Patent ID: 7735539

Claim:
A smoke and fire obstacle, comprising: a shaft positioned adjacent to a passageway, the shaft having a screen wound about the shaft, wherein the shaft is rotatable about an axis to deploy the screen over the passageway by unwinding the screen from the shaft as the shaft rotates; a pair of beams near walls of the passageway, the beams having a plurality of holes generally along the length of the beams; a plurality of heat-sensitive fasteners along sides of the screen and generally positionally corresponding to the holes in the beam, wherein when the screen is deployed over the passageway and the fasteners are heated above a predetermined temperature, the fasteners deform to a shape that engages the beams through the holes such that the screen is fastened to the beams; and a heat-sensitive expanding material along at least a portion of the screen that, if heated above the predetermined threshold temperature such that the expanding material contacts the screen and the walls of the passageway.