Brannigans Building Construction CH.4 Building & Fire Codes Flashcards by carlos rivera

this type of special building requires fire alarm & detection system, full sprinkler protection, public address, low level exit signs and Class A rating for all interior finishes

special amusement buildings

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it was not until 1873 that this group developed a set of 8 simple fire protection concerns dealing with items such as “inflammable materials” as well as limitations on the excess height of buildings and fire escapes that were actually serviceable for invalids, women and children

National Association of Fire Engineers (NAFE; known today as International Association of Fire Chiefs)

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real push for national building and fire regulation’s came in the wake of what?

Great Baltimore Fire of 1904

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insurance industry took lead and prepared what code in 1906?

National Building Code of 1906

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organized in 1896, started building regulations during this period; issued sprinkler system standard followed by National Electric Code in 1897

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

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complete regulatory documents that can be adopted by cities and states as they are written

model codes

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prepared by Building Officials and Code Admin. International (organized in 1915) was used in North and Midwest

National Building Code

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used in West and Southwest; prepared by International Conference of building officials (1922)

Uniform Building Code

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prepared by Southern Building Code congress International (1945); used in Southeast

Standard Building Code

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older regionally adopted codes; no longer produced

legacy codes

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establish minimum set of requirements that need to be met, not necessarily what should be done in terms of fire protection from firefighting perspective

building and fire codes

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in addition to building codes, ICC and NFPA develop what?

fire codes

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regulate the construction of a building

building codes

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regulate the use of a building after it is built

fire codes

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unless building is renovated or modified, what is not applied retroactively?

building codes

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applies to all structures and conditions within them, including existing hazards that were created even before adoption of the code

fire code

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fire codes and building codes are updated every how many years by the NFPA and ICC?

every 3 years

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codes up to date every 3 years need to be adopted by the city or state if not it cannot be what?

enforced

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building codes rely on what for detailed regulations for installation of building systems, including fire protection systems?

standards

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specify WHERE systems are to be installed in building

building code

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specify HOW system is to be designed and installed in building

standards

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2 most important test standards

American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) E119, standard test methods for fire test of building construction materials
ASTM E84, standard test method for surface burning characteristics of building materials

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used for testing and assigning hourly ratings for fire walls, columns, and floor

ASTM E119, standard test methods for fire fire test building construction materials

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test flame spread characteristics of interior finishes

ASTM E84, standard test method for surface burning characteristics of building material

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WHAT % OF BUILDING CODE DEALS WITH FIRE SAFETY?

75%

5 types of construction

1. fire resistive 2. non combustible 3. ordinary 4. heavy timber 5. wood frame

International Building Code Type 1 =

fire resistive

International Building Code TYPE 2 =

non combustible

International Building Code Type 3 =

ordinary

International Building Code Type 4 =

heavy timber

International Building Code Type 5 =

wood frame

In the International Building Code, subcategory levels for each class refers to what?

amount of fire resistance provided for that type of construction (Type 1A)

fire resistive construction w/ 3 hour fire rated structural frame

Type 1A

NFPA 5000 uses 3 digit numbering scheme to designate what?

subcategories of each type of construction related to hourly rating of the structure

what does each number stand for in the NFPA 5000 3 digit numbering scheme for construction ? ( i.e. Type 3 (ordinary) w/ 211 rating)

first # = rating of load bearing wall 2nd # = beams and columns 3rd # = floor construction

TYPE 3 (ordinary) building w/ 211 rating

1st # = 2 hour fire rated load bearing wall 2nd # = 1 hour fire rated beams and columns 3rd # = 1 hour fire rated floors

allows buildings w/ mixed construction types such as a 5 story apartment building of type 3 construction to be built on tope of a 2 story parking garage of type 1 construction

International Building Code

building codes classify structures by their

occupancy types

relates the hazards of building and the type of occupants to specific regulations such as allowable area and height

occupancy classification

A1 Assembly examples

movie theaters, concert halls

A2 Assembly Examples

restaurants, nightclubs

A3 Assembly examples

churches, library

A4 Assemble

arenas, tennis courts

"B" buildings examples

offices, educational occupancies above 12th grade

"E" educational examples

grade-schooler, daycare

F1 Factory Moderate Hazard example

bakery, laundries, woodworking

F2 Factory Low Hazard

foundries, ice plants

H1 High Hazard

detonation hazards

H2 High Hazard

deflagration hazards

H3 High Hazard

physical hazards presented

H4 High Hazard

health hazards

H5 High Hazard

semiconductor

Institutional I1

Halfway houses, group homes

I2 Institutional

hospitals, nursing homes

I3 Institutional

prisons, jails

"M" Mercantile examples

dept. stores, drug stores

R1 Residential examples

hotels, motels

R2 Residential

apartment buildings, dormitories

R3 Residential

1 & 2 family homes

R4 Residential

assisted care facilities, residential care

Storage S1 Moderate Hazard examples

books, furniture

Storage S2 Low Hazard examples

cement in bags, fresh fruits, glass

Utility & Miscellaneous "U" examples

barns, carports, greenhouses

NFPA 5000 Assembly Occupancy types # of occupants

>1000, >300, = 300 occupants

building codes regulate what 2 things depending on the construction classification and occupancy type ?

