Brannigan's Building Construction for the Fire Service 5th edition Flashcards
Number of firefighters killed in 2012 from collapse, falling through floors, running out of air, enveloped by explosion, or struck by falling debris
9
m’aider
Mayday
Considered a policing function
Inspection
Critical to clarify communication, enhance professionalism, ensure safety
Proper building construction terminology
Goes a step beyond the basic preplanning
Prefire analysis
Number one priority when considering the risks to any particular situation
Firefighter safety
Two main subjects that firefighters must throughly understand
- Fire behavior
- Building construction
Greatest of all firefighter enemies
Gravity
The eternal enemy of every building
Gravity
Load may be a ___ load and a ___ load at the same time
- Live load
- Impact load
KIP =
1000 lbs
Four types of forces
- Compression
- Tension
- Torsion
- Shear
Fire resistance is closely related to ___
Mass
Live loads are any load other than ___
Dead loads
___ loads can be accurately calculated where as ___ loads are indeterminate
- Dead loads
- Live loads
Office floor must be able to sustain at least ___psf as well as have the ability to sustain a load of ___psf at a specific location for individual collected heavy objects
- 50 psf
- 2,000 psf
Water weighs
8.34 lbs/g
Type of collapse that is a particular hazard in the construction of concrete frame building
Progressive colapse
Two types of modifications that use distance as a means to minimize the effects of a bomb exploded near the building
- Locating building away from the street
- Placing bollards (posts) and barriers
Shear walls resist
Lateral loads
Two types of framing that resist lateral wind and earthquake loads
- Braced frame
- Moment frame
Heavy riveting of girders to columns from top to bottom of the frame is called
Portal bracing
Type of floor that is designed to stiffen the building against wind and other lateral loads
Diaphragm floor
Externally braced buildings are known as ___, as contrasted with Core construction
Tube construction
An axial load is ___ to the plane
Perpendicular
A structure will sustain its greatest load when the load is
Axial
An eccentric load is ____ to the plane
Perpendicular but does not pass through the center of the section
Expressed as Q`
Heat release rate (HRR)
Information needed to asses the fire load in terms of pounds/sqft (3)
- Weight of combustable material
- Caloric value
- Floor area
Btu
1 pound of water 1 degree F
Two estimates for caloric values are commonly used
Wood, paper =
Plastics/Combustable liquid =
Wood, paper = 8,000 Btu/lb
Plastics/Combustable liquid = 16,000 Btu/lb
Q` is usually expressed in terms of (3)
- Watts (W)
- Kilowatts (KW)
- Megawatts (MW)
Safety factors:
Steel =
Masonry =
Steel = 2 Masonry = 10
The oldest structural member
Beam
Load-carrying capacity of a beam is increased by
Square of it depth
Three types of beams
- Simple
- Continuous (supported at ≥ 3)
- Fixed
A diagonal member that supports what would otherwise be a cantilever
Bracket
A beam that supports other beams
Girder
A beam that carries the load on the exterior of a framed building between the top of one window and the bottom of the window above
Spandrel Girder
A beam that spans the opening in a masonry wall
Lintel
A series of closely spaced beams
Grillage
Moves loads laterally when its not convenient to arrange columns one above the other
Transfer beams
Compressive connecting members of a truss
Struts
Connections in a truss are called
Panel points
Doubling the length of a beam decreases its carrying capacity by
Half
Columns loose strength by the square of the change in
Length
Most effective shape of a column
One that distributes the material equally around the axis as far as possible from the center of the cylinder
Types of columns (3)
- Piers
- Long slender
- Intermediate
Known as Euler’s Law columns
Very long, thin columns
Formula for Euler’s Law
Pc = π2EI/L2
Pc = Critical load π = 3.1415 squared E = Modulus of elasticity of material I = Moment of inertia L2 = Length of column squared
Wind load is an example of this kind of force
Flexural force
Two divisions of walls
