High Rise - June 2013 Flashcards
High Rise Manual
What is the definition of a high-rise building?
A building with either six or more stories or a building where the highest occupied story/floor is greater than 75 feet from the lowest level of fire department vehicle access.
Page 2
The time needed to asses the situation upon arrival of the first units, gather information from the annunciator panel or fire control room and building personnel, identify and confirm fire floor, proceed to that floor, locate the fire, and prepare to operate is known as ___________.
Reflex time
Page 2
High-rise of this type are characterized by center hallways, numerous interior compartments (such as rooms, closets, etc.), and 24-hour occupancy.
Residential high rises
Page 3
Commercial high-rise buildings are characterized by _________ construction.
Center-core construction
Page 3
What are some common features to high-rise structures built prior to 1976?
- Compartmentalized office and residential spaces with maze like corridors.
- Non-compartmentalized open floor plans for commercial office occupancies.
- Presence of window air conditioning units and / or lack of building-wide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems
- Conventional windows that may be opened
- Lack of suspended ceiling (less hidden void space)
- Steel structural members encased in concrete.
- Exterior, masonry walls that are tied directly into each floor
- Pre- or post-tensioned concrete floors
- Reinforced concrete columns.
Page 5
A high-rise building constructed after the 1976 code change will be of _______, which provides resistance to collapse of structural members and floors and resistance to the passage of fire through floors and horizontal barriers.
Fire resistive construction.
Page 6
Required fire protection features for high-rises built after 1976 include what 8 features?
- A class 3 standpipe system The outlets on this system are 2.5 inches in diamater and have 1.5 inch reducers.
- A compartmentation option existed for buildings built prior to April 1991, however, the vast majority of high-rise buildings in northern Virginia were constructed after 1976 and are either partially or fully sprinklered.
- Firefighter’s service to the elevators
- HVAC systems capable of exhausting smoke
- At least two approved means of egress from each floor
- A building communications system
- A fire control room
- Standby and emergency power systems
Page 6
With a few rare exceptions, all occupied high-rise buildings in Northern Virginia have what 3 features?
- At least two approved exits from each floor.
- Enclosed stairwells
- Some type of smoke control system or compartmentation.
3b. This includes: windows that can be opened, tempered glass panels on at least two sides of the building that can be broken out, or a modified HVAC system that can exhaust smoke to the outside without contamination other floors.
Page 6
To create a fire wall, what is typically used to enclose stairway, elevator and other shafts in a high-rise?
What is the typical fire resistance rating at minimum?
Multiple layers or thick gypsum and masonry walls.
These will typically have a two-hour fire resistance rating at minimum.
Page 6
A common type of flat roof construction uses ______ with a rubberized or tar and gravel top layer supported by a steel bar joist.
This is also known as a _______.
composite Q decking
Built-up roof
Page 7
The interior walls of a residential high-rise, and when present in office use, will typically be made of ____________________.
Gypsum board mounted to metal studs.
Page 9
What is reinforced drywall?
Drywall that looks identical to regular drywall but encased inside the drywall is either a wire mesh or a solid sheet of Lexan.
Page 9
Many buildings with newer construction have exterior curtain walls constructed of glass or pre-cast metal or masonry panels.
Due to the way curtain walls are mounted to the floor sections or frame of a building, gaps of _________ to _______ inches are common between the floor and the exterior wall.
6 to 12 inches
Page 10
In this type of floor found in high-rise construction, the floor actually forms both the floor and the ceiling area for the level below.
Composite “Q” floor assembly.
Page 11
Fire resistive measures for floor/ceiling support systems include the direct application of spray-on fireproofing also known as ______ and suspended ceiling assemblies known as _______.
Intumescent coating
Membrane fireproofing
Page 11
Sprayed on asbestos fiber may be present in buildings built prior to what year ?
1980
Page 11
Low mass concrete is also referred to as ____ and can consist of up to _____ % air to reduce the density of the concrete.
Formed Concrete
20%
Page 11
Low mass concrete is ___% to ____% lighter than traditional concrete depending on how the mixture is proportioned.
10% to 88%
Page 12
Generally, buildings with fixed windows are required to have certain windows that can be broken. How do you tell which windows can be broken?
They are marked with a Maltese cross or fire helmet etched in the lower corner of the pane.
Page 13
_____ stairs usually have individual entrances and access only one section of the building.
i.e. Only go to floors 1 - 4 in a 12 story building.
Isolated
Page 14
_______ stairs are open, unprotected stairways leading from floor to floor within a single occupant’s space.
Accommodation Stairs
AKA access or convenience stairs
Page 16
When in a stairwell, what does the presence of a gate denote?
The last floor with an exterior exit.
Page 18 - Figure 19
