet government representatives in the UK.