- Load bearing
- Nonload bearing
Load bearing wall common to tow structures
Party wall
Ways in which walls are braced or stiffened (4)
- Buttresses
- Pilasters
- Wall columns
- Cavity or hollow walls
Arches can have this many hinges
3
Vital part of a structures gravity resistance system
Connections which transfer the load from one structural element to another
Two general types of connections
- Pinned
- Rigid frame
Connections that redirect overloads to other sections of the building are known as
Plastic design
Steel hated to 1,000F elongates ___ inches per 100 feet of length
9.5 inches
Unprotected steel rods and cables fail at
800F
A residential structure will usually be designed for a floor load of about ___ to ___ psf
30 to 40 psf
Combines the function of a beam and a column
Arch
Defined as a line of columns in any direction
Bent
Fire that caused for a national push for model building codes
Great Baltimore Fire of 1904
Decides which materials will be used
Architect
Caissons are typically constructed of
Concrete
All building have 3 structural components
- Superstructure
- Substructure
- Foundation
Crosslot bracing rakers and tiebacks
Used to protect against collapse of soil walls during excavation
Ammonia is explosive in concentrations of ___ to ___
15 to 25%
32/16 panel
- Cover rafters at 32” apart
- Cover joists at 16” apart
Define:
- Board
- Dimensional lumber
- Timber
- Board = ≤ 2” thick
- Dimensional lumber = 2-4” thick
- Timber = ≥ 5” thick
Wet wood has ___ strength than dry wood
Less
When portland cement became available
1880
Cement is a component of
Concrete
One-fourth the weight of traditional concrete
Aerated autoclave concrete
Carbon contant:
- Wrought iron
- Cast iron
- Wrought iron = 0.2%
- Cast iron = 3-4% (very brittle)
Structural steel fails at about
1,000 to 1,100F
First sign of serious fire in a closed structure
Violent pressure failure of the windows
Resistance to tensile loads is directly related to the ___ makeup of a material
Cross-section
Three negative characteristics of structural steel
- Conducts heat
- Elongates
- Fails at about 1,000 to 1,100 F
The insurance industry took the lead and prepared this in 1906
National Building Code
NFPA organized in
1896
Fire codes and building codes are updated every
3 years
Two of the most important test standards
- ASTM E-119
- ASTM E-84
___% of a building codes deals with fire safety
75%
Building construction Type 1A is fire resistive construction with a ___ hour fire rated structural frame
3 hour
NFPA 5000 uses an additional three-digit numbering scheme to designate the subcategories of each type of construction
- 1st number
- 2nd number
- 3rd number
- 1st number = Load bearing walls
- 2nd number = Beams and columns
- 3rd number = Floor construction
Three components of a means of egress
- Exit access
- Exit
- Exit discharge
Fire rating for corridors leading to a public way
1 hour
Generally a max travel distance of ___ ft to get to a fire rated stairway or exit
200’
In Group R occupancies windows must be a min of ___ sq ft with a min of ___ in. in width and ___ in, in height
- 5.7 sq ft
- 20 inches wide
- 24 inches high
Two types of elevators
- Electric cable
- Hydraulic piston
Occupant evacuation elevators are intended for the self-evacuation of occupants in building more than ___ ft in height
420 feet
Fire service elevators are found in new buildings taller than ___ ft and have a minimum lobby area of ___ sq ft
- 120’
- 150 sq ft
Horizontal exits have fire rated walls that are typically rated at ___ hrs
2 hours
Four essential elements of fire
- Fuel
- Oxidizing agent
- Heat
- Uninhibited chemical chain reaction
Four stages of fire
- Incipient
- Free burning
- Flashover
- Smoldering/decay
Primary factor influencing a fire
Oxygen supply
Construction factors influencing fire behavior (5)
- Combustible interior finishes
- Vertical openings
- Height of the room
- Proximity of wall to each other
- HVAC system
Aluminum will melt at around
1,200F
Fire growth contents problem can rest from any of the following elements (3)
- Furnishings
- Interior finish/decorations
- Mercantile stock
