1. Fire Loss Control - Basic Elements
Mgt. & Maint.
IgnitionSources
Building Construction
OCCUPANCY
Jail
Fireworks Factory
Day Care
Code Enforcement
Fuel Sources
ResponseOn & Offsite
CombustionProducts
Detection & Suppression

2. Major Weakness in Building Design
Primary concern:
Expense
Utility
Appearance
Neglected area
Fire protection

3. Building & Site Planning
Early in design or planning process
Active (sprinklers)
Passive (fire walls / doors / extinguishers)

4. Firesafety Planning for Sites
Traffic & transportation
Fire Department access to site
Water supply to site

5. Building Design & Construction Features Influencing Firesafety
1. Fire Propagation
a. Fuel load & distribution
b. Finish materials & location
c. Construction details influencing fire & products of combustion movement
d. Architectural design features

6. Building Design & Construction Features Influencing Firesafety
2. Smoke & Fire Gas Movement
a. Generation
b. Movement
Natural air
Mechanical air
c. Control
Ventilation
Heating, ventilating, air conditioning
Barriers
Pressurization
d. Occupant Protection
Egress
Temporary refuge spaces
Life support systems

7. Building Design & Construction Features Influencing Firesafety
3. Detection, Alarm & Communication
a. Activation
b. Signal
c. Communication systems
To & from occupants
To & from fire department
Type (automatic or manual)
Signal (audio or visual)

8. Building Design & Construction Features Influencing Firesafety
4. People Movement
a. Occupant
Horizontal
Vertical
Control
Life Support
b. Fire Fighters

9. Building Design & Construction Features Influencing Firesafety
5. Suppression Systems
a. Automatic
b. Manual (self-help; standpipes)
c. Special
6. Fire Fighting Operations
a. Access
b. Rescue operations
c. Venting
d. Extinguishment
Equipment
Spatial design features
e. Protection from structural collapse

10. Building Design & Construction Features Influencing Firesafety
7. Structural Integrity
a. Building structural system (fire endurance)
b. Compartmentation
c. Stability
8. Site Design
a. Exposure protection
b. Firefighting operations
c. Personnel safety
d. Miscellaneous (water supply, traffic, access, etc.)

11. Fire Emergency Considerations
1. Life Safety
a. Toxic gases
b. Smoke
c. Surface flame spread
2. Property Protection
a. Fire propagation
b. Structural stability
3. Continuity of Operations
a. Structural integrity
4. Environmental Protection

12. Objectives of Fire-safe Building Design
Life safety - Primary Concern
Number of occupants
Familiarity with building
Ability to recognize fire hazards & take appropriate actions
Length of time building will be occupied

13. Objectives of Fire-safe Building Design
Property Protection
High value
Install fire extinguishing systems
Provide compartmentation to confine or limit fire spread
Use fire resistant building materials

14. Objectives of Fire-safe Building Design
Continuity of Operations
Specific & unique building functions
Downtime (business interruption)
Installation of automatic fire extinguishing systems

15. Objectives of Fire-safe Building Design
Environmental Protection
Air pollution (smoke or hazardous material runoff)
“Let it burn” vs. pollution from runoff
Installation of automatic fire-extinguishing systems to limit fire size & minimize runoff

16. Construction Terms Combustible Noncombustible Limited combustible
Fire barrier wall
Fire resistance rating
Fire wall
Flame spread rating
Flame resistance
Flame retardant

17. Types of Building Construction
Compression
Tension
Shear
See Figure 4.1

18. Types of Building Construction
Noncombustible (concrete, masonry, steel)
Combustible (wood)
Dependent on classification of structural frame elements (columns, beams, girders, trusses & spandrels)

19. Noncombustible Construction
Type I - “fire-resistive” (F.R.)
Type II - noncombustible or limited combustible.
Type II most common commercial type
Concern is structural elements have no level of fire resistance
Exposed to direct heat & flame

20. Combustible Construction
Type III - 2-hr. fire resistance rating. Exterior - noncombustible. Interior -combustible
Type IV - heavy timber (mill construction). Glue-laminated timbers
Type V - most common
Wood structural framing element

21. NFPA 220 First - Exterior bearing walls
Second - Columns, beam, girders, trusses & arches, supporting bearing walls, columns or loads from more than one floor
Second - Floor construction

22. Classifying Types of Construction
Mixed - common
Classified as to the lowest type of construction used

23. Fire Hazards in Buildings
Combustible interior finish
Combustible furnishings
Fire & smoke spread prevent escape
Poor design
Building collapse

24. Interior Finish Materials that make up exposed interior surface:
Walls
Ceiling
Floors
Common interior finishes
Wood & plywood
Plaster
Wall board
Acoustical tile
Insulating & decorative finishes
Plastics

25. Building Materials Wood Steel Concrete/Masonry Glass
Plastics/Composites
Gypsum/Plaster

26. Wood Oldest/most commonly used Economical Easy to work with
Disadvantage - combustible

27. Steel Skeleton or frame Used in exterior walls/supports
Requires specialized tools & fastening methods
Noncombustible
Expands when exposed to heat
Conducts heat
Loses strength at fire temperatures

28. Concrete/Masonry Concrete - cement, water & aggregate
Good compressive strength
Weak tensile strength
Very fire resistant
Absorbs high amounts of heat
Three types of concrete

