For custodial and secure buildings
Smoke control built for secure environments
Prisons and secure units need smoke ventilation that resists tampering and ligature, survives hard use, and stays under staff control. We supply the hardware to build it.
Before you specify
Seven questions you ask. Seven straight answers from us.
The fire engineering is standard. The hardware, the control point, and the escape strategy are not. Ask these seven before you score anything.
You ask
Which standards does this get designed to?
Our answer
Approved Document B for the fire strategy, BS 9991 or BS 9999 for the building type, and BS EN 12101 for the smoke control components. Secure use changes the hardware spec, not the design code.
You ask
Is the hardware anti-ligature and tamper-resistant?
Our answer
YesWe spec actuators, AOVs, and fixings that remove ligature points and stand up to deliberate misuse, so the kit still works after hard cell and secure-area use, not just on handover day.
You ask
Can occupants operate any of it?
Our answer
NoLocal switches and manual call points sit out of occupant reach. Operation moves to staff and building management through a centralised O Range panel.
You ask
Does the control tie into our secure BMS without opening a weak point?
Our answer
YesO Range is open protocol and integrates with the secure building management setup, so smoke control runs from a central staff point rather than adding a local override to defeat.
You ask
How do we handle make-up air on locked, controlled escape routes?
Our answer
We size inlet and make-up air as part of the BS EN 12101 design, matched to a staff-managed refuge and escape strategy where movement is locked rather than free-flowing. Tell us the layout and we'll work the inlet path with you.
You ask
Do you back the design and cause and effect, or just sell the box?
Our answer
We give design support, commissioning, and a documented cause and effect, then maintain it after handover. Over 100 staff and engineers on the phone, not a parts counter.
You ask
Can our M&E contractor buy through you and hit programme?
Our answer
YesYour contractor specs and orders through us with £1m+ of stock and next-day despatch on standard lines, and we plan lead times on secure-spec items so the fit-out programme holds.
The challenge
Smoke control in a locked, high-security environment
The fire engineering is the same as any building. What changes is everything around it. Equipment has to stand up to deliberate misuse, controls can't sit within reach of occupants, and movement during an evacuation is locked and staff-led.
Tamper and ligature risk
Exposed actuators, fixings, and vent hardware become targets. Kit has to be built to resist interference and remove ligature points.
No occupant control
Local switches and manual call points can't be within reach of occupants. Operation moves to staff and building management.
Physical durability
Cells and secure areas see hard, repeated use. Actuators and vents need to keep working after that treatment, not just on day one.
Locked, controlled escape
People can't move freely. The smoke strategy has to support protected refuge and staff-managed escape through controlled, locked routes.
Secure system integration
Controls tie into a secure building management setup. The smoke system has to fit that without opening a weak point.
The ventilation approach
Standard smoke engineering, secure hardware
Whether the design calls for natural or mechanical extract, the principles under Approved Document B, BS 9991, BS 9999, and BS EN 12101 don't change. What changes is the spec of the parts. We supply durable actuators, AOVs, dampers, control panels, and mechanical extract chosen to hold up in a secure, anti-ligature setting and to run from a central point rather than local switches.
Durable AOVs and actuators
Natural smoke and heat exhaust vents with actuators specified for hard use and reduced tamper and ligature risk.
Centralised control panels
Our O Range panels put operation with staff and building management, not occupants, and tie into the secure BMS.
Smoke dampers
Dampers to hold compartmentation and route smoke through ductwork on locked, protected escape strategies.
Mechanical smoke extract
Fan-driven extract where the layout or refuge strategy needs it, controlled centrally alongside the rest of the system.
Who you are buying from
Since 1988. Stock on the shelf. Engineers on the phone.
Next step
Talk to our smoke ventilation team
Tell us the building, the strategy, and the security constraints, and we'll help you spec durable, centrally controlled smoke control parts. Get in touch or ask for a spec pack.