Commonly used as insulating sheathing on wood-framed building or as soundproofing
Fiberboard
Three way in which interior finishings may increase the fire hazard
- Increase fire extension by surface flame spread
- May generate smoke and toxic gases
- May add fuel to the fire contributing to flashover
Key factor in a five alarm fire in the Empire State Building
Cork paneling
Robertson protected metal
Asphalt-coated steel
A defective ballast in fluorescent light fixture can reach temps of
1,500F
Often provides the first warning of most fires
Smoke
HCN
Hydrogen Cyanide
HCN is believed to be as great a danger as
CO
Exposure in which the concentration (ppm) x minutes exposed = 33,000 is likely to be dangerous
Harber’s rule
Most common toxic fire gas
CO
Research at NIST has pointed out that CO can be generated up to ___ times as much in enclosed voids as in the open
50 times as much
Most expensive by-product of fire suppression
Water
From a historical perspective ___ has always been a primary objective
Fire containment
Limiting fire spread from building to building is accomplished through several means (5)
- Restrictions on area/height
- Limits on the combustibility of roofs and exterior wall surfaces
- Minimum separation distances between buildings
- Limits on openings in exterior walls
- Fire-resistive exterior walls
A primary concern in fire protection
Life safety
Most important elements of life safety (2)
- Proper means of egress
- Protection against hazards
Generally accepted indications of imminent collapse (4)
- Floors/roofs softening
- Water flowing through bricks
- Smoke pushing out through mortar
- Strange noises
What fire resistance does not provide (3)
- Life safety
- Smoke control
- Protection of dollar loss
Standard time-temp curve is unchanged for more than ___ years
80 years
Time-temp curve:
- 5 min
- 1 hr
- 4 hr
- 5 min = 1000F
- 1 hr = 1700F
- 4 hr = 2000F
Flame spread over reinforced concrete board
0
Flame spread is classified as:
- Class A =
- Class B =
- Class C =
- Class A = 0 - 25
- Class B = 26 - 75
- Class C = 76 - 200
Materials with a smoke-developed rating ___ can be expected to generate substantial amounts of smoke
≥ 300
Critical Radiant Flux Test measures
- A materials ability to resist flame spread
- The higher the CRF number the less flammable
2 classes of interior floor finish ratings
Class I =
Class II =
- Class I = CFR minimum ≥0.45 watt/sq cm
- Class II = CFR minimum ≥0.22 watt/sq cm
Developed to monitor vibrations in a structure that might be a precursor to collapse
HOBS, Health of Burning Structures
In a simulated basement fire an exposed wooden I-beam collapsed in ___min
6:03 minutes
Fire resistive assemblies (3)
- Fire walls (2-4 hr)
- Fire partitions (1 hr)
- Fire barrier (1-2 hr)
Fire door ratings range
20 min - 3 hr
One of the most important aspects of a fire door
Its ability to close and latch closed
Fire doors close by 3 methods
- Swinging (most common)
- Sliding
- Rolling
Two types of fire door closure devices
- Self-closing
- Automatic
Inspections of fire doors should include the following (6)
- Operating fire door and shutters
- Raising the counterweight to ensure door closes
- Inspecting doors for damage
- Inspecting all hardware
- Checking the fusible link
- Checking the proper operation of “door coordinators”
4 major classes of sprinkler systems
- Wet pipe
- Dry pipe
- Preaction
- Deluge
Sprinkler systems are ___ designed
Hydraulically
NFPA has developed a set of occupancy classifications (5)
- Light hazard
- Ordinary hazard group 1
- Ordinary hazard group 2
- High hazard group 1
- High hazard group 2
There are ___ incentives (reductions in requirements) in the IBC
200
Tax or insurance incentives (4)
- Elimination of value of sprinkler system from assessed valuation
- Property tax rebates
- Elimination of water dept fees
- Insurance premiums reductions
After this fire the law was changed to require all factories more than 6 stories in height be sprinklered
Triangle Shirtwaist fire, 1911
___% of recent library fires are due to arson
85%
Sprinkler systems should be backed up by FD …
As soon as possible
Sprinklers should not be shut off as long as..
