Fire Fighting Shaft:
Colt Shaft System for tall buildings or deep basements

The Colt shaft is a mechanical fire fighting shaft system which provides equivalent performance to a BRE shaft for the ventilation of fire fighting lobbies. It can therefore be considered to the recommendations of Approved Document B and BS 9999 for ventilation of fire fighting shafts for tall buildings or deep basements.

Features and Benefits

The Colt Shaft, which is suitable for use in any fire-fighting core, requires a shaft of only 0.6m² compared with 3m² for the BRE shaft. This represents an 80 per cent reduction in the floor space required. It opens up the space on each floor, which allows architects to be more creative in their design, and improves the saleable or lettable space in commercial buildings for the client. This in turn increases the profits for developers and the income for landlords of commercial buildings, and permits more usable space.

Under design conditions with the lobby doors open the Colt Shaft provides a ventilation rate similar to the BRE shaft. When the lobby doors are closed the ventilation rate is automatically reduced to avoid excess depressurisation of the lobby.

The Colt shaft incorporates duty and standby variable speed extract fans with a Seefire duct termination, linked to a pressure sensor via the control panel.

The Colt Shaft design has been proven by extensive CFD analysis and by empirical tests.