A large atrium, restaurant floor, retail unit or flexible office can be a commercial asset until a fire strategy exposes the consequences of leaving every space permanently open. Fire curtains for open plan buildings provide a controlled way to reinstate fire compartmentation when it is needed, while allowing the building to retain its intended openness in normal operation.
For main contractors, architects, developers and facilities teams, the decision is not simply whether to install a curtain. It is whether the proposed system has been specified, tested, coordinated and maintained as part of a complete passive fire protection strategy. A fire curtain can be a highly effective final barrier between a developing fire and the rest of a building, but only when its performance is understood in the context of the surrounding construction, interfaces and evacuation arrangements.
Why open-plan layouts create a compartmentation challenge
Open-plan buildings are designed around visibility, movement and adaptable use. Hotels may connect reception, bar and dining areas. Offices may remove traditional cellular rooms in favour of collaboration space. Retail and entertainment venues often rely on large uninterrupted volumes to accommodate customers and events.
These layouts can also create direct routes for smoke and hot gases to travel. Conventional fire-resisting walls and doors may conflict with sightlines, access requirements, heritage features or operational needs. Where a fixed barrier is impractical, a deployable fire curtain can close an opening or divide a larger volume automatically on fire alarm activation.
Its purpose is not to replace every wall within a fire strategy. It is to create a tested fire-resisting separation at a defined location, helping to contain fire and smoke for the required period and protecting adjacent areas, escape routes or firefighting access. The exact requirement depends on the building’s use, height, occupancy profile, means of escape and the wider compartmentation design.
How fire curtains protect open-plan buildings
A fire curtain is typically housed in a discreet steel headbox above the opening. In normal conditions, the curtain remains retracted. On receipt of the relevant fire signal, it deploys under controlled descent to form a barrier. Systems may be designed for active deployment, controlled descent or interfaces with other life-safety measures, according to the approved fire strategy.
The system must be selected for its required fire resistance and, where applicable, smoke-control performance. Fire resistance is commonly considered in terms of integrity and insulation. Integrity concerns the curtain’s ability to resist the passage of flames and hot gases. Insulation concerns the temperature rise on the non-fire side. These distinctions matter: a curtain that satisfies one performance objective may not satisfy the full requirement for a particular boundary or protected route.
In an open-plan setting, a curtain may protect a lift lobby opening, separate an atrium edge, close off a servery, protect an escalator opening or provide a barrier across a wide circulation route. It can also support staged evacuation arrangements where the fire strategy depends on maintaining safe conditions beyond the immediate fire compartment.
The practical advantage is clear. The barrier appears only when required, allowing the design team to avoid permanent partitions in spaces where flexibility and visual continuity are commercially significant. The trade-off is that a moving life-safety system demands careful technical coordination and a clear maintenance responsibility after handover.
Specification must follow the fire strategy
Fire curtains should never be treated as a decorative add-on or a late solution to an unresolved compartment line. Their location, rating and activation arrangement need to follow the building’s fire strategy, coordinated with the responsible designer and relevant project stakeholders.
In England, the requirements of Approved Document B are frequently central to the design process, although project teams must also account for the applicable regulations and guidance in the relevant UK nation. Complex schemes may involve guidance such as BS 9999, insurer requirements, client standards or a fire-engineered approach. Listed buildings, transport environments, healthcare estates and high-occupancy venues can introduce further constraints.
A suitable specification should define the opening dimensions, supporting structure, required fire classification, smoke requirements, deployment method, control arrangement, interfaces and finishing details. The selected product must be supported by evidence relevant to the intended application, rather than relying on a generic performance statement.
Test evidence is not interchangeable
Fire curtain performance is based on a tested and classified system. The supporting construction, fixings, headbox configuration, guides, overlap details and maximum dimensions all influence whether the installation reflects that tested arrangement. A product tested in one configuration cannot automatically be extended to a larger opening, a different substrate or a revised detail without appropriate evidence.