Hot water is falling down
Fire department education on the impairment of sprinkler systems should include training on the following (4)
- Basic knowledge of sprinkler protection
- Why sprinklers are installed
- Department policy on procedure and practices involving sprinkler systems
- Detailed knowledge of situations that decrease or destroy the efficiency of sprinklers
Fundamental purpose of a sprinkler system
Hit the incipient fire with enough water to control it
Outside valves are most often
Post indicating valves
B L E V E
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion
ESFR (3)
- Early suppression, fast response
- As much as 100 fpm per sprinkler
- 3/4” orifice
A single sprinkler riser can cover
- 52,000 sq ft
- 40,000 for high piled stock
Class I & II standpipes are capable of providing ___gpm at ___ psi at each hose valve
- 250 gpm
- 100 psi
Class II standpipe capable of supplying ___gpm at ___psi
- 100 gpm
- 65 psi
Types of standpipes (4)
- Automatic wet
- Semiautomatic dry
- Manual dry
- Manual wet
High rises must be fought with ___ in hose lines with ___ nozzles
- 2 1/2” hose lines
- Smoothbore nozzles
Standpipe preplanning considerations (5)
- Sketch the system
- Type of water supply
- Types of hose valves
- FDC and areas it serves
- Connection to the fire alarm system
Firefighting considerations for operating a standpipe system (5)
- Supply the FDC
- Verify that the main control valve is open
- Note the pressure on the main riser gauge
- Ensure the pump is working
- Be wary of dry standpipe systems
Types of indicating devices (5)
- Strobes
- Hornes
- Chimes, buzzers, sirens
- Speakers
- Lamps
Water flow switches are more reliable indicators of the actual location of a fire than …
Smoke detectors
Estimated time between alarm and start of extinguishment in a high rise
20 min
Categories of smoke management systems (4)
- Smoke control
- Purge
- Zoned smoke control
- Air flow
Heavy timber smallest dimension
8”
6 types of wood frame buildings
- Log cabin
- Post and frame (England, Germany)
- Balloon frame
- Platform frame
- Plank and beam
- Truss frame
Balloon frame was built prior to
1940
Max number of stories for platform frame construction
3
Empire state building weighs ___ lbs/ft3; Modern high rises weigh ___ lbs/ft3
- 23 lbs/ft3
- 8 lbs/ft3
As important to the fire service as collapse
Hidden fires
Flammability range of CO and its ignition temp
- 12.5% - 74%
- 1,128F
Considered most dangerous of all structural members
- Wooden I-Joists
- Lightweight wood truss
Firestops
Draftstops
Firestops = Vertical stop, 2" Draftstop = Horizontal stop, 1/2" gypsum
UL subjects pressure treated wood to a test for ___ min rather then the usual 10 min
30 minutes
Swell up when heated
Intumescent coatings
Usually the final even in any structure fire
Collapse
The only fire protection measure that can reasonably be expected to prevent a disaster in a heavy timber building
Full fire sprinkler protection
Chief common characteristic of ordinary construction
Exterior walls are made of masonry
Simple wood beam floor is satisfactory for buildings up to a practical limit of about …
25’ in width
Tallest old-style masonry bearing wall building
Monadnock Building. Chicago. 15 stories high
In recent years, high rise brick buildings with no wall thicker than ___ in. and mid rise building with no wall thicker than ___in.
- 12 in
- 8 in
Problems of ordinary construction (4)
- Structural stability
- Stability of the interior column, girder, beam
- Void spaces
- Masonry as a barrier to fire extention
Colapse zone
1.5 times the height
A horizontal crack in a masonry wall may indicate
The wall is being pushed out by a steel roof beam that is elongating in summer heat
Ways to stabilize a wall (3)
- Buttress (outside the wall)
- Pilasters (in the wall)
- Wall column (within the wall)
The effective strength of wood under fire attack is determined by
The size of its thinest portion
Beam to beam connections (4)
- Mortis and tenon joints
- Notched beam
- Metal joist hangers
- Heavy steal or wright iron straps
Primary and secondary purpose of a roof
Primary = Keep out the wether and enclose Secondary = Stabilize the structure
Roof types (7)
- Flat
- Gable
- Hip
- Gambrel
- Shed
- Mansard
- Dome
Best roof is one in which the roof beams rest on
Girders
Important void spaces in any multistory, wood joisted building
The joist spaces
Masonry buildings with spans greater than ___ ft must have interior bering walls
25’
Known as brick and wood-joisted constructed
Ordinary construction
Indications of building failure (5)
- Smoke/water flowing through walls
- Soft floors
- Small partial collapse
- Walls out of plumb
- Time since arrival
Noncumbustable building have a maximum building height of
12 stories
Most important metal used n building construction
Steel
Steels modulus of elasticity
29 million lb/sq in.
