1- Building Construction- Building Construction and the Fire Service

Question 1

_______ engineering specialties include: Water supply, sanitary sewers, surveying, site preparation and excavation, roadways, and storm water drainage.

Answer 1

Civil

Question 2

_______ engineering specialties include: Determination of loads, foundation design, structural behavior, structural members, and structural erection.

Answer 2

Structural

Question 3

_______ engineering specialties include: HVAC, pumping systems, elevators, and plumbing systems.

Answer 3

Mechanical

Question 4

_______ engineering specialties include: Lighting, power, and communications.

Answer 4

Electrical

Question 5

_______ engineering specialties include: Automatic sprinklers, standpipes, fire alarm, smoke control, and building code compliance.

Answer 5

Fire Protection

Question 6

A technique known as __________ may be used to shorten the construction time by overlapping the design and construction phases. Construction work starts on completed early design phases while later phases are still in process. This method can greatly reduce total construction time.

Answer 6

Fast-track construction

Question 7

What are the five construction types?

Answer 7

Type I- Fire Resistive
Type II- Protected Noncombustible or Noncombustible
Type III- Exterior Protected (Masonry or Ordinary)
Type IV- Heavy Timber
Type V- Wood Frame

**Note- 3 different names for Type III.. Exterior Protected, Masonry, and Ordinary

Question 8

“The total quantity of combustible contents of a building space, or fire area, including interior finish and trim, expressed in heat units of the equivalent weight in wood.”

This is the definition of _________.

Answer 8

Fuel Load

Question 9

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 required the removal of architectural barriers and the addition of other features to provide accessibility for persons with recognized impairments. Some building elements that may be altered to improve access include:

Answer 9

-Building entrances
-Parking and passenger loading zones
-Elevators
-Alarms (visible and/or audible)
-Means of egress

Question 10

_________ required the removal of architectural barriers and the addition of other features to provide accessibility for persons with recognized impairments.

Answer 10

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

Question 11

______ may not be requires in buildings equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. However, they must be equipped with two-way communication so occupants can call for assistance.

Answer 11

Areas of refuge

Question 12

An automatic fire protection system, especially an _______, is the first line of defense in many buildings. When it is properly designed and maintained, incipient stage fires will be promptly detected and maintained.

Answer 12

Automatic sprinkler system

Question 13

_____ occurs when older properties are extensively rehabilitated to satisfy the desires of a modern real estate market.

Answer 13

Gentrification

Question 14

A primary hazard of green design is:

Answer 14

The tendency of components to increase the combustibility of the overall building.

Question 15

Office plazas, shopping malls, light industrial buildings, and condominiums are all examples of:

Answer 15

Spec Buildings

(Buildings built before securing a tenant or occupant)

Question 16

______ is a large, uncontrollable fire covering a considerable area and crossing fire barriers such as streets and waterways; usually involves buildings in more than one block and causes a substantial fire loss. Forest fires can also be considered examples of this.

Answer 16

Conflagration

Question 17

Fire spread is often expressed in terms of heat transfer through two methods: ______ and _______.

Answer 17

Convection and Thermal Radiation

(Conduction is not usually considered a factor in spreading fire between buildings)

Question 18

_______ usually involves the transfer of heat energy through the movement of hot smoke and fire gases. Dependent on wind direction. Its plumes are also significant when the exposed building is higher than the exposing building.

Answer 18

Convection

*typically spreads fire vertically

Question 19

______ is the transfer of heat energy through space by electromagnetic waves. All bodies emit this at a rate dependent on their absolute temp. When two bodies (buildings) have difference temps, a net transfer will move from the body with a higher temp to the body a lower temp.

Answer 19

Thermal Radiation

*can spread fire in all directions

Question 20

An _______ can refer to any number of surfaces that may be ignited or damaged by the heat of an external fire.

Answer 20

Exposure

Question 21

NFPA 80A describes three levels of exposure based on the potential severity of the exposing fire:

Answer 21

Light, Moderate, Severe

*the levels are based on the fire load and the flame spread rating of the wall and ceiling finishes of the burning building.

Question 22

Fire protection features specified in building codes provide minimum requirements for several (three general) systems including:

Answer 22

Fire detection and suppression systems
Passive barriers
Active barriers

Question 23

In the _________, fire can travel in either direction between the built and unbuilt environments.

Answer 23

Wildland/Urban Interface

Question 24

Well-designed building systems utilize provisions to prevent the spread of ______ products, including such measures as smoke detectors to initiate the shutdown of units or to operate dampers in ducts.

Answer 24

Combustion

Question 25

______ is a chemical process of oxidation that occurs at a rate fast enough to produce heat and usually light in the form of either a glow or flame.

Answer 25

Combustion

Question 26

__________ technology is another means of obtaining, analyzing, and using data based on a specific location. It has many uses across many disciplines and is also becoming more widely used in building construction.

Answer 26

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Question 27

There are only three primary strategies in a fire incident:

Answer 27

Offensive, Defensive, and Transitional

Question 28

Offensive strategies at a fire incident include:

Answer 28

Life Safety
Structural Stability
Risk (benefit outweighs risk)

Question 29

Defensive strategies at a fire incident include:

Answer 29

Volume of Fire
Structural Deterioration
Risk (risk outweighs benefit)
Structural Condition

Question 30

________ strategies include all strategies that include a change in either direction between an offensive or defensive focus.

Answer 30

Transitional