size and height of structure

building codes regulate size which =

size = area per floor in square feet before fire walls required to subdivide the area

building codes regulate height of structure which =

height = in terms of feet and stories

generally, the more dangerous the occupancy (in terms of life hazard and/ or activities taking place inside) and the more combustible the construction (i.e. wood frame) permits for what size of building?

smaller and shorted building permissible (I.E. building code wouldn't allow a wood frame hospital of 12 stories w/ 30,000 ft2 per floor)

installation of what reduces other code requirements for the building, including allowable area and height?

installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems

much larger buildings can be erected, w/ more combustible type of construction simply by what?

installing fire sprinklers

installation of fire sprinkler allow for trade offs not only for allowable area and height but also for reduction in what?

reductions in egress requirements structural fire resistance increases in quantities of hazardous materials in some cases

regulate the special types pf hazards present in a building such as atria and high rise structures

building and fire codes

special hazards include

underground buildings hazardous material use storage facilities stages and platforms covered malls

building and fire codes set the requirements for emergency egress including what

# of exit stairwells travel distance width of doorway and corridors

number of feet from any point in a building to a fire rated stairwell or outdoors

travel distance

3 components of means of egress

the exit access the exit the exit discharge

actual path from any point in a building to a fire rated stairwell (or outdoors)

exit access

rated stairwell or exit passageway and the opening (door) to the outside

the exit

essentially a higher rated corridor that connects a stairwell to the exterior of a building when the stairwell is not located on an exterior wall

exit passageway

simply from the outside door to a public wall (i.e. street, public sidewalk)

exit discharge

# of people that the code anticipates can occupy a space given the occupancy type

occupant load

in a building, all rooms must have one what?

once code compliant means of egress

in a building, as occupant load increases, what must be increased as well ?

# of doors/paths

rating for corridors

often 1 hour

rating for corridor doors

often 20 mins

rating for stairwells for 3 stories & 4 stories and up

up to 3 stories: 1 hour 4 stories or more: 2 hours

"Step" or horizontal surface of step that foot is placed upon; stairs

tread

vertical portion of the stair that "rises" b/w treads

riser

typical tread & riser dimension

tread: 11 in riser: 7 in

how far an occupant must travel to get to a fire rated stairwell or outside exit; important limitation/ provision of building and fire codes

travel distance

generally, in a building w/o an automatic fire sprinkler system the max. travel distance limitation should be how much ?

max 200 ft

buildings w/ fire sprinklers may have increased what?

travel distance limitations

a 2 hour fire rated wall typically running from exterior wall to exterior wall on an individual floor of a building

horizontal exit

used when travel distances to a fire rated stairwell or exit discharge are excessive

horizontal exit

means of egress doors for places of assembly. schools and hospitals require the use of what (known as fire exit hardware when used on fire doors) ?

panic hardware

characterized by a bar that opens door with a simple push to avoid a pileup behind the door

panic hardware

are required for all sleeping rooms in residential occupancies (i.e. hotels, dormitories, apartments, 1-2 fam dwellings, group "R" occupancies) below the 4th floor for you to rescue trapped occupants

exterior emergency escape & rescue windows

rescue window dimensions

min. 5.7 ft^2in area min. 20 in wide & 24 in high

used of what on windows is prohibited by all model codes?

fixed burglar bars

have not been permitted to be installed on new buildings as means of egress since late 1960's

fire escapes

consists of steeps set of open grate metal stairs w/ tall rises and narrow treads; run zig zag pattern across face of building, connecting windows on each floor

fire escape

some fire escapes have what at the top to provide access to the roof?

vertical "gooseneck" ladder

in large buildings w/ many occupants such as theaters and factories, fire escape may use what to automatically descend to ground as weight of fleeing occupants is placed upon it

counterbalanced set of stairs

fire inspections of fire escapes involve a live load test of how much wt?

100 lb/ft^2

regulate the installation of fire protection systems

building and fire codes

ADA =

American w/ Disabilities Act of 1990

ADA w/ building and fire codes has lead to variety of provisions for disabled such as

visual and audible signaling devices ramps for wheelchair

smoke barrier protected rooms located near stairwells and are identified w/ international symbol of accessibility

area of refuge

aside from dealing w/ fire resistive assemblies and fire protection systems, this also covers issues such as fire apparatus access roads (fire lanes), smoke management fans for high piled combustible warehouse stock and flammable liquid storage rooms

fire code

according to the model fire codes, all existing and all new buildings (not only high rises) are required to have complete emergency what?

emergency responder radio coverage

proper fire protection requires what 2 types of features

passive & active(dynamic) fire protection features

in addition to building codes, ICC and NFPA facilitate development of what?

consensus based standards and codes

regulate the construction of a building

building codes

regulate the use of the building after it is built

fire codes

deals w/ ongoing maintenance of building code mandated fire resistive assemblies and fire protection systems (some specific construction type provisions as well)

fire code