Chapter 5 - Fire Behavior and Building Construction Flashcards by Logan Coffey

In the international community the term interior _______ is used instead of interior finish.

lining

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The term _______ _______ is generally applied to the materials used for the exposed face of the walls and ceilings of a building.

interior finish

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Building codes usually exclude surface treatments such as paint and wallpaper that are no thicker than ?

1/28 inch (0.9 mm)

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The degree to which fire can spread over the surface of a material is technically referred to as the _______ ________ __________ of the material.

surface burning characteristics

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The faster the available fuel burns the greater will be the ?

heat release rate (HRR)

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Total amount of heat produced or released to the atmosphere from the convective lift fire phase of a fire per unit mass of fuel consumed per unit time is called ?

Heat Release Rate (HRR)

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The rate at which a fuel burns is determined by several factors. The most significant is the combination of the ?

fuel and the available oxygen

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What test is the most common used method for evaluating the surface burning characteristics of materials ?

Steiner Tunnel Test

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The tunnel test produces a numerical evaluation of the flammability of interior materials, which is known as the ?

flame spread rating

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Numerical rating assigned to a material based on the speed and extent to which flame travels over its surface is called ?

Flame Spread Rating

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The “tunnel” used in the tunnel test consists of a horizontal furnace _____ feet long with a removable top. The interior of the furnace is ____ inches wide and ____ inches high.

25 / 17 5/8 / 12

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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

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The _______ _________ rating is a measure of the relative visual obscurity created by the smoke from a tested material.

smoke developed

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The smoke developed rating is a measure of the visual obscurity caused by the smoke from a tested material. The rating does not indicate the ________ or ________ of the material.

toxicity or volatility

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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 is ?

Fire Retardant

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In the field of building fire protection there are two basic concepts that complement each other: ______ fire protection and _______ fire protection.

active and passive

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Active fire protection consist of equipment such as automatic sprinkler system or fire alarm system that requires a ?

power source for operation

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Passive fire protection relies on ________ _________ and _________ to contain fire or products of combustion.

building construction and materials

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Examples of passive fire protection are ?

fire walls or stair enclosures

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In another sense, active fire protection _________ or _______ a fire while passive fire protection ?

Extinguishes or controls / limits the spread of fire

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The subdivision of a building or the floor levels of a building by fire rated walls or partitions is generally referred to as ?

compartmentation

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Having occupants remaining in a structure or vehicle in order to provide protection from a rapidly approaching hazard (fire, hazardous gas cloud, etc…) Opposite of evacuation.

Shelter in Place

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____ _____, or area separation walls, are erected to limit the maximum spread of fire.

Fire walls

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Freestanding walls must be designed to resist a lateral load of at least ____ pounds per square foot and are self supporting with respect to ________ loads.

5 / vertical

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_____ _______ are interior walls used to subdivide a floor or area of a building that do not qualify as fire walls.

Fire partitions p166

Stairwells in buildings three stories or less, for example, are required to have a ___ hour enclosure. In buildings taller than three stories, they are required to have ___ hour enclosures.

1 / 2 hour p166-167

Glass or thermoplastic panel in a window that allows light to pass ?

Glazing p167

Nonbearing exterior wall attached to the outside of a building with rigid steel frame. Usually the front exterior wall of a building intended to provide a certain appearance ?

Curtain Wall p168

The most common means for protecting openings through fire rated walls is by the use of _____ _____.

fire doors p170

Fire doors are tested in accordance with the procedures contained in NFPA ?

NFPA 252, Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies p171

Rated fire doors are identified with a label indicating the door _____, _____ rating, and the identifying label of the testing laboratory.

type / hourly p172

The testing of fire doors includes the ______ as well as the ________, which are also listed by the testing laboratories for use with fire doors.

frame / hardware p172

The hardware used on fire doors is referred to as either ?

"builders hardware" or "fire door hardware" p172

NFPA ____, Standard for Fire Doors and Fire Windows, requires that each piece of glass installed in a fire door have a listing mark that is visible after installation.

NFPA 80 p173

To perform its function, a fire door must be ?

closed when a fire occurs p174

True or False: Failure of fire doors to close properly is a very common occurrence in actual fires.

True p178

Combustible interior finishes: A thin product, ____ inch or less, will propagate flame more quickly when it is attached to studs with _____ ________ behind the materials than when it is attached directly to a more solid material such as ___________ _________.

1/4 / air space / gypsum board p 155

Classification of interior finishes: * Materials with a Class ____ ( ____ -____ ) rating are required in the vertical exits of most occupancies.

A ( 0-25 ) p 155

Classification of interior finishes: * Materials with a Class ___ ( ___ - ____ ) rating are required in corridors that provide exit access.

B ( 26-75 ) p 155

Classification of interior finishes: * Class ___, ____, or ____ ( ____ - ____ ) materials may be required in other rooms and spaces depending on the occupancy. The rooms of health care and assembly occupancies, for example, will require either Class ____ or ____ interior finish materials.

A, B, or C ( 76-200 ) / A or B p 155

The maximum flame spread rating allowed is ______.

200 p 155

The severity of a fire is determined by the ______ ______ plus the rate at which the fuel _______.

fire load / burns p 156

A greater heat release rate results in a ?

faster developing fire p 156

NFPA ______, is the Standard Method of Test of Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials

255 p 156

Flame spread rating: A gas burner located at one end of the tunnel produces a ____ foot flame that is projected against the test material. The flame is adjusted to produce approximately _______ BTUs per minute. The test is continued for _____ minutes, during which time the travel of the flame along with the test sample is observed.

4 1/2 / 5000 / ten p 156

Flame spread rating: According to the test protocol, the flame will travel along the oak flooring ____ feet in _____ minutes.