Steels compressive strength = tension strength and its shear strength is
three-quarters of its tensile strength
Fire resistance is a function of
mass
Characteristics of steel (4)
- Substantial elongation takes place at 1000F
- At 1300F steel members may completely fail
- Cold-drawn steel will fail at 800F
- Transmits heat readily
From most critical to least critical the following is how heat evolved by fire can be triaged (3)
- Heat being absorbed by contents or structural elements that will be ignited or cause to fail (heat removal is critical)
- Heat being evolved by contents that are burning
- Heat leaving the strucure
Steel bar
A plate fewer than 6” in width, may also be square or round
Wide flamed beams that have been cut in a zigzag pattern
Castellated beams
Lally column
Circular steel column made fire resistive by filling it with concrete
“WF”
Wide flange
Abbreviations used for different-snapped steel members
- C
- CB
- L
- S
- W
- WT
- C = Channels
- CB = Castellated Beam
- L = Angles
- S = American Standard (I-beam)
- W = Wide flange beams and columns
- WT = Structural tees
Abbreviations are used along with a set of numbers on architectural blueprints
- First number
- Second number
- First number = Depth of the member in inches
- Second number = Weight of the member per foot of length in pounds
Rigid frames can provide clear spans of about ___ ft
100 ft
Common wall materials of steel framed buildings (8)
- Cement asbestos board
- Glass fiber reinforced plastics
- Aluminum
- Precast prestressed concrete panels
- Masonry
- Galvanized steel
- Metal panels
- Light gauge steel
In a pinned building loads are carried to the nearest
Column
Self storage facilities have many of the same characteristics of
Ships
Steel will expand ___% to ___% in length fro each 100F rise in temp
0.06% to 0.07%
Joists will generally fail in about ___ min
7 minutes
7 options to the designer to deal with steels characteristics as they relate to fire risk
- Ignore the problem
- Rely on inadequate code enforcement
- Take a calculated risk
- Protect (insulate) the steel
- Protect the steel with sprinklers
- Protect the steal with internal water cooling system
- Locate the steel out of the range of fire
Building codes generally classify steel buildings into two categories
- Unprotected noncombustible
- Protected noncombustible
Protected refers to physically protected steel
3 classes of calculated risks
- Financial/economic
- Engineering
- Forget it
Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM
Rubber roof
Accepted term for a roofing that meets a testing lab standards
Approved roof
Heat and time required to start a self sustaining roof fire on a metal deck roof
800F for 5 min
Prefire planning for steel structures must begin with a determination of
The type of protection provided for the steel
Steel structures can be divided into four types
- Unprotected
- Dynamically protected
- Passively protected
- Passive dynamic combo protection
Water flow requirement for spray systems designed to protect tanks and steel supports from flammable liquid spill fires
0.25 gpm/sq ft
Secondary objective of preplanning for any major hazard
Reduce the severity of the hazard
Radiant energy is proportional to
The fourth power of the absolute temp
Concrete required to reach design strength in 28 days is sometimes referred to as
28-day concrete
Problems fire departments face regarding concrete construction (3)
- Collapse during construction without fire
- Fire during construction
- Fire in completed, occupied buildings
2 basic types of in-concrete construction
- Cast-in-place concrete
- Precast concrete
A structure above the roofline
Penthouse
The floor plate itself rests directly on the columns
Flat plate structural system (or continuous beam)
Installed near the surface of concrete, usually at flat angles
Temperature rods
Ties or hoops
Lateral reinforcements that join rods in a column
Steel has ___ times the compressive strength as concrete
15 times
Advantage of post tensioning
Floors can be thiner
Economic height limit of an ordinary brick bearing wall building
6 stories but as tall as 20 stories with no wall thicker than 12”
With formwork the builder hopes to contain a fluid load that can provide a head pressure of up to ___ lb/ft2 for each foot of height
150 lb/ft2
Concrete poured at 50F will develop ___ more pressure than at 70F