This is particularly relevant on refurbishment projects. Existing soffits may conceal voids, uneven structure, legacy services or unsuitable substrates. A curtain cannot simply be fixed to whatever is exposed on site. The installer must establish how the headbox and side guides will be supported, how any gaps will be treated and whether the surrounding wall or soffit delivers the same level of fire performance as the curtain line requires.
Third party approved installation gives clients greater confidence that the work is delivered to recognised quality procedures, with traceable records and competent oversight. It does not remove the need for project-specific checks, but it is a meaningful safeguard for a safety-critical element.
Coordination with other building systems
A fire curtain is a passive fire protection measure with active interfaces. That combination makes coordination essential. The curtain’s controls may receive a signal from the fire alarm system, but the sequence also needs to account for smoke ventilation, access control, lift operation, automatic doors, shutters and evacuation procedures.
For example, a curtain installed across a circulation route must not create an unexpected obstruction that compromises the agreed escape strategy. Where it descends close to occupied areas, warning arrangements, descent speeds, failsafe operation and emergency release provisions must be considered in the system design. A curtain protecting an atrium or escalator may need to operate in a defined sequence with smoke-control systems to avoid undermining the intended smoke management approach.
Services coordination is equally important. Sprinkler heads, lighting tracks, signage, acoustic features, ceiling systems and security devices often compete for the same ceiling zone as the curtain headbox. Resolving these interfaces before installation protects programme certainty and avoids costly alterations to finished ceilings.
Installation details determine real-world performance
Even a correctly specified curtain can be compromised by poor installation. The headbox must be level, adequately supported and fixed to a suitable substrate. Guides must be aligned and continuous. The curtain must travel freely to its fully deployed position without catching on finishes, joinery or later-installed services.
At the perimeter, firestopping may be required between the curtain assembly and adjacent construction. This must be compatible with the tested system and installed as part of the compartment line, not applied as an afterthought. Penetrations above the headbox, unsealed voids around structural steel or discontinuous cavity barriers can allow fire and smoke to bypass the curtain entirely.
This is why fire curtains should be considered alongside firestopping, cavity barriers, fire-resistant walls and structural fire protection. Compartmentation is only as reliable as its weakest interface. On complex projects, an integrated passive fire protection contractor can identify where one package ends and another begins, then prevent that boundary from becoming a gap in the fire strategy.
Inspection, testing and information at handover
A fire curtain needs more than a completion certificate. At handover, the building operator should receive clear information on the installed system, its location, its purpose, activation logic, test records, operating instructions and maintenance requirements. This information should sit within the building’s wider fire-safety records and be accessible to the responsible person and facilities team.
Routine inspection should confirm that the curtain line remains unobstructed, the headbox and guides are undamaged, and no later fit-out has affected operation. Functional testing and planned servicing must be undertaken at the intervals required by the manufacturer, system design and fire-safety management arrangements. Changes to partitions, ceilings, alarm systems or use of the space should trigger a review.
For occupied buildings, this discipline is especially valuable. A retail reconfiguration, new reception desk or temporary event installation can obstruct a curtain’s path without anyone recognising the consequence. Facilities teams need a simple procedure for controlling alterations around life-safety systems.
Choosing the right approach for the building
Fire curtains are most effective where an open-plan concept genuinely needs a deployable compartment boundary. They are not always the best answer. A fixed wall may offer simpler long-term management, stronger acoustic separation or a more straightforward means of protecting a high-risk area. In other locations, fire doors, smoke curtains or changes to the layout may be more appropriate.
The right solution follows the risk, not the preference for a particular product. Early engagement with passive fire protection specialists allows the project team to test the buildability of the detail, verify supporting construction and coordinate every interface before site constraints dictate a compromise.
For open-plan buildings, that early control can protect more than architectural intent. It helps ensure that, when the building is under pressure, the compartment line performs as designed and gives occupants the time and protection they depend on.
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