Building Construction Related to the Fire Service Flashcards
The useful life span of a building can range from _____ or more.
25-100 years
_____: include not only the age of the building but also fire protection systems, occupancy type, fuel load, type and contraction, configurations, and the buildings access and exposures.
building variables
The age of a building is not in itself a hazard, but age is often an indication of _____.
Potential hazards.
An automatic fire protection system, especially an automatic sprinkler system is the _____.
first line of defense in any building.
The ____ of a building often affects the ways in which building components behave under fire conditions.
occupancy
Over time, many buildings undergo one of several changes in ____.
occupancy
Changes in ___ frequently result in a significant difference in the amount and type of combustible materials in a building.
occupancy
Type I construction:
Fire resistive
Type II construction:
Protected noncombustible or noncombustible
Type III construction:
Exterior protected.
Type IV construction:
Heavy Timber
Type V construction:
Wood Frame
The ____ of a building refers to its general shape or layout.
configuration
_____ is a primary factor for fire department operations.
access
NFPA defines a building as an ____ when the heat from an external fire might cause ignition of or damage to the exposed building
exposure
_____ occurred when fire communicated from building to building.
Conflagrations
The problem of _____ remains significant, especially in older urban environments with closely spaced combustible construction.
communication of fire
Communication of fire from building to building occurs by _______
convection and/or radiation.
_____ is the transfer of heat by the movement of liquids or gases, usually in an upward direction.
Convection.
Horizontal communication of fire is mainly due to _______.
Thermal radiation.
____ is the transfer of heat energy through space by electromagnetic waves.
Thermal radiation.
Fire spread is often the result of _____.
radiant heat.
In engineering, _____ is said to occur when a structure or part is no longer capable of performing its required function in a satisfactory manner.
failure
To the firefighter, building failure usually means ____.
structural collapse.
The collapse of a building under fire conditions is a result of the loss of a buildings _____.
structural integrity.
The term ____ refers to a failure to provide a level of fire safety appropriate to the ultimate use of the building.
design deficiencies
A ____ is a body of law that determines the minimum standards that buildings must meet in the interest of community safety and health.
building code
Manual fire alarm stations must not be more than ___ ft and not less than ___ ft above the floor level so they can be reached from a wheelchair.
4.5 and 3.5
An ____ is a protected area where a person can remain temporarily until someone else provides assistance or instructions.
area of refuge.
______ - group of people, usually 5 to 7, with experience in fire prevention, building construction, and/or code enforcement legally constituted to arbitrate differences of opinion between fire inspectors and building officials, property owners, occupants, or builders.
board of appeals.
Over the course of their useful lives, buildings often undergo various ____.
renovations
Building departments require that _____ be designed by structural engineers and performed by licensed contractors.
structural modifications.
It should be noted that the role of the fire inspector is to ____ system tests, not actually perform the tests.
witness
_____ is a valuable tool in accomplishing control of emergencies in individual buildings.
pre incident planning.
_____ include information regarding occupancy, industrial process, hazardous materials, fire protection systems, building access, and utilities.
Preincident plans.
_______ are another means of obtaining analyzing, and using data based on locations.
Geographic information systems (GIS)
____ allows a large project to be divided into smaller areas or sector.
GIS
Having current ____ ensures accuracy and familiarity with individual sites.
pre incident plans
All building codes classify buildings by _____
construction type
The classification of buildings is based on two attributes of building construction which are:
fire resistance and combustibility.
_____ determines the likelihood of structural collapse under fire conditions.
Fire resistance
_____ is a function of the properties of all materials used, including combustibility, thermal conductivity, chemical composition, density, and dimensions.
Fire resistance
_____ is the ability of a structural assembly to maintain its load-bearing capacity and structural integrity under fire conditions.
Fire resistance.
The fire resistance of structural components can be evaluated quantitively and is known as the _____.
fire resistance rating.
Building codes will have requirements for the fire resistance of structural elements such as the following:
beams, columns, walls and partitions, floor and ceiling assemblies, roof and ceiling assemblies.
