The Evolution of Acoustic Booths: Ensuring User Safety and Comfort with Fire Life Safety Standards

How Fire Life Safety (FLS) Regulations Shape the Design of Modern Acoustic Pods and Enclosures

The world of acoustic booths, also known as acoustic pods or enclosures, is a relatively young category in the office furniture industry, having emerged and evolved significantly over the past several years. Initially designed to offer a quiet, private space within open-plan offices, booths have quickly become essential for modern work environments and today’s hybrid workplace.  As with any rapidly developing product, acoustic booths are subject to ongoing changes and improvements, particularly concerning user safety and comfort. This includes adhering to evolving regulations and guidelines that ensure these innovative products remain safe and functional.

One important aspect of the evolution of acoustic booths is Fire Life Safety (FLS). FLS refers to a set of guidelines and regulations aimed at ensuring that structures and products, like acoustic booths, are safe in the event of a fire. The importance of FLS cannot be overstated; it protects not only the physical safety of individuals but also helps mitigate potential damage and ensures compliance with legal standards. For acoustic booths, this means incorporating fire-resistant materials, automatic suppression systems, either wet sprinkles or dry sprinklers, and effective evacuation designs.

Understanding Fire Life Safety (FLS) for Acoustic Booths

What is FLS? Fire Life Safety (FLS) encompasses the strategies and practices designed to protect people, property, and infrastructure from the dangers of fire. In the context of acoustic booths, FLS involves using materials and designs that prevent the spread of fire and ensure that occupants can safely exit the booth in an emergency.

Why is it Important? The importance of FLS in acoustic booths lies in its role in safeguarding employees and maintaining workplace safety standards. Acoustic booths, while designed to enhance productivity and comfort, must also comply with fire safety regulations to prevent accidents and ensure that the spaces they create do not become fire hazards.

Who Creates the Guidelines? FLS guidelines are developed by a combination of national and international regulatory bodies, including the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), BIFMA and UL in the United States and global organizations such as the International Code Council.  These guidelines are crafted by experts in fire safety, building design, and materials science, ensuring that they address all potential fire risks and safety concerns.

UL has created UL-962 that provides information on the use of acoustic pods as well as other requirements such as egress doors, ceiling types, emergency lighting and fire protection and suppression.  You can learn more about UL 962 here:  https://www.ul.com/news/ul-962-prefabricated-privacy-booths-and-sleep-capsules 

BIFMA does not have an official standard for acoustic enclosures at this time, but they have developed a guide that manufacturers, including Thinkspace and Hush have used to ensure the booths are designed and constructed in a manner that will exceed the upcoming standard, expected to become official in Q1 of 2025.  

The International Building Code Council has developed AC519 for new and existing offices for the use of enclosed booths.  This is the standard for quality in acoustic booth manufacturing and our Hush Classic and Hush Free products meet and exceed this criteria.  You can learn more about AC519 here:  https://icc-es.org/acceptance-criteria/ac519/ 

How is FLS Regulated? Though we ensure our products are designed and manufactured to the industry standards listed above, these regulations are enforced through building codes and safety standards set by local, regional, and national authorities. Compliance is often monitored through certification processes and inspections and is subjective.  To confirm what FLS solutions are needed, it is important to reach out to the building inspector and the local fire marshall for your address.  They are the experts on what is needed and should be provided.  Based on our vast experience with this, the codes can be interpreted differently from city to city, inspector to inspector, so it’s important to reach out to them for confirmation. 

What Are Solutions That Address These Needs? To address the needs of FLS in acoustic booths, manufacturers like Hushoffice implement several key solutions in manufacturing including: 

1. Fire-Resistant Materials: The use of fire-resistant materials in the construction of acoustic booths helps to contain any potential fires and slow their spread. This includes using panels and structural elements that have been tested and certified to meet fire safety standards.
2. Strategic Design for Evacuation: Effective design features, such as clearly marked exits and easy-to-operate door mechanisms, ensure that occupants can quickly and safely evacuate in case of an emergency.
3. Compliance with Safety Regulations: By adhering to established fire safety standards and obtaining necessary certifications, manufacturers ensure that their acoustic booths are compliant with the latest regulations and are safe for use in various environments.

However, there are a couple of solutions that can be considered and included in the hushOffice products:

1. Wet Sprinklers – this is using the building sprinkler systems and dropping a “wet” sprinkler head into the top of the booth.  All of our products come standard the the necessary grommet holes to accommodate the drop should this be required by the fire marshall.
   
   

   Building piping for sprinkler installation in Thinkspace Hushoffice acoustic booth

    

2. Dry Sprinkler – commonly referred to as fire suppression kits are an approved alternative to wet sprinklers.  They are designed to be self-activating when the temperature rises above a certain level.  Inside the pod, these look like a standard sprinkler head but the kit is actually installed on the top of the pod.

 

3. Fire Strobes – in markets like California and Washington, FLS code enforcement is something we see on a daily basis and recently, we’ve been asked to include a fire strobe inside the booth.  Though this may seem like an extra somewhat unnecessary requirement, it easily allows the user to know when to evacuate the booth.  As shown in the image below, it’s easy to install the strobe inside our products and connect them to the building system.

 

The acoustic booth and enclosure industry is growing rapidly and advancements in manufacturing, technology, codes and fire life safety will continue to evolve over time.  It’s important to be informed and stay up to date on these topics, which is why Thinkspace and our partner Hushoffice are focused on these products so we can continue to provide the information and expertise you need to ensure your clients are both safe and comfortable in our products.

For more information, please contact one of our experts today at [email protected]

Written by Sid Meadows, Principal/Vice President of Sales.