Automatic response building defense system and method

A method for protecting a building against a personnel attack by one or more biological chemical or nuclear hazardous airborne contaminants, the building having an interior divided into a plurality of separate, enclosed areas, each enclosed area having one or more communicating openings to the exterior of the enclosed area, the method including:

• sensing for the concentration of one or more of said hazardous airborne contaminants in each enclosed area,
• determining when the concentration of any hazardous airborne contaminant in any enclosed area is at or above a first contamination level for the respective hazardous airborne contaminant to render each enclosed area containing a hazardous airborne contaminant with a concentration level at or above the first contamination level therefor a contaminated area,
• immediately closing and sealing the communicating openings to the exterior of each contaminated area when the concentration level for any hazardous airborne contaminant therein is at or above the first contamination level for said hazardous airborne contaminant, and
• pressurizing to a pressure above the pressure in each contaminated area enclosed uncontaminated areas within the interior of the building in which no hazardous airborne contaminant with a concentration level at or above the first concentration level therefor is sensed.

An automatic response building defense system for protecting a building against a personnel attack by one or more biological, chemical or nuclear hazardous airborne contaminants, the building having an interior divided into a plurality of separate, enclosed areas, each enclosed area having one or more communicating openings to the exterior of the enclosed area with some of said communicating openings constituting external openings to the building exterior and the remaining communicating openings constituting interior openings to the building interior, said building defense system comprising:

• an external closure assembly for closing and sealing each said external opening, said external closure assembly including an external opening closure and sealing unit mounted for movement between an open position to open said external opening and a closed position to close and seal said external opening and a closure drive unit connected to said external opening closure and sealing unit responsive to a first activation signal to move said external opening closure and sealing unit to said closed position and to a second activation signal to move said external opening closure and sealing unit to said open position,
• a building pressurization assembly operative to pressurize the interior of said building to a pressure above ambient pressure external to said building in response to a pressurization signal,
• at least one hazardous contaminant sensor assembly including at least one sensor for sensing the presence of said one or more hazardous airborne contaminants, said hazardous contaminant sensor assembly providing sensor assembly output signals in response to sensed hazardous airborne contaminants, and
• a control processor connected to receive said sensor assembly output signals and operative in response to sensor assembly output signals to provide a first activation signal to each said external closure assembly to cause the closure drive unit therefor to move said external opening closure and sealing unit to the closed position and a pressurization signal to said building pressurization assembly.

An automatic response building defense system for protecting a building against a personnel attack by one or more biological, chemical or nuclear hazardous airborne contaminants, the building having an interior divided into a plurality of separate, enclosed areas, each enclosed area having one or more communicating openings to the exterior of the enclosed area with some of said communicating openings constituting external openings to the building exterior and the remaining communicating openings constituting interior openings to the building, said building defense system comprising:

• an external closure assembly in each separate enclosed area having an external opening mounted to selectively close and seal or open said external opening, each said external closure assembly operating in response to a first external closure signal to close and seal said external opening,
• an internal closure assembly in each separate enclosed area to selectively close and seal the interior openings from said separate enclosed area to the building interior, each said internal closure assembly operating in response to a first internal closure signal to close and seal said interior openings,
• a building pressurization assembly connected to each of said plurality of separate enclosed areas and operative to pressurize one or more of said separate enclosed areas above ambient pressure in response to a pressurization signal,
• at least one internal hazardous contaminant sensor assembly in at least one of said plurality of separate enclosed areas for sensing the presence of said one or more hazardous airborne contaminants and providing internal sensor output signals in response to sensed hazardous airborne contaminants within said separate enclosed area,
• a control processor connected to receive said internal sensor output signals and operative in response thereto to provide a first external closure signal to each external closure assembly within the separate enclosed area containing the sensed hazardous airborne contaminant, a first internal closure signal to each internal closure assembly with the separate enclosed area containing the sensed airborne contaminant and a pressurization signal to cause said pressurization unit to pressurize each separate enclosed area other than the separate enclosed area containing the sensed hazardous airborne contaminant.