The earliest known fire tests on building materials were conducted in Germany in _____
1884-86
In the United States the first known fire tests were conducted in Denver, Colorado in ____.
1890
Normally, assemblies are not tested beyond ___ hours because this is the maximum time required by the building codes.
4
The ______ for the test include: failure to support an applied load, temperature increase on the unexposed side of the wall, floor and roof assemblies of 250F above ambient temperatures, passage of heat or flame through the assembly sufficient to ignite cotton waste, and excess temperature on steel members.
primary points of failure
Fire resistance ratings for test specimens, including fire doors and Windows are expressed in standard intervals such as:
15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2 hours, 3 hours, and 4 hours.
The _____ test is the only method currently universally accepted by building codes.
E-119
The NFPA ____ standard time-temperature test is the most commonly used method of satisfying building code requirements for structural fire resistance.
251
_____: Incapable of supporting combustion under normal circumstances.
noncombustible.
The most commonly used test for determining combustibility is ____.
ASTM E 136
NFPA ____ Standard on Types of Building Construction details the requirements for each of the classifications and subclassifications of buildings.
220
In NFPA 220, each classifications is designated by a ____.
three digit number code.
What does the first digit of the NFPA 220 building classification stand for?
Fire resistance rating in hours of exterior bearing walls.
What does the second digit in NFPA 220 building classifications stand for?
Fire resistance rating of structural frames or columns and girders that support loads of more than one floor.
What does the third digit of the NFPA 220 building classification stand for?
fire resistance rating of the floor construciton.
In type IV construction (heavy timber) the designation ___ is used.
2HH
In ____ construction, the structural members are of non-combustible construction that has a specified fire resistance.
Type I or fire resistive
Type I construction is divided into ___ subclassifications
2
The two most common methods of constructing ___ buildings are by using reinforced concrete or a protected steel frame.
Type I.
Type ____ construction can be either protected or unprotected. In unprotected construction, the major components are noncombustible but have no fire resistance.
type II (noncombustible)
Building codes allow the use of combustible material in type II construction for applications similar to those in ____ construction.
Type I.
The point at which unprotected members will fail depends on the following factors;
ceiling height of the building, size of the unprotected steel members, and intensity and duration of the exposing fire.
Type ___ construction has been commonly referred to as “ordinary construction”
III
Type ____ constructions is frequently constructed with exterior walls of masonry, but from a technical standpoint any noncombustible material with the required fire resistance can be used for the exterior walls.
III
In ___ construction, although the exterior walls are non combustible, the interior structural members including walls, columns, beams, floors and roofs are permitted to be partially or wholly combustible.
type III.
A fundamental fire concern with Type ___ construction is the combustible concealed spaces that are created between floor and ceiling joints and between studs in partition walls when they are covered with interior finish materials.
III
Type ____ constructions is commonly known as heavy-timber or “mill” construction.
IV
Like Type III construction, in type ___ construction the exterior walls are normally of masonry construction and the interior structural members are combustible.
type IV
There are two important distinctions between Type III and type IV construction:
Type IV construction the structural members are made of wood with greater dimensions than type III and the concealed spaces are not permitted between structural members in type IV construction.
Type ___ construction was used extensively in factories, mills, and warehouses in the 19th, and early 20th centuries.
IV
In Type ___ construction, all major structural components are permitted to be of combustible construction.
V
The basic method of construction in a Type __ building consists of using a wood frame to provide the primary structural support.
V
Many type ___ structures are required to have a 1 hour fire resistance for the structural members.
V
A fundamental problem posed by Type ___ construction is the creation of combustible concealed voids and channels more extensive than are found in type III constructions.
V
In modern practice, wood frame buildings are most often constructed using a method known as ____ construction.
light-frame
In some jurisdictions it is permissible to have type V construction over type I construction up to a height of ___ ft.
70
____ refer to the maximum heat that would be released if all the available fuel in a building was consumed.
fire load or fuel load.