29. Types of Concrete
Precast - made off site & set into place at construction site
Used for walls, floors & roof assemblies
Can include steel rods/cables

30. Types of Concrete
Cast-in-Place - mixed in concrete plants & transported to concrete sites
Poured into molds/forms
Plain, reinforced or posttensioning

31. Types of Concrete Concrete Masonry Units (CMU) - cinder blocks
Foundations & walls
Very fire resistive
Maintain integrity under fire conditions
Used to build fire walls

32. Glass Glazing for windows & doors Not very fire resistive
Resists passage of smoke
Wire mesh improves resistivity

33. Plastics & Composites Behave poorly in fire conditions
Soften & distort in heat
Give off toxic fire gases
Not used for structural support
Fiberglass-reinforced plastic commonly used - good insulator, noncombustible

34. Gypsum & Plaster Plaster - very fire resistive, difficult to work with
Gypsum (sheetrock or drywall)
Both are used to construct fire walls & fire barrier walls & provide fire-resistive protection for structural steel & wood
Both very fire resistant but easy to penetrate

35. Other Common Materials
Brick - walls
Tile - interior wall or floor finish
Aluminum - lightweight skin on buildings

36. Building Failures & Concerns
Minimizing materials used
Lightweight construction materials

37. Lightweight Wood Construction
40% reduction in total mass of lumber
Largest piece of lumber is a 2 x 4
Triangular pattern - tremendous load bearing capabilities
Economical
Chars easily
Gusset plate loses hold

38. Lightweight Steel Construction
Smaller & lighter weight
Structural engineering vs. standard size steel beams & bar joists
Impact of heat or flame impingement greater
Less factors of safety

39. Increased Fuel Loading
Increase in use of synthetic materials
Burn faster & higher rate of heat release
Some are easily ignited & burn vigorously
High surface flames possible

40. Impact of Fire in Buildings
Four products of combustion:
Flame/fire
Heat
Smoke
Toxic gas

41. Flame/Fire Larger buildings - fire walls / barriers
Compartments limit fire spread & occupant’s exposure
Other products of combustion are more dangerous & toxic

42. Heat Objective: Protect from vertical heat & smoke travel
Occupant tenability severely limited in temps over a few hundred degrees
Structure severely impacted at 9000 F F

43. Smoke Methods of smoke control:
Ventilation
Removing air
Pressurizing adjacent areas
Smoke-resistant construction
Combination of methods
Reduction of fire deaths - smoke alarms

44. Toxic Gas Present in smoke & heat
Lethal in relatively small quantities
Asphyxiants, irritants or have anesthetic effects
CO most detectible
CO detectors not substitute for smoke alarms

45. Ratings, Testing & Research
Tests & Listings
Standardized method for evaluating endurance - time-temperature curve (p. 160)
Basis of fire resistance requirements
Not precise measurement

46. NFPA 80 - Fire Doors & Windows
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class D
Class E

47. Fire-Resistance-Rating Materials
Initial requirements for exterior building walls
Interior walls, floors & ceilings to confine fire
Loss contained to area within building
Automatic sprinkler protection reduces area affected
Fire doors protect vertical & horizontal openings

48. Flame Spread Ratings
Materials must be non-combustible or protected by fire-resistive covering/ coating
Materials first involved are contents, furnishings & interior finishes
Flame Spread Rating/Index - specs/standards of finish on interior walls & ceilings to resist fire spread

49. Flame Spread Ratings
Provide relative measure of how materials allow fire to spread across surface
Higher level of flame spread rating on materials used in assembly occupancies & egress components

50. Fire Resistive Assemblies & Opening Protection
See Table 4.4, Page 163

51. Flame Spread Classifications
Class Flame Smoke
Spread Developed
Range A B C

52. Fire & Fuel Loading
Expressed as the weight of combustible materials per square unit of floor area
Includes combustible structural elements, combustible contents & interior finishes
Consider type & quantity of materials

53. Classification of Building Contents
See Figure 4.14, Page 165

54. Fire Severity Expected by Occupancy
See Table 4.6, Page 166

55. Smoke Management Methods Should Accomplish
A tenable environment in the means of egress
Contain smoke in the area of fire origin
Facilitate search, rescue & fire attack
Protect life & reduce property damage

56. Methods of Smoke Management
Automatic sprinkler (best)
Air pressure differential across physical barriers
Large air volume between barriers
Smoke dilution (for postfire smoke removal) - replaces contaminated air with fresh air using HVAC

57. Building Systems & Services
Elevators - spread of smoke or heat
Escalators - unprotected vertical opening
HVAC - use of automatic dampers
Fire dampers
Smoke dampers
Combination fire/smoke dampers

58. Building Systems & Services
Fire protection systems
Automatic sprinklers - water in early stages
Standpipes -fire dept. operations in large/tall buildings
Fire alarm systems - rapid notification for prompt egress

59. Special Structures High Rise Buildings
75’ above lowest level of access to floor of highest occupancy
Fires in taller buildings must be attacked from interior
Resource intense & dangerous
Automatic sprinkler system required

60. Special Structures
Recently, structured with interior steel framework for support
Curtain walls - exterior walls that do not support load of building
Drawback - fire can extend vertically from story to story on outside

61. Large Warehouses High-piled combustible storage/merchandise
Big box retail stores
12’ - minimum for classification
Also contain flammable & combustible liquids along with hazardous materials
Wooden/plastic pallets
Specialized sprinkler protection needed