Acting Captain's Exam: Incident Safety Officer Chapter 5 - Building Construction Flashcards
Building construction
A load is imposed through the centroid of another object?
Axial load
A construction method in which continuous wood studs from the foundation to the roof and floors are placed on a shelf called ribbon board that hangs on the interior surface of the studs
Balloon framing
The structural element that transfers loads perpendicularly to the imposed load
Beam
Description for a material that will fracture or fail as it is deformed or stressed past its design limits
Brittle
A beam supported at one end or a beam that extends well past the support in such a way that the unsupported overhang placed the top of the beam in tension and the bottom in compression
Cantilever beams
The area that is exposed to trauma, debris and/or thrust should a building, or part of a building, collapse. It is a mere specific form of a no entry Zone?
Collapse Zone
A structural element that transmits a compressive Force actually through its Center?
Column
A force that causes a material to be crushed or flattened actually through the material?
Compression
Structural elements used to attach other structural elements to one another?
Connection
A beam that is supported in three or more places?
Continuous beam
A non load-bearing wall that supports only itself and is used only to keep weather out?
Curtain wall
The weight of the building itself and anything permanently attached to it?
Dead load
Description for a material that will bend, deflect or stretch as a force is resisted, yet will retain some strength?
Ductile
A load that is imposed off-center to another object?
Eccentric load
Strict order for all crews to immediately escape from a building interior or roof, leaving hose lines and tools that can impede rapid retreat behind?
Emergency evacuation
A host of products that consists of many pieces of native wood (chips, veneers and sawdust) glued together to make a sheet, a long beam or a strong column?
engineered wood
temporary Shoring, bracing or framework used to support incomplete structural elements during building construction?
False work
The complete failure of a building to resist gravity?
General collapse
A beam that carries other beams?
Girder
a building that is a mix of multiple NFPA 220 types or that does not fit into any of the five types?
Hybrid buildings
the beam that spans an opening in a load-bearing masonry wall, such as over a garage door opening, often referred to as a header?
Lintel
Any force or weight, other than the building itself, that a building must carry or absorb?
Live load
Any force or weight, other than the building itself, that a building must carry or absorb?
live load
a construction method in which a single story wall is built and the next floor is built on the tops of the wall studs, creating vertical fire stopping to help minimize the fire spread?
platform construction framing
an event in which the building can accept the failure of a single component and still retain some strength, such as a curtain wall collapse?
partial collapse
a diagonal brace that serves primarily as a column but must absorb some beam forces as well
Raker
a force that causes a material to be torn in opposite directions perpendicular or diagonal to the material?
Shear
the crumbling and loss of concrete material when exposed to heat?
Spalling
Any seemingly decorative star or other metal plate used to distribute force over more bricks or clocks as part of an unseen corrective measure that exists inside a building?
Spreader
a force that causes a material to be stretched or pulled apart in line with the material?
Tension
The primary bearing column, beam or connection used to erect a building are all considered _________ _________ ?
structural elements
a load that is imposed in a manner that causes another object to twist?
Torsional load
a series of triangles used to form an open web structural element to act as a beam. In many ways a fake beam, because it uses geometric shapes, lightweight materials and assembly components to transfer loads just like a beam?
Truss
A decorative wall finish that supports only its own weight?
veneer wall
the lightweight era building collapses gradually in fire conditions. Is this true or false?
False
the most common type of construction is…
Type V
Wood Frame
brown or dark smoke coming from lightweight engineered wood products means that ______
is up.
Time
Description A:
-Structural elements are of an approved noncombustible or limited combustible material with sufficient fire-resistive ratings to withstand the affects of fire and prevent its spread from storey to storey
-Examples of buildings are high-rises, mega-malls, large stadiums and arenas, large parking garages, and larger hospitals
Due to their size, most buildings rely on protective systems to rapidly detect and extinguish fires
Type I: Fire-Resistive
what is necessary to cause structural degradation to engineered wood products? (Fire, Fire, Heat, Heat)
direct fire
proximity to fire
considerable heat
heated smoke
Description B:
- Structural Elements
Are of an approved non-combustible or limited-combustible material
Have sufficient fire-resistive rating to withstand the effects of fire and prevent its spread from story to story
- More often than not, buildings are steel
Fire spread in building is influenced by the contents
Although the structure itself does not “burn”, rapid collapse is possible by means of the burning contents’ heat release, stressing the steel
Type II: Non-combustible
Description C:
- Load-bearing walls are noncombustible (masonry) and the roof and floor assemblies are wood.
- the primary fire and collapse concerns with ordinary construction are the many void spaces in which fire can spread undetected
- Masonry walls hold heat inside, making for difficult firefighting.
Type III: Ordinary
Description D:
- Buildings that have block or brick exterior load bearing walls and interior structural elements of a substantial dimension (Greater than 8 inches (20cm) in thickness and width).
- A new building in this type is hard to find; the cost of large-dimension lumber and/or laminated wood beams makes this type of construction rare
- Fire spread can be fast due to wide-open areas and content exposure
- If the building housed machinery at one time, oil soaked floors add heat to the fire and accelerate collapse.
Type IV: Heavy Timber
Description E:
- This is perhaps the most common construction type
- The primary concern is that they are made from a combustible material
- Fire and heat that penetrate or degrade the protective drywall wall will then attack the wooden elements, creating a collapse threat, especially in newer buildings
Type V: Wood Frame
Description F:
- Two common types:
Insulated concrete form (ICF) buildings use expanded polystyrene (EPS) to form a concrete mold for walls
- Structural insulated panel (SIP) buildings are those in which the load-bearing walls and roof are made from panels of OSB and EPS
- Firefighters should expect rapid collapse as a result of the low-mass, high-surface-to-mass exposure of structural elements
Type VI: Hybrid
List in order the five step analytical approach to predicting building collapse: (BSVEP)
1: (Building) Classify building using type/era/use/size approach
2: (Structural Involvement) Determine structural involvement
3: (Visualize) Visualize/trace loads
4: (Evacuation) Evacuation Time
5: (Predict) Predict and communicate collapse potential
Identify the correct four construction influences that help the fire officer classify the building: (TUES)
- Type (I/II/III/IV/V/Hybrid)
- Use (Single Family Dwelling, Multi FD, Main Street retail, Manufacturing, Public Assembly, Institutional, Misc.)
- Era (Founders, Industrial, Legacy, Lightweight)
- Size (S/M/L/Big Box, Mega-Box, High Rise)
Name 6 classic “LATE” signs of collapse (signs in the building condition)
- bulging walls/cracks in wall
- sagging
- signs of construction/alterations
- water out doesn’t match water in
- settling noises
- window fractures/stuck doors