The ____ is the product of the weight of the combustible multiplied by their heat of combustion.
fire load
The ___ can be used as an estimate of the total potential heat release or thermal energy to which a building may be subjected if all combustibles become fully involved in fire.
fire load
_____ classify buildings according to their occupancy as well as their construction type.
Building codes
The International building code contains ___ major occupancy classifications.
10
IBC group A
assembly
IBC group B
business
IBC group E
Educational
IBC group F
factories
IBC group H
high hazard
IBC group I
institutional
IBC group M
Mercantile
IBC group R
residential
IBC group S
storage
IBC group U
utility and miscellaneous
The IBC contains a total of __ subgroups within the 10 major occupancy classifications
26
NFPA 5000 and NFPA 101 make use of ___ major occupancy classifications
12
A ___ is defined as any effect or force that a structure must resist.
load
___ arise from several sources such as gravity, wind, earthquakes, and soil pressure and can be classified in several ways.
loads
_____: the impact effect the wind has on a surface. This force may be reduced by streamlining the surface encountered.
Direct pressure
_____: when wind encounters an object, its fluid nature causes it to flow around the object. this exerts a drag effect on the object.
Aerodynamic drag
______: a suction effect produced on the downwind side of the building resulting in an outward pressure.
Negative pressure
In designing buildings to withstand the force of wind, the primary effect considered is the force due to _____.
direct pressure.
The vibrational motion of the surface subjects buildings to forces known as ____ that can be very destructive, as history has shown.
seismic forces
_____ are produced in a structural member when it is twisted.
torsional forces
_____ are movements of relatively large amplitude resulting from a small force applied as the natural frequency of a structure.
Resonant forces
Although the movement of the ground beneath a building can be three dimensional, the ____ is the most significant force.
horizontal motion.
____: the tendency of a body to remain in motion or at rest until it is acted upon by force.
inertia
_____: structural element designed to control vibration.
damping mechanism
The ___ is the weight of any permanent part of a building.
dead load
The ____ load also includes permanent equipment such as heating plants, elevator hoist, pumps, and water supply tanks in earthquake zones.
dead
A ____ is any load that is not fixed or permanent.
live load
Although ____ loads can include wind and seismic loads, the term is usually applied to building contents, occupants, and the weight of snow or rain on the roof.
live load.
_____, can vary from visually none in southern states to 60 lbs per square foot.
snow load
____ are loads that are steady or are applied gradually.
static loads
The dead load of a building, the snow load, and many live loads are _____.
static loads.
_______ are loads that involve motion.
dynamic loads
_____ loads include the forces arising from wind, moving vehicles, earthquakes, vibration, firefighters, and falling objects.
dynamic loads
_____ differ from static loads in that they are capable of delivering energy to a structure in addition to the weight of an object.
dynamic loads
______: condition in which the support provided by a structural system is equal to the applied loads.
equilibrium.
A beam that is supported at one end is known as a ___.
cantilever beam
____: those vertical or horizontal forces that tend to pull things apart’ for example, the force exerted on the bottom chord of a truss.
Tension
_____: point at which material ceases to perform satisfactorily
failure point
An ____ is a load applied to the center of the cross-section of a structural member and perpendicular to that cross section.
axial load
An _____ load is a load that is perpendicular to the cross section of the structural member but does not pass through the center of the cross section.
eccentric
A ____ load is offset from the center of the cross section of the structural member and at an angle to or in the same plane as the cross section.
torsional
A ___ is a structural member that can carry loads perpendicular to its longitudinal dimension.
beam
A ____ beam is supported at each end and is free to rotate at the ends.
simply supported
____ are structural members designed to support an axial compressive load.
Columns
An ____ is a curved structural member in which the interior stresses are primarily compressive.
arch
____ are framed structural units made up of a group of triangles in one plane.
trusses
_____: structural member used to form a roof or floor framework.
truss
____ can be thought of as flexible structural members that can be used to support roofs, brace tents, and restrain pneumatic structures.
cables
The top members of a truss are called the ____.
top chords
The bottom members of a truss are called the _____.
bottom chords
Typical ____ shapes are available to span distance of 22ft to 70 ft but in todays construction truss spans in excess of 100ft are not uncommon.
truss
The diagonal members of a truss are called either ____ or ____.
diagonals or web members
A common method of construction uses the walls of a building to support spanning elements such as beams, trusses, and precast concrete slabs. These are appropriately known as _____ structures.
bearing wall
The distinctive characteristic of ______ framing is the spacing of the vertical posts and the cross-sectional dimension of the members.
