Building Construction

Question 1

Type 1

Answer 1

Fire resistive:

• Concrete encased steel
• Monolithic-poured cement
• Steel with spray on fire protective coatings

High rises, sporting arenas, high volume dwellings

Rely on fire protective systems to rapidly detect and extinguish fires

Question 2

Type 2

Answer 2

Non-combustible:

Typically made from steel

Modern warehouses, small arenas, newer churches and schools, strip malls.

Because steel isn’t required to have resistive coatings, susceptible to deformation and collapse.

Question 3

Type 3

Answer 3

Ordinary construction:

Load bearing walls are non-combustible, while roof and floor assemblies (including interior non bearing walls) are made from wood.

Heavy structural mass, burn for a long time.

Prevalent in “downtown” or “Main Street” areas of established towns and villages. Includes “taxpayers”. Includes newer construction that utilizes block walls and wood truss systems.

Older buildings present with suspect wall stability and hidden dangers. Contain many void spaces.

Question 4

Type 4

Answer 4

Heavy Timber:

Exterior load bearing walls of block or brick, with interior structural members, floors and roof systems of solid or laminated wood, WITHOUT CONCEALED VOID SPACES. The minimum dimensions for structural wood must meet certain criteria.

Includes old warehouses, manufacturing centers, churches.

Essentially Type 3, with much larger dimension lumber.

Question 5

Fire cut

Answer 5

angular cut in a floor beam in Type 4 construction that allowed a sagging, fire damaged beam to simply slide out of a load bearing wall, to preserve the wall.

Question 6

Type 5

Answer 6

Wood frame:

Most common type of construction. Built as the name suggests.

Question 7

Occupancy Classifications

Answer 7

Residential (type 5) 
Commercial (type 3)
Education (type 2)
Business (type 2/3)
Industrial (type 1/2 newer, type 4 older)

Question 8

Parapet wall

Answer 8

Extension of a wall past the roof line

Question 9

Signs of collapse

Answer 9

Overall age/condition 
Deteriorating mortar joints
Cracks in anything 
Signs of reinforcing, cables/tie-ends
Bulges/bowing
Sagging

Question 10

Collapse zone

Answer 10

1.5 times building height.

Question 11

Axial load

Answer 11

Load passing through the center of the mass of the supporting element. A column supports through an axial load.

Question 12

Ballon frame

Answer 12

Continuous studs full height of building

Question 13

Eccentric load

Answer 13

A load perpendicular to the cross section of the supporting element that does not pass through the center of mass.

A fire escape presents an eccentric load on a building.

Question 14

Undesigned load

Answer 14

A load not planned for or intended.

Question 15

Surface-to-mass ratio

Answer 15

Exposed exterior surface area of a material divided by it’s weight.

The larger the surface area, the smaller the mass, the quicker it will burn or fail.