one-third
Planks on which the shores rest are called
Mudsills
Most common and most dangerous heating method around a building under construction
Liquified petroleum gas LPG
Hanging tendons fail at about
800F
Fireproofing of steel is classified as (2)
- Individual
- Membrane
The most permeant fireproofing
Concrete
Fire protection advantage of concrete
Lacks inherent voids
Concrete in fire resistive construction serves tow purposes
- Resists compressive stresses
- protects the tensile strength of steel from fire
Anticipate collapse based on conditions such as (4)
- Knowledge of problematic existing building conditions
- Dangerous loads
- Cutting tensioned cables
- Heavy fire conditions over an extended period of time
Objectives f the LEED program (6)
- Lower operating costs and increase asset value
- Reduce waste sent to landfills
- Conserve energy and water
- Be healthier and safer for occupants
- Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions
- Qualify for ax rebates, zoning allowances
Green systems and materials fall into four general categories
- Eco-friendly materials
- Energy conservation
- Water conservation
- Energy generation
Eco friendly materials (6)
- Bamboo
- Adobe
- Straw bale
- Cob
- Biopolymers
- Ammonia
Ammonia will burn in concentrations as low as
16%
Energy conservation measures (5)
- Polystyrene insulation
- Polyurethane insulation
- Radiant barrier
- Glass
- Green roof
Problems associated with PV roof panels (4)
- Electrical shock
- Dead load
- Release of hazardous material from fire
- Batteries
Two general types of solar water heating systems
- Active
- Passive
Called “Stud-less” wall assemblies
Structural insulated panels (SIP)
Codes are written and issued every
3 years
Tenants should be advised to help themselves in four basic ways
- Be fully insured
- Keep property of unique value in a bank vault
- Call FD immediately
- In a fire evacuate immediately
Natural gas meters in an apartment complex are located
In one basement location
Best way to establish the amount of water available at an apartment
Have the owner conduct a flow test
Fire rating of a wood-stud and floor beams combined with gypsum
1 hour or greater rating
Four principal deficiencies in the installation of gypsum board
- Nail heads are often not properly cemented over
- Joints not properly taped
- Deviations from the listing are permuted
- Nothing added for extra margins of safety
Automatic sprinklers that protect occupied spaces will most likely only extinguish
Contents fires
NFPA 13R is required to have a FDC of this size
1.5”
Tenements got their start in
1800’s
Safety changes to tenements (3)
- Better enclosures of stairwells
- More substantial apartment doors
- Exterior fire escapes
In the past codes consider atria to be openings that connect ___ floors and were a minimum of ___ ft on each side
- 3 floors
- 20 ft
Current codes consider atria to be openings that connect a minimum of ___ floors without a minimum size requirement
2 floors
Most dangerous time for a place of worship in terms of fire vulnerability is
During renovations
Fire protection in malls include (5)
- Complete sprinkler protection
- Smoke control system
- Standpipe system
- Emergency voice communication system
- Standby power
Class I standpipe system located in the following places in a mall (3)
- At the entrance to each corridor and exit passageway
- At each floor level in stairwell
- At exterior public entrances
Key to safe firefighting operations in a factory is to first understand (3)
- What is made
- How its made
- How the structure has been designed/altered to meet the manufacturing needs
Ignites in air without the introduction of an ignition source
Pyrophoric gas
Principal life safety question in any building
How long it takes occupants to reach a safe environment
Era of Fire resistive building
- No standards for protecting steel
- Cast-iron columns often unprotected
- Terra-cotta fireproofing was compromised by concealed lightweight conduit
- Segmental brick or tile arch floors
_ wooden floor beams were placed on piers creating a void under the floor
1870 - 1930
Era of fire resistive building
- Were excellent building
1930 - 1940
Helped to remove limits to floor areas
- Fluorescent lights
- Air conditioning
In a modern office building possibly ___% or more of the floor volume is located in the ceiling void