Post and beam
In post and beam framing, the vertical posts may be spaced up to ____ apart, unlike stud wall construction where the studs are 12-16 inches apart.
24 inches
In rigid frames, the ____ usually must be reinforced and will be the last portion of the assembly to fail under fire conditions.
joints
_____: system of construction in which the building consists primarily of an enclosing surface and in which the stresses resulting from the applied loads occur within the surface bearing wall structures.
Surface system
______: Structure with an enclosing surface of a thin stretched flexible material. Examples include simple tent or an air supported structure.
Membrane structure
______: safe , continuous path of travel from any point in a structure to a public way.
means of egress.
_____: stair that usually connects two floors in a multistory building.
convenience stair
______: vertical distance between the treads of a stairway or the height of the entire stairway.
Rise
_____: The horizontal measurement of a stair tread or the distance of the entire stair length
Run
Most ___ provide a dual role as a building system. First, they enable occupants to access various levels of the structure and second, they serve as a basic component of building egress during an emergency.
stairs
Many ____ have failed when loaded with people during an emergency.
older fire escapes
Building codes have traditionally required a minimum of 1 smoke proof stair enclosure for stairs serving buildings ____ stories or higher and more recently, stairs serving more than 30ft below the level. of the exit discharge.
5
Activated by automatic fire/smoke detection equipment, a dedicated mechanical air handling system is designed to keep smoke out of the stair enclosure by _____.
pressurizing the shaft.
Stair enclosures may be classified as ______ by using either active or passive smoke control.
smokeproof
_____: stairway that are designed to limit the penetration of smoke, heat, and toxic gases from a fire on a floor of a building into the stairway and that serve as part of a means of egress.
smokeproof enclosure.
____ are a key building system for providing access to above or below grade stories.
elevators.
____: the most common type of elevator in buildings over 6 stories.
traction elevator
_____ are very fast and do not have the height limitations of either hydraulic or drum type elevators.
traction elevators.
The practical upper limit for hydraulic elevators is ___.
6 stories.
____ motors have a braking system that operates during both normal operation and malfunctions.
traction
An ____ is the vertical shaft in which the elevator car travels and includes the elevator pit.
elevator hoist way.
_____ enclosures usually are required to be a fire-rated assembly with a 1-2 hour rating.
Elevator hoistways
If the elevator hoist way is not vented at the top, the accumulated hot gases and smoke may tend to ___ or spread horizontally into the upper floors.
mushroom
To prevent ____, building codes require venting at the top of practically every hoist way built today.
mushrooming
In very tall building, ____ are divided into zones.
elevators.
A elevator zone typically serves ___ to ____ floors.
15-20
The ____ zone cars operate express from the first floor to the lowest floor of the upper zone.
upper
____ are used for express elevators that serve the upper elevator zones in tall buildings.
blind hoistways
____ also include stairways and elevator and dumbwaiter hoist ways.
vertical shafts
____ is a term generally applied to the vertical pathway in a building that contains utility services.
Utility chase
A _____ is a type of utility chase used to contain piping needed for building services such as hot and cold potable water, drain lines, steam, hot and chilled water for heating and air conditioning, and sprinkler piping.
pipe chase
Occasionally buildings do not have pipe chases but instead use ______.
stacked mechanical equipment rooms.
A ____ provides for the removal of trash and garbage from upper floors of buildings such as residential properties.
refuse chute.
A ____ is installed as part of an exhaust system for commercial cooking appliances that produce grease laden vapors.
grease duct
The functions provided by an ____ system include heating, cooling, filtering, humidifying, and dehumidifying.
