Code

Question 1

Group A Assembly

Answer 1

more than 50 people; for entertainment, recreation, food or drink; could have panic; doors swing out, panic hardware

Question 2

Group B Business

Answer 2

professional & service facilities; drinking and dining with less than 50 occupants; people familiar with surroundings

Question 3

Group E Educational

Answer 3

6 or more children that require adult supervision during emergency; education facilities have trained faculty & staff familiar with fire drills & life safety; panic devices w/ 50 or more occupants

Question 4

Group F Factory

Answer 4

moderate & low hazard materials, share many requirements with B

Question 5

Group H Hazardous

Answer 5

physical health hazard; explosive, combustible, corrosive, toxic materials

Question 6

Group I Institutional

Answer 6

houses people supervised 24/7 b/c medical problems or incarceration; hospitals, nursing homes, nurseries, sanitariums, prisons, reform schools, some daycares

Question 7

Group M Mercantile

Answer 7

display & share of merchandise, similar to B

Question 8

Group R Residential

Answer 8

sleeping other than institutional; R-1 (hotels) transient facilities; (R-2) apartment houses & dorms; R-3 1&2-family dwellings; least safe

Question 9

Group S Storage

Answer 9

garages, aircraft hangers, helistops

Question 10

Group U Utility

Answer 10

not intended for human occupancy; private garages, carports, hseds, fences, stables, towers

Question 11

Noncombustible

Answer 11

steel, concrete, masonry, or other limited combustible not wood; may or may not have fire rating for structural components; Type I & Type II noncombustible

Question 12

Combustible

Answer 12

structural components of wood or some plastics may or may not have fire ratings for structural components; Type III, Type IV, Type V; amount time structural components can support loads before collapse

Question 13

Fire Rated Construction

Answer 13

Type 1A (highest rated) not less than 3 hours based on experience or testing, unlimited height and area because fire personnel can fight fire from inside without danger of collapse

Question 14

Building Volume (Area & Height)

Answer 14

unlimited, type for noncombustible construction @ 3 hours or higher (except hazardous occupancies); 2 hour noncombustible may include high-rise buildings 75’-0” +; area increases permitted based on accessible building frontage (fire fighting more than 1 direction); area increases if automatic sprinkler system even if used for eight or story increase; and if more than 1 story

Question 15

Flame spread (wall/ceiling finishes)

Answer 15

flame spread & smoke developed; ASTME 84, UL992, NFPA 255 “Steiner Tunnel Test”; Class A - Flame Spread 0-25 Enclosed Vertical Exitways; Class B-Flame Spread 26-75 Class II Other Exitways, Rooms in Assembly & Institutional Occupancies; Class C - Flame Spread 76-200 Class III Rooms in other occupancies, dwelling units

Question 16

Floor Finishes

Answer 16

ASTM D2859, NFPA 253, flooring radiant panel test (different from flame spread); Class I more resistant - institutional occupancy vertical exits, exit passageways, exit access corridors; Class II (same locations in other occupancies)

Question 17

Means of Egress

Answer 17

continuous, unobstructed path of travel from any occupied portion of a facility to a public way

Question 18

Occupant Load

Answer 18

various occupancies or uses, numeric floor area to determine occupant load)

Question 19

Egress width

Answer 19

multiply occupant load factor by demadn based on occupancy type then divided by # of exits

Question 20

Exit doors

Answer 20

not less than 32” clear width not more than 48” nominal width

Question 21

Exit Access

Answer 21

where occupant is until reaches exit; based on # of exits required for each space, required separation, travel distance to closest, egress through intervening spaces and corridors

Question 22

Number of exits

Answer 22

each building & each floor required, typically not less than 2 exits for each building and each floor w/ occupant load 501-1000 requires 3 exits, 1,001+ 4 exits

Question 23

Separation of exits

Answer 23

not less than 1/2 maximum diagonal of space of floor requiring two exits; 2+ required additional exits must be reasonable distance apart in case 1 blocked

Question 24

Travel Distance

Answer 24

200’ w/out sprinkler ssytem, 250’ w/ sprinkler system typical; 300” business with sprinklers; hazardous and institutional less; factory, storage, utility 300’ typical, 400” with sprinklers; limit passage through intervening spaces, ok with discernible paths, cannot exit through kitchens, storage rooms, closets, toilet rooms, bathrooms (kitchens in dwelling ok); separated dwelling units & tenant spaces cannot be part of required path of travel

Question 25

Corridors

Answer 25

44” standard, educational occupancies 100+ more require 72”; max dead end 20’-0” (businesses 50’-0”); fire-rated corridors required for most occupancies with no sprinkler systems, and some institutional and hazardous occupancies even with sprinkler systems

Question 26

Exits

Answer 26

from building/floor to vertical exit enclosure, exit passageway, horizontal exit, or exterior exit ramp or stairway; vertical exit enclosures must be 2-hour fire rated for 4+ stories including basements; exterior exit ramps & stairways, not more than 6 stories or 75’-0” in height (open on 1 side, separated from building with fire rated construction)

Question 27

Exit Discharge

Answer 27

door to public street