24 feet / 5 1/2 minutes p 157

In addition to the flame spread rating, the tunnel test provides an additional measure of flammability: the ________ ___________ rating.

smoke developed p 158

Smoke developed rating: As with the flame spread rating, _____ ______ is used as a standard testing material and has been assigned a smoke developed rating of _____.

red oak / 100 p 158

Code limits the maximum smoke developed to _____.

450 p 158

- Ability of a substance to do harm within the body.

Toxicity p 158

- Ability of a substance to vaporize easily at a relatively low temperature.

Volatility p 158

The flame spread rating of some interior finishes, most notably wood materials, can be reduced through the use of _____ __________ coatings.

fire retardant p 159

Fire retardant coatings: They must be applied at a specific rate of _______ ______ per ________ and may require more than one _______.

square feet per gallon / coat p 159

Fire retardant coatings only affect the coated surface and not the ___________ portion of a material. They cannot be substituted for structural ____________.

untreated / fireproofing p 159

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 p 160

NFPA ______ and ______ are large scale fire performance tests that use a room enclosure.

265 / 286 p 161

Fire walls: If the situation becomes untenable and firefighters are forced to withdraw, _______ _______ must be closed.

fire doors p 164

Originally fire walls were required to have a fire resistive rating of _____ hours, but recent building codes permit fire walls with fire resistive rating of ____, ____, or ____ hours, depending on the occupancy.

four / 2,3, or 4 p 165

A 4 hour rated firewall usually must be constructed of ___________ or __________ and have a ____ hour rated openings.

masonry or concrete / 3 p 165

Firewalls In most buildings fire walls must be constructed of ______________ materials.

noncombustible p 165

Firewalls The IBC also permits combustible structural members to be framed into a masonry or concrete fire wall from opposite sides provided there is a ____ inch separation between the ends of the structural members.

4 inch p 165

Fire walls must extend beyond _______ and ______ to prevent the radiant heat of flames on one side of a fire wall from igniting adjacent surfaces.

walls and roofs p 165

Fire walls The parapet height above a combustible roof is determined by the building code and varies from _____ to _____ inches.

18 to 36 inches p 165

Fire partitions are typically not required to have as much fire resistance as a ______ _______. For example, partitions enclosing an exit corridor may have a ____ hour fire rating.

fire walls / 1 p 166

Fire partitions can be constructed from a wide variety of materials including _____ and ________, _________ wallboard, ________ block, and combinations of materials.

lath and plaster / gypsum / concrete p 166

Fire rated ________ can be used for fire partitions where visibility is desired and a fire rating is required.

glazing p 166

____________ _______ see used to enclose such vertical openings as stairwells, elevator shafts, and pipe chases that extend from floor to floor in a building.

Enclosure walls p 166

_______ ________ can prove troublesome for firefighters because they can provide a means of vertical communication of fire from window to window.

Light shafts p 167

When a building is constructed using a structural frame for its main structural support, the exterior wall functions only to enclose the building and is known as a _________ _______.

curtain wall p 168

The concept of the curtain wall came into existence with the development of the _______-framed _____-______ building.

steel / high rise p 168

It is not uncommon for such structures as office buildings and high rise apartments to be constructed with curtain walls that are ______________ but have no ______ ___________.

non combustible / fire resistance p 169

Fire doors are rated as ____, ____, ____ hours, ____, ____, _____ hour and _____ minutes.

4, 3, 1 1/2 - 1, 3/4, 1/2 - 20 p 170

Fire doors Codes typically require ___ or ___ hour rated doors in fire walls of greater than a 2 hour rating.

4 or 3 p 171

Fire doors Doors rated at 1 1/2 hours are normally required for 2 hour rated ___________ enclosures.

vertical p 171

Fire doors One hour doors are used for 1 hour ___________ _______ enclosures and _______ enclosures.

vertical shaft / exit p 171

Fire door inconsistencies Some of these inconsistencies rest on the assumption that the fire exposure at a door opening is decreased by the _______ ______ necessary to maintain access to the opening.

clear space p 171

Fire doors Because combustible materials will not be piled against a door, the fire rating of the door can be less than that of the _______.

wall p 171

Fire doors It should be noted that the conditions for passing the test for door assemblies are not as rigid as those required for ?

fire-rated walls p 171

For fire doors the primary criterion for acceptability is that the fire door must ?

remain in place during the test p 172

Testing fire doors The second criterion for acceptability is that the fire door assembly must remain in place when subjected to a _______ _______ immediately following the fire test.

hose stream p 172

A fire door is often provided with _______ ________. The _______ _______ enhance safety and security by permitting observation through a closed door.

vision panels / vision panels p 172

Fire doors can be either ___________ or ______-________.

automatic or self closing p 174

An automatic door is normally held _______ and ________ automatically under fire conditions when an operating device is activated.

open / closes p 174

A _____-_________ door is normally closed and will return to the closed position if it is opened and released.

self-closing p 174

The devices that operate fire doors include door ________, door _________, and door ___________.

closers, holders and operators p 174

For a fire door that is normally in the open position to close, some type of ___________ _________ must first sense a fire or smoke from a fire.

operating device p 174

An overhead _________ _______ fire door is often used to protect an opening in a fire wall in an industrial occupancy.

rolling steel p 175

These doors are often found in older industrial buildings. These doors are usually held open by a fusible link and slide into position along a track either by gravity or the force of a counterweight ?

Horizontal sliding doors p 176

It is a very common design practice to use __________ fire doors for such applications as stairwell enclosures and corridors.

swinging p 176

__________ types of fire rated doors are available for applications such as freight and passenger elevators, service counter openings, security (bullet-resisting doors), dumbwaiters, and chute openings.

Special p 178