HVAC
An ____ provides conditioned air to building occupants.
HVAC
NFPA ____ requires that the shaft enclosure for HVAC units be 1 hour rated for buildings less than 4 stories in height and 2 hour fire rated for buildings four stories or greater.
90A
____: channel or enclosure, usually of sheet metal, used to move heating and cooling air through a building. Hollow pathways used to move air from one area to another in ventilation systems.
duct
____: in building construction, refers to generally inaccessible spaces between layers of building materials.
interstitial space.
____ means the use of mechanical equipment to produce pressure differences across smoke barriers to inhibit smoke movement.
Smoke control
Automatic transfer of an HVAC system to fire operation can be accomplished by ___ serving the various floors of the building.
smoke detectors
The automatic transfer of the system to fire mode (HVAC) can also be initiated by ______.
sprinkler waterflow switches or heat detectors
The advantages to ____ (transfer of HVAC into fire mode) are the elimination of system disruption due to false alarms and more specific system control.
manual control
When an HVAC system has both automatic and manual capability, the ___ shall take priority over the other.
manual control
A ____ is a type of smoke proof enclosure that makes use of a vestibule between the corridor and the stairwell that is open to the atmosphere.
Smokeproof tower
A ____ stairwell utilizes a blower of fan to provide a slightly greater pressure in the stairwell than the corridor to prevent the infiltration of smoke from the corridor into the stairwell.
pressurized
NFPA 92A requires a minimum pressure difference of _____, water gauge across a smoke barrier in a sprinklered building.
0.05 inches
There are two general design methods used for pressurized stairwells, one method is to have a fan supply air to a stairwell at a single point. This is known as the _____.
Single-injection method.
______: vertical boards, fire resistive half walls, that extend down from the underside of the roof of some commercial buildings and are intended to limit the spread of fire, heat, smoke, and fire gases.
Curtain boards
____: the electrical force that causes a charge to move through a conductor. Sometimes called the electromotive force.
Voltage
_____: nonconductor of direct electric current. Term usually applied to tools that are used to handle energized electrical wires or equipment.
dielectric
When transformers are inside, the transformer rooms or vaults are required by code to be enclosed in ___ hour fire rated construction if not protected by automatic sprinklers or ___ hour fire rated construction if they are protected by sprinklers.
3 hour; 1 hour
With the increases cost of building materials, many buildings are now supplied by the electric utility with ____ services.
480/277 volt
_____ are used to cover high-voltage electricity, as supplied by the electric utility service, to an appropriate voltage for use in the building.
Transformers
____ are typically engine driven, using a gasoline, diesel, or natural gas internal combustion engine.
generators
The term ____ is generally applied to the materials used for the exposed face of the walls and ceilings of a building.
interior finish.
In the international community the term ____ is used instead of interior finish
interior lining.
What is the flame spread rating for Class A interior finishes?
0-25
What is the flame spread rating for class B interior finishes?
26-75
What is the flame spread rating for Class C interior finishes?
76-200
Interior finish materials with a Class __ rating are required in the vertical exits of most occupancies.
A
Interior finish materials with a class __ rating are required in corridors that provide exit access.
B
The maximum flame spread rating for interior finishes is ____.
200
The fire load is the measure of the ___ available to a fire and therefore the total heat that can be released in a fire.
total fuel.
The severity of a fire is determined by the fire load plus the _____.
rate at which the fuel burns
The faster the available fuel burns the greater the _____.
Heat release rate (HHR)
The rate at which a fuel burns is determined by several factors. The most significant is the combination of fuel and the _____.
available oxygen.
The ____ is the most commonly used method for evaluating the surface burning characteristics of materials.
Steiner Tunnel Test
The tunnel test produces a numerical evaluation of the flammability of interior materials, which is known as the _____.
flame spread rating.
To derive the numerical flame spread rating, the flame travel along the test material is compared to two standard materials: _______.
asbestos cement board and red oak flooring.