25%
Since the ___, fire codes have required fire command centers in all new high-rises
1970’s
Common problems and hazards with High rises (5)
- Exits
- Occupancy
- Accommodation or access stairs
- Forcible entry
- Elevators
Landing zone of an elevator
18” above or below the floor landing
The principal smoke moving mechanism
Thermal energy of fire
Atmospheric temperature is constantly ___ as height increases
Degreasing
Wind blowing against a building seem to split ___ of the way up the building
Two-thirds
Moder high rises weigh about __ or ___ lb/ft3
8 or 9 lb/ft3
Stack is most significant in ___ climates
Cold
In the summertime the stack affect is reversed and often called
Reverse stack affect (the flow is downward)
Breakable tempered glass windows are typically spaced on ___ ft centers
50 ft
Considered the core of fire safety for occupants of high rises
Sprinklers
Five occupancy classifications of detention facilities
- Use Condition 1
- Use Condition 2
- Use Condition 3
- Use Condition 4
- Use Condition 5
- Use Condition 1 = Free movement within building from smoke compartment to smoke compartment and to exterior
- Use Condition 2 = Free movement within building from smoke compartment to smoke compartment
- Use Condition 3 = Free movement within building within a smoke compartment
- Use Condition 4 = Free movement is permuted within an occupied space within a smoke compartment
- Use Condition 5 = Free movement is restricted from the occupied space
The original high stack storage building
Libraries
1942 Cocoanut Grove fire
Killed 492
In schools corridor widths are much larger than normal
6 ft in most cases
Single-family homes
- Roof rafters as small as 2x4 or 2x6, no ridge beam
- 1 1/2 storied home with steep pitched roof
- Open interiors, large attics, extended overhangs
- Three floors joined by short run stairways
- Catchall for many styles from the mid to late 1800’s
- California bungalow
- Cape Cod
- Ranch
- Split level
- Victorian
Taxpayers typically have the following characteristics (5)
- Ordinary (type III) construction
- One story
- Full or partial basements
- Limited to 6-10 small stores
- Common cockloft
Fire rating requirements for walls separating occupancies in a strip mall
1, 2, 3, or 4 hour rating
Fire rating requirements for similar occupancies in a strip mall
No rated separation required
Area separation wall, aka
Fire wall
Draft stops are required in Strip mall attics to limit their size to ___ sq ft and floor void spaces to ___ sq ft
- 2000 sq ft
- 1000 sq ft
Codes require automatic sprinklers for retail sales room larger than ___ sq ft
12,000 sq ft
New night clubs with occupant loads over ___ or over ___ sq ft are sprinklered
- 100
- 5000 sq ft
Fire protection requirements for stages (7)
- Fire resistant proscenium curtain
- Flame resistant scenery
- Heat vents over stage
- 2 hour rated separation between stage and appurtenant
- Sprinklered over stage and accessory rooms
- Special stage exit
- Class III standpipe w/ 1.5” hose and nozzle
Codes define underground buildings as
30 ft below level of exit discharge
Code calls for underground buildings to be provided with (7)
- Automatic sprinklers
- Standpipe
- Emergency power
- Fire alarm system
- Public address system
- Smoke management system
- Smokeproof enclosure
Most common underground buildings
Rail transit stations
Principal contributing factors to serious warehouse fires (8)
- Huge concentrations of fuel
- Tremendous dollar values
- Few employees per unit of area
- Failure to segregate extra hazardous materials
- Failure to raise the bottom layer of stock above the floor
- Vulnerability to arson
- Failure of management to give serious attention to potential fire problem
- Inadequate fire protection
FDCs are required by NFPA 13 except for systems with ___ or fewer sprinklers
20
As many as ___% of fire doors in supposedly well protected properties have been found to be inoperable
50%
Most dependable fire barrier in a warehouse
Solid masonry wall parapeted through the roof
First critical need in the initial planning and plan review stage of a warehouse
To establish what is being stored
Codes call for firefighter access doors every ___ ft in high piled stock warehouse
100 ft
Width of garment cutting tables are permuted to be
48”
Ship’s ladder
Vertical stairs not more that 24” wide
Firefighter greatest killer
