Unit 3: Building Construction Review Flashcards
Building Codes and construction types establish requirements for?
- Use and occupancy.
- Fire resistance.
- Construction materials.
- Structural loads.
- Fire protection.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
BUILDING CODES
• International Building Code (IBC). • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). – Referenced in NFPA 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations .
• IBC Type IA or IB. •NFPA. – I (422) or I (332). – Numbers are fire resistance in hours. -- Four-hour rated exterior bearing walls. -- Two-hour rated interior bearing walls. -- Two-hour rated column protection.
Fire Resistive
• IBC Type IIA or IIB.
•NFPA.
– II (111) or II (000).
Non Combustive
Type III
Ordinary Construction
Heavy Timber also known as mill construction
Type 4
Wood Frame
Type 5
DANGERS OF ENGINEERED
WOOD I-BEAM FLOORS
• High surface-to-mass ratio.
• Often unprotected by gypsum wallboard.
– Early failure.
• Improper field cuts and penetrations.
Knowledge of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ can explain fire and collapse behavior, as well as impact investigator’s safety.
Loads
combined weight of construction materials. • Walls, floors, roofs. • Ceilings, stairways. • Built-in partitions. • Permanent equipment
Dead Load
combined weight produced by the use and occupancy of the building. • Movable objects, such as equipment, furniture and people. • Weather, such as snow and rain.
Live Loads
load resulting from kinetic
forces and loads. Combined with influence
of dead and live loads.
Impact Loads
is a network of pipes and valves suspended throughout a building
and ready to deliver water through regularly spaced nozzles (sprinklers) shortly
after a fire starts.
Automatic sprinkler system
The sprinkler system should be connected to an adequate water supply that delivers water through
an
An underground main
The ________________
is the vertical pipe that connects the underground main to feed and cross mains
System Riser
These mains are connected to the
__________________
on which the sprinklers are located.
Branch lines
Typical Automatic Fire Sprinkler System Layout
Water is released from the sprinklers automatically when a sprinkler’s operating element is heated
to or above its temperature rating. Operating elements may be
fusible links
frangible glass bulbs
rods
chemical pellets
In __________ systems for high hazard properties, all sprinklers operate simultaneously, but this is a rare
arrangement.)
Deluge
_______________ are the most commonly installed fire suppression systems.
Automatic sprinkler systems
Sprinkler systems installed
in residential properties are designed specifically to
prevent flashover in the room where the fire
starts, thereby enhancing life safety.
Of the two basic types of automatic sprinkler systems,
________________ are the most common
Wet pipe systems
are used in unheated areas where having water in the piping would
be susceptible to freezing.
Dry pipe systems
Instead of water, the piping contains pressurized air
___________system usually is slightly slower to apply water than a wet pipe system because it takes
more time to purge the air and deliver the water to the sprinklers. This
decreases system efficiency
and makes dry systems less desirable when immediate water application is important.
The Dry
________ describes ferrous
-based materials, and “_______” is used to identify copper or plastic materials.
Pipe- Ferrous based
Tube- copper or plastic
. These valves have
a manual operating handle that is connected
to a small arrow or paddle. When the
arrow/paddle is in line with (parallel to) the
pipe or tube, the valve is fully open. If the
arrow is perpendicular to the pipe, the valve
is fully closed.
Remote indicator valve
What is the weak link in a fire suppression system?
The essential valve that is not
required to be an indicating valve is the
roadway gate, key valve or box valve
. This valve normally is installed at the connection between the water purveyor’s pipe,
and the underground water main that supplies the sprinkler system. The purpose of this valve is
to isolate the sprinkler system from the water purveyor’s system. Since this valve does not have
to be indicating – It is the weak leak
Other manually operated valves that exist on sprinkler systems might include drain or test valves.
These are known as _____________
. Since they do not control water supplies to the sprinkler system, auxiliary valves are not required to be indicating valves.
auxiliary valves
This may be an electric or a mechanical device that is used to report when a sprinkler or
sprinklers have opened –
or a pipe breaks –
and water has begun to flow through the system.
Waterflow alarm
Electric waterflow alarms respond to
a flow switch or pressure switch
The flow switch employs
a small vane that is inserted into the
water stream of the sprinkler pipe.
When water flows because a sprinkler has opened,
the vane moves and closes an electrical
contact that signals an alarm.
Mechanical alarms are known as
Water Motor Gongs
Fire pump assemblies consist of what three major components:
Fire Pump
The Driver (electric motor)
The Controller (the brain)
Sprinkler systems have a success rate at fire control or suppression that exceeds
90%
Sprinkler system failures generally can be traced to one of three major causes:
Design deficiencies in the system
Impairments to the sprinkler system before a fire
.
System impairments during a fire
.
Modern sprinkler systems are
designed to operate with about no more than _____sprinklers flowing
20
There are three types of standpipe systems
Class I
systems have 2½ inch outlets
(hose connections) and are designed to be
used by the fire department,
Class II
systems have 1½ inch outlets and
are designed to be used primarily by
trained building occupants.
Class III
systems have both 2½ inch and
1½-inch outlets, and combine the features
of both Class I and II systems.
A basic fire alarm system consists of several key components,
fire alarm control panel,
initiating devices
indicating appliances,
and the wiring that connects all
of them.
The National Fire Alarm Code describes several methods of alarm monitoring, but the
most common is alarm reporting to a
__________________
.
Central Station
Smoke alarms found within dwelling units normally are “single station” devices. This
means they are
not connected to part of a fire alarm system, and generally sound only in the room where they are located.
Commercial cooking equipment
requires special attention. The biggest problem with commercial cooking equipment is
is the result of poor housekeeping: accumulations of grease
Recent studies have revealed that dry chemical fire suppression systems are ineffective on
vegetable-based cooking oils, or on equipment that retains heat for a long time such as a
well-insulated deep fryer
