A fire curtain is a passive fire protection device, a woven or coated fabric barrier that descends automatically on detection of fire or smoke, compartmentalising a space to restrict the spread of fire, smoke, and heat. In the UK they are increasingly used in place of or alongside fire doors in open-plan commercial spaces, hotels, care homes, retail environments, and residential buildings over 11 metres.

Supply and installation costs typically run £1,500–£6,000 per opening for standard curtain assemblies in commercial fit-outs. Large-span atrium curtains or complex multi-panel systems can reach £15,000–£40,000 per installation. Annual maintenance is a regulatory requirement and costs £200–£500 per unit per year.

How Fire Curtains Work

Fire curtains are housed in a compact head box at the top of an opening. In normal operation the curtain is rolled up inside the box and invisible. On activation (triggered by a fire alarm signal, smoke detector, or heat detector), the curtain motor releases and the curtain descends under gravity, a key safety feature, since gravity-descent is a fail-safe that works even during a power failure.

Modern curtains incorporate:

  • Automatic descent on fire alarm signal
  • Slow-descent mechanism (typically 150–300 mm/second) to avoid injuring anyone beneath
  • Obstruction detection, the curtain pauses if it meets an obstacle and continues closing once the obstacle moves
  • Manual test and reset functions for regular testing
  • Battery backup to ensure operation during power cuts (required under BS 8524-1)

Types of Fire Curtain

TypeOrientationTypical application
Vertical (downward-acting)Vertical wall openingsDoor openings, corridor separation, lift lobbies
Horizontal (ceiling-mounted, downward)Large open floorsShopping centres, atriums, open-plan offices
Side-actingSlides horizontallyOpenings where head room is restricted
Multi-leaf / stagedMultiple overlapping leavesExtra-wide openings (>8 m)
Smoke curtain (not fire rated)VerticalSmoke control in low-risk zones

Fire Performance Ratings

Fire curtains are rated under BS EN 13501-2, currently the 2023 edition, using the E-I system:1

  • EW (Integrity + Radiation control): Stops fire and limits radiant heat transmission, suitable for low-hazard separation
  • EI (Integrity + Insulation): Stops fire and maintains low surface temperature on the unexposed face, required for protected escape routes and high-risk separation

Ratings are given in minutes: E30, EI60, EI120, EI240. Most UK residential and commercial applications require a minimum of EI60.

A smoke curtain is a different product and does not belong on this scale at all. It holds back smoke rather than fire, and it is specified against BS EN 12101-1, the smoke barrier standard, not against an EI rating.2 Quotes sometimes blur the two, so check which one you are being priced for.

BS 8524 (Active fire curtain barrier assemblies) governs design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of fire curtains in the UK. Both parts were reissued in November 2025: BS 8524-1:2025 specifies and classifies the assembly3 and BS 8524-2:2025 covers application, installation and maintenance, replacing the withdrawn 2013 editions.4 A compliant system must be installed by a trained operative and commissioned with a conformance certificate.

Supply and Installation Costs 2026

Costs below are for labour and supply of the curtain assembly. They exclude structural steelwork, fire alarm integration wiring, or M&E modifications.

Opening width × heightFire ratingTypical cost (supply & install)
Up to 1.5 m × 2.4 mEI60£1,500–£3,000
1.5–3.0 m × 2.4 mEI60£2,500–£5,000
3.0–5.0 m × 3.0 mEI60£4,000–£8,000
5.0–10.0 m wideEI60£7,000–£18,000
Atrium / large-span (>10 m)EI60£15,000–£40,000+
Standard openingEI120 (additional premium)+20–35% over EI60
Horizontal ceiling-mounted (per m²)EI60£300–£600/m²

Prices assume a single-motor, gravity-descent system with battery backup, push-button test, and integration with the building’s fire alarm panel via a compatible interface module.

What Drives the Price?

Width is the dominant factor. Each additional metre of width requires a larger head box cassette, a heavier motor (or additional motors for very wide openings), and a larger, more expensive fabric roll. Openings over 8 m typically require multi-leaf assemblies with multiple motor units and staged-descent sequencing.

Fire rating affects fabric specification and head-box thermal protection. EI120 requires a heavier duty curtain and additional insulation within the cassette.

Integration complexity with the fire alarm system adds cost. A simple dry-contact connection to an existing fire alarm zone is straightforward; integration with an addressable system requiring a dedicated loop device and programming by a fire alarm engineer adds £300–£800 to the cost.

Access and installation conditions. High-level installations (atriums, mezzanines) require scaffold or MEWP hire at £200–£600/day. Installations in occupied buildings during out-of-hours periods attract premium rates.

