 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(October 2016) |
A cubicle curtain or hospital curtain is a dividing cloth used in a medical treatment facility that provides a private enclosure for one or more patients. [1] The curtain is usually made from inherently flame retardant (IFR) fabric, and is suspended from a supporting structure or ceiling track. [2]
Healthcare cubicle curtains are constructed from different woven fabrics stitched together with the top portion of open mesh of the curtain as required by the National Fire Protection Association. The suggested fire prevention and regulatory codes are followed by local, state and Federal fire marshals with Healthcare patient safety in mind. The suggestion for mesh is seventy-percent (70%) open allowing for ceiling sprinkler head water penetration in event of fire. The vertical length requirement for mesh size is determined by the number of horizontal inches of the curtain ceiling track from the sprinkler head. Example: If ceiling track is six (6") inches from ceiling sprinkler head, the required vertical length of the mesh is approximately six (6") inches. The maximum vertical mesh length required is eighteen inches (18") regardless of additional distance from the ceiling sprinkler head. The code for the vertical mesh requirement is found under National Fire Protection Agency code NFPA 13. The lower portion of the cubicle curtain is opaque to ensure patient privacy. Cubicle curtain fabrics with an antimicrobial finish are not required by code but are becoming more common in medical treatment facilities to reduce the spread of germs within a facility. All cubicle curtains are required to be fire-retardant by NFPA code. The fire-retardant properties can be topically applied and/or inherent to a wide range of synthetic fibers used for cubicle curtains.
Cubicle curtain design underwent a period of rapid growth in the 1990s. [3] Instead of traditional solids and tone-on-tones, a broader range of subtle colors, muted tones, and soft hues became available along with different textures and more elaborate patterns. Nature themed cubicle curtains [4] are popular as well as customizable options.
Cubicle curtains have been known to cause HAIs (hospital-acquired infections). [5] Studies have found methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on cubicle curtains in hospitals. Since the exposure of this phenomenon, some medical treatment facilities have begun to use anti-microbial curtains in an effort to impede the spread of HAI's. New medium are replacing curtains for this reason. Smart Glass offers the same privacy but glass unlike curtains can be easily cleaned disinfectants with 62–71% ethanol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) can "efficiently" inactivate coronaviruses and other common within a minute. These cleaning agents can easily be applied to glass for a quick immediate solution. These cleaning agents can not be used on curtains. According to a research study by the University of Michigan Medical Center, fabric hospital room partitions host hazardous drug-resistant germs that can survive on bedside curtains undetected, and alive, for months at a time. Samples were taken upon admission, and again after 14 days, 30 days, then monthly up to 6 months where possible. A total of 1521 samples from 625 rooms were obtained from the edges of privacy curtains where they are touched most often, and the researchers were particularly interested in any links between bacteria found on patients, and MDRO contamination on their privacy curtain at the same visit. The team also wanted to discover whether this contamination occurred intermittently, or was persistent for those patients with 6 months of follow-up.
Cubicle curtains can be used in hospital curtains and must be compliant to National Health Standard in the United Kingdom for infection control and flame retardant to British Standard BS5867 for drapery material.
Fitting room cubicle curtains are used for privacy whilst in retail premises for whilst customers are dressing into clothes. In the United Kingdom these need to be certified to BS5867 for use in commercial environments.
The Cocoanut Grove fire was a nightclub fire which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on November 28, 1942. It is the deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, claiming 492 lives, and the second-deadliest single-building fire.
A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected. Although historically only used in factories and large commercial buildings, systems for homes and small buildings are now available at a cost-effective price. Fire sprinkler systems are extensively used worldwide, with over 40 million sprinkler heads fitted each year. Even though Fire Sprinkler Systems are a Life Saving System and are not designed to protect the building, 96% of buildings that had fires and were completely protected by fire sprinkler systems were controlled by the fire sprinklers alone.
A safety curtain is a fire safety precaution used in large proscenium theatres. It is usually a heavy fibreglass or iron curtain located immediately behind the proscenium arch. Asbestos-based materials were originally used to manufacture the curtain, before the dangers of asbestos were widely known. The safety curtain is sometimes referred to as an iron in British theatres, regardless of the actual construction material.