The _____ may not produce an accurate correlation with the actual behavior of a material in a fire.
flame spread rating.
The _____ is a measure of the relative visual obscurity created by the smoke from a tested material.
smoke developed rating.
Codes limit the maximum smoke developed to ____.
450
It is very important to remember that the smoke developed in a rating is ____ an indication of the toxicity or volatility of the products of combustion of the interior finish materials.
not
Fire retardant coatings only affected the ____ and not the untreated portion of a material.
coated surface
Fire-retardant coatings cannot be substituted for _____.
structural fireproofing.
______: any substance, except plain water, that is applied to another material or substance to reduce the flammability of fuels or slow their rate of combustion by chemical or physical action.
Fire Retardant
The _____ test procedure to measure the surface burning characteristics or materials is useful because it provides reproducible results and is widely recognized standard.
ASTM E-84
Considerable effort has been made over the years to develop test procedures that incorporate the size and shape of real rooms. These methods are collectively known as _____.
Corner tests
_____ consists of equipment such as an automatic sprinkler system or fire alarm system that requires a power source for operation.
Active fire protection.
_____ relies on building construction and materials to contain fire or products of combustion.
Passive fire protection.
_____ fire protection extinguishes or controls fire while _____ fire protection limits the spread of fire.
Active fire; passive fire
The subdivision of a building or the floor levels of a building by fire rated walls or partitions is generally referred to as _____.
compartmentation
______: Series of barriers designed to keep flames, smoke, and heat from spreading from one room to another.
Compartmentation systems.
_____: assemblies of building components such as doors, walls, roofs, and other structural features that may be, because of the occupancy, required by code to have minimum fire resistance rating from an independent testing agency.
Rated assembly
_____: having occupants remaining in a structure or vehicle in order to provide protection from a rapidly approaching hazard. Opposite of evacuation.
Shelter in place.
____, or area separation walls, are erected to limit the maximum spread of the fire.
Fire walls
_____ can be constructed as either freestanding walls or as tied walls.
fire walls
______ walls are self supporting and are independent of the building frame.
freestanding
_____ walls are erected at a column line in a building of steel frame or concrete frame construction.
Tied fire walls
Fire walls must extend beyond walls and roofs to prevent the radiation heat of flames on one side of the fire wall from igniting adjacent surfaces. This is accomplished by continuing the fire wall through the roof with a ____.
parapet.
The parapet height above a combustible roof is determined by the building code and varies from __ to ____.
18 to 36 inches.
______ are interior walls used to subdivide a floor or area of a building that do not qualify as fire walls.
Fire partitions
_____ unlike fire walls, may not extend continuously through a building.
Fire partitions
Stairwells in buildings ___ stories or less are required to have a 1 hour enclosure.
3
In buildings taller that 3 stories, stairwells are required to have __ hour enclosures.
2
____: glass or thermoplastic panel in a window that allows light to pass.
glazing.
____: nonbearing exterior wall attached to the outside of a building with a rigid steal frame. Usually the front exterior wall of a building intended to provide a certain appearance.
Curtain wall
Two aspects of ____ are significant to the firefighter, their degree of fire resistance and the extent to which they permit vertical communication of fire.
curtain walls
_____: Solid materials, such as wood blocks, used to prevent or limit the vertical and horizontal spread of fire and the products of combustion in hollow walls or floors, above false ceilings, in penetrations for plumbing or electrical installations, in penetrations of a fire rated assembly or in cocklofts and crawl spaces.
Fire Stop
For a fire wall or partition to be effective it must provide a ______.
continuous barrier to fire
____: A specially constructed, tested, and approved rated door assembly designed and installed to prevent fire spread by automatically closing and covering a doorway in a fire wall during a fire to block the spread of fire through the door opening.
Fire door
_____ are rated as 4 hours, 3 hours, 1.5 hours, 1 hour, 3/4 hour, 1/2 hour, and 20 minutes
Fire doors
Openings in fire walls. (Fire door classification)
Class A