Heart attack
Essential element in maintaining situational awareness
Communication
General visual indicators fo collapse (5)
- Cracks in walls
- Leaning walls
- Pitched or sagging floor
- Racked doorways
- The presence of building stabilization and bracing features
Audible and physical indicators of collapse (7)
- Moaning/groaning sounds
- Cracking noises
- Any type of movement
- Movement/shifting of water on floor
- Smoke pushing through cracks in wall
- Vibrations
- Lack of water runoff
Environmental precipitators of collapse (4)
- Heavy snow or rain load on roof
- Heavy wind conditions
- Earthquake
- Impact load
Occupancy precipitators of collapse (3)
- Overloading of floors/roof
- Concentrated loads
- Waterlogged goods
Existing structural instability precipitators of collapse (6)
- Structural compromises of load bearing members during renovations
- Previous fire damage
- Rotting or corrosion of structural members
- Compromised/broken structural elements
- Eccentrically loaded columns
- Buildings under renovation/construction and buildings being moved
Fire and explosion damage precipitators of collapse (3)
- Sustained to moderate fire conditions
- Explosion
- Loss of wood structural mass (beams) due to fire attack
Lightweight construction precipitators of collapse (2)
the greatest collapse danger to firefighters
- Unprotected bare steel members to fire
- Wooden I-beams and lightweight wood trusses subjected to fire
Type of collapse:
Complete failure of the building
Global collapse
Type of collapse:
Collapse of a portion of a building
Partial collapse
Type of collapse:
Loss of localized load-varying capability, initiating a chain reaction of subsequent failure
Progressive collapse
Type of collapse:
Additional collapse after the initial collapse
Secondary collapse
Type of collapse:
Each floor (roof) laying flat on the one below
- Voids less prevalent
Pancake collapse
Type of collapse:
One end of the floor is still supported
- Triangle void space
Lean-to-floor collapse
Type of collapse:
Floor fails near its center with perimeter still partially supported
- 2 voids
V-shaped collapse
Type of collapse:
End of the floor is still supported while the other end is unsupported
Cantilever collapse
Type of collapse:
One end of the collapsed floor is supported by an interior wall
- 2 voids
A-frame floor collapse (tent collapse)
Type of collapse:
Exterior wall fails horizontally, interior wall folding horizontally, top portion of building falls inward, bottom half falls outward
- Braced frame building particularly susceptible to this type of collapse
Inward outward collapse
Type of collapse:
Entire wall falls as one unit
90-degree wall collapse
Type of collapse:
Leaning into adjacent buildings or totally collapsing sideways
-Usually limited to wood frame structures
Lean over collapse
Type of collapse:
Wall falls like a curtain
Curtain wall collapse
Firefighters must remain at least ___ height of the wall away
Full height of the wall
Minimum level of competence that all firefighters should have when dealing with a building collapse (2)
- NFPA 1670
- NFPA 1006
The load carrying capacity of a beam increases by …
The square of it’s depth
A beam that spans an opening in a masonry wall
Lintel
The shape of a material affects its ability to resist…
A compressive load or a defective load
Not a consideration in tensile strength
Shape
Sprinkler system where all sprinklers discharge at once
Deluge
At the floor line of a balloon frame building, the horizontal board that is nailed to the studs is called
Ribbon board
Eliminating the ___ intermediate fire load greatly reduces the potential for ignition of the roof
Intermediate fire load
The effective strength of the wood under fire attack is determined by the size of ____ and not the ___ of the member as a whole
- the thinnest portion
- the mass
Steel structural components that have a U-shaped cross section
Channel
Typically thick concrete pads, blocks, or strips of concrete below the surface of the surrounding soil that transfer the loads of walls, piers, or columns to the ground
Footing
The only construction material that does not yield heat when burned in pure oxygen
Gypsum
Term used to describe the movement of air inside a building due to the difference in temperature between the air inside the building and outside the building
Stack effect