Fire Curtain vs Fire Door: When to Use Each

CriterionFire doorFire curtain
Standard opening (up to 1.2 m)Usually cheaper (£300–£800 installed)Higher cost but unobtrusive
Wide opening (>2 m)Double doors/bi-fold, very expensiveFire curtain often more economical
Open-plan space with no door frameImpracticalPreferred solution
High footfall / disabled accessHeavy doors can be difficultCurtains can incorporate slow-close
Aesthetic requirement (retail, hotels)Visible fire door can be unsightlyCurtain invisible when retracted
Routine access frequencyDepends on hold-open deviceNo resistance, walk straight through

Maintenance Requirements

BS 8524-2 requires at minimum:

  • Monthly visual inspection and test activation by a building manager or responsible person
  • Annual full service by a competent person (usually the installing company or a specialist fire curtain maintenance contractor)

Annual service includes: operational test, fabric inspection, motor check, battery replacement if needed, sensor calibration, and updated service log. Typical cost: £200–£500 per unit.

Failure to maintain is a breach of article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires the responsible person to keep fire safety equipment under a suitable system of maintenance and in efficient working order, and it can invalidate building insurance.5 The Order does not reach inside a single private dwelling, but since the Fire Safety Act 2021 it does cover the structure, external walls and common parts of any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises, which is where most residential fire curtains sit.6 Curtains should not be painted over, obstructed in their travel path, or connected to any alarm circuit without engineering sign-off.

Getting Quotes

Specialist passive fire protection contractors handle fire curtain supply, install, and maintenance, they are distinct from general electricians or fire alarm engineers, though the latter may handle alarm integration. Request a BS 8524 compliance pack with each installation, including commissioning certificate, test results, and as-built record of the alarm interface. This documentation is required for building sign-off and fire risk assessments.

References (6)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 10 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

  1. 1technicalstrongBSI, a standard.RN-2CKKKUBSI Knowledge product page for BS EN 13501-2:2023, published 30 June 2023, status Current (Under Review). This is the fire resistance classification standard behind every E, EI and EW rating quoted for fire doors, fire curtains, glazed screens and compartment elements in the UK. It supersedes BS EN 13501-2:2016. The page carries the number, title, publication date, status, committee and ICS descriptors; the classification letters and the minute periods themselves sit behind the paywall and are not readable on the page. Useful for pinning the current edition when a note cites 13501-2 with no year.
  2. 2technicalstrongBSI, a standard.RN-FKQ4EZBSI Knowledge product page for BS EN 12101-1:2005+A1:2006, published 15 March 2006, status Current (Under Review). This is the product standard for smoke barriers, that is smoke curtains, and it is the reason a smoke curtain is not classified on the EI fire resistance scale at all: it is specified against BS EN 12101-1, while a fire curtain is classified to BS EN 13501-2. Useful for correcting notes that give a smoke curtain an invented fire rating. The classification designations themselves are behind the paywall. A 2020 revision (BS EN 12101-1:2020) exists as a standards development project but the 2006 edition is the one BSI lists as current.
  3. 3technicalstrongBSI, a standard.RN-R7BZKRBS 8524-1:2025, the specification for active fire curtain barrier assemblies: requirements for the design, testing and classification of curtains that drop to form a fire barrier. This is the standard a fire curtain must be certified to, which is why a curtain specified in an open-plan conversion has to be a tested assembly rather than a fabric on a roller.
  4. 4technicalstrongBSI, a standard.RN-PHQRFQBS 8524-2:2025, the code of practice for applying, installing and maintaining active fire curtain barrier assemblies. Part 1 says what the product must be; this part says how it must be used and looked after, including the maintenance regime. Both matter, because a fire curtain that is never serviced does not do the job the design relied on.
  5. 5technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-TPZR4SArticle 17(1): where necessary to safeguard the safety of relevant persons, the responsible person must ensure the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided under this Order or any other enactment are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. 17(2) to 17(5) let occupiers of different premises in one building make joint maintenance arrangements and require co-operation, including the owner where the occupier is not the owner. 17(6) limits the extension to other enactments to provisions concerned with fire safety measures. This is the article breached when fire equipment is left unserviced.
  6. 6technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-9LSCF5Article 6 sets what the Order does and does not reach. It does not apply to domestic premises except as provided by article 31(10). Where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises the Order applies to the building's structure and external walls and any common parts, to all doors between the domestic premises and common parts, and external walls are defined to include doors or windows in those walls and anything attached to the exterior including balconies. That extension was inserted by the Fire Safety Act 2021, in force 1 October 2021 in Wales and 16 May 2022 in England. Use this to say precisely how far fire safety duties reach into a block of flats.

  1. BS EN 13501-2:2023 Fire classification of construction products and building elements. Classification using data from fire resistance and/or smoke control tests, BSI, accessed 10 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com

  2. BS EN 12101-1:2005+A1:2006 Smoke and heat control systems. Specification for smoke barriers, BSI, accessed 10 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com

  3. BS 8524-1:2025 Active fire curtain barrier assemblies. Part 1: Specification, BSI, accessed 7 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com

  4. BS 8524-2:2025 Active fire curtain barrier assemblies. Part 2: Code of practice for application, installation and maintenance, BSI, accessed 7 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com

  5. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 17: maintenance, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 10 September 2026. legislation.gov.uk

  6. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 6: application to premises, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 10 September 2026. legislation.gov.uk