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, utilized only to keep the weather out and the occupants in. Since the curtain wall is non-structural, it can be made of lightweight materials, such as glass, thereby potentially reducing construction costs. An additional advantage of glass is that natural light can penetrate deeper within the building. The curtain wall façade does not carry any structural load from the building other than its own dead load weight. The wall transfers lateral wind loads that are incident upon it to the main building structure through connections at floors or columns of the building. A curtain wall is designed to resist air and water infiltration, absorb sway induced by wind and seismic forces acting on the building, withstand wind loads, and support its own weight.
A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or, water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theater that separates the stage from the auditorium or that serves as a backdrop/background.
Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and effects of a fire after it starts.
A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of a structure and to enable safe egress from a building or structure or ship. In North American building codes, it, along with fire dampers, is often referred to as a closure, which can be derated compared against the fire separation that contains it, provided that this barrier is not a firewall or an occupancy separation. In Europe national standards for fire doors have been harmonised with the introduction of the new standard EN 16034, which refers to fire doors as fire-resisting door sets. Starting September 2016, a common CE marking procedure was available abolishing trade barriers within the European Union for these types of products. In the UK, it is Part B of the Building Regulations that sets out the minimum requirements for the fire protection that must be implemented in all dwellings this includes the use of fire doors. All fire doors must be installed with the appropriate fire resistant fittings, such as the frame and door hardware, for it to fully comply with any fire regulations.
A dropped ceiling is a secondary ceiling, hung below the main (structural) ceiling. It may also be referred to as a drop ceiling, T-bar ceiling, false ceiling, suspended ceiling, grid ceiling, drop in ceiling, drop out ceiling, or ceiling tiles and is a staple of modern construction and architecture in both residential and commercial applications.
A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish incipient (starting) fires. It consists of a sheet of a fire retardant material that is placed over a fire in order to smother it.
Fireproofing is rendering something resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a noun, verb or adjective; it may be hyphenated ("fire-proof").
A fire pump usually refers to a pressure-increasing component of the water supply for fixed-place fire suppression systems such as fire sprinklers, standpipes, and foam systems. Fire pumps are also a critical component integrated into fire trucks and fire boats, and serve a similar purpose boosting water supplies for firefighting hose operations. Fire pumps are used to increase the pressure of water sourced from a municipal underground water supply piping network, or a static supply. A fire pump is a centrifugal- or positive displacement- pump that has been tested and listed by a third-party testing and listing agency, such as UL or FM Global specifically for fire service use. The main standard that governs fire pump fixed-place installations in North America is the National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 20 Standard for the Installation of Stationary Fire Pumps for Fire Protection.
Active fire protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection. AFP is characterized by items and/or systems, which require a certain amount of motion and response in order to work, contrary to passive fire protection.
Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor-ceilings and roofs, fire doors, windows, and wall assemblies, fire-resistant coatings, and other fire and smoke control assemblies. Passive fire protection systems can include active components such as fire dampers.
Fire-retardant fabrics are textiles that are more resistant to fire than others through chemical treatment of flame-retardant or manufactured fireproof fibers.
A technical textile is a textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes, where function is the primary criterion. Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles, and protective clothing.
Sound masking is the inclusion of generated sound into an environment to mask unwanted sound. It relies on auditory masking. Sound masking is not a form of active noise control ; however, it can reduce or eliminate the perception of sound. Sound masking is applied to an entire area to improve acoustical satisfaction, thus improving the acoustical privacy of the space. This can help an individual focus and thereby enhance productivity.
A combustible material is something that can burn in air. A combustible material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame.
Sprinkler fitting is an occupation consisting of the installing, testing, inspecting, and certifying of automatic fire suppression systems in all types of structures. Sprinkler systems installed by sprinkler fitters can include the underground supply as well as integrated overhead piping systems and standpipes. The fire suppression piping may contain water, air, antifreeze, gas or chemicals as in a hood system, or a mixture producing fire retardant foam.
Water transportation and distribution networks require hydraulic calculations to determination the flowrate and pressure characteristics at one or several consumption points and the water supply flowrate and pressures needed to meet the design requirements.
Interior protection is the general term for the installation of temporary dust and debris containment systems during re-roofing, remodeling, or other construction related projects. A temporary interior protection system can be installed in almost any environment, from manufacturing plants, production facilities, class A office space, hospitals, schools or warehouses. Interior protection services include suspended ceilings, construction wall barriers, high structure cleaning and other types of custom applications. Using reinforced engineered poly film and proven installation methods, temporary interior protection systems prevent re-roofing and remodeling dust and debris from cross contaminating clean room type environments within commercial facilities, retail stores, class A office space, and just about any type of environment you want kept clean.