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can cause
burns
Shock
Dehydration
heat exhaustion
fluid blockage of the respiratory tract
responsible for about 25% of the deaths
resulting from building fires
nonthermal products
most fire deaths are caused by the nonthermal
products
smoke can usually be seen and smelled
made up of droplets of flammable tars and small
particles of carbon suspended in gases, it irritates
the eyes and nasal passages, sometimes blinding
and/or choking a person
gases are especially dangerous because, without
visible smoke, they are so often difficult to detect
some gases are directly toxic, but all are
dangerous because they displace oxygen
common gases released in building fires include
carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide
Carbon monoxide
a deadly product of combustion and is often
the most abundant
produced when insufficient oxygen is
available to completely oxidize the burning
material
it is more readily attached to hemoglobin
molecules in red blood cells than is oxygen,
thus depriving the brain and muscles of
needed oxygen
this leads to irrational behavior and loss of
consciousness, then to death
Carbon dioxide
likely to result from combustion but,
unless intentionally introduced into a
space as a means of fire suppression,
should not be present in concentrations
with serious health impacts (beyond
potential headaches and dizziness)
other dangerous and commonly
encountered building-fire gases
hydrogen sulfide
sulfur dioxide
ammonia
oxides of nitrogen
cyanide
phosgene
hydrogen chloride
these types of gases may cause eye, skin,
nose, and throat irritation
and in sufficient concentrations can be
psychotropic and/or toxic
in indoor fires, oxygen commonly becomes
insufficient because the fire consumes it so
rapidly
the normal concentration of oxygen in air is
about 21%
at less than 17%, muscular coordination and
judgment are diminished
at 14% down to 10%, people remain
conscious but become irrational, and fatigue is
rapid
at 10% down to 6%, collapse occurs, but
revival is possible when increased oxygen
is supplied
the technique of starving the fire of
oxygen can therefore pose a threat to
human beings
both by increasing the chances of carbon
monoxide production and by depriving
people of oxygen
Objectives in Fire Safety
four common design intents related to
building fire safety, in order of usual
importance, are:
1. Protection of life
2. Protection of building
3. Protection of contents
4. Continuity of operation
Fire Safety and Other
Environmental Control Systems
thermal mass
high ceilings
windows,
solid (noncombustible) overhangs over
windows
elevated water storage tanks
thermal mass
useful for
for passive heating and cooling systems
for acoustic isolation of airborne sound
for fire barriers (most thermally massive
materials will not burn easily)
high ceilings
useful for
daylight distribution
displacement ventilation
collecting a large quantity of smoke
before it reaches the occupants
allowing smoke and/or flames from a
fire to be seen from a greater indoor
distance
windows
for daylight, ventilation, and view
allow access for firefighting and rescue
provide escape routes
relieve smoke accumulation with fresh
air
relieve some of the stress of trapped
occupants
solid (noncombustible) overhangs over
windows
provide sunshading
but also discourage the vertical
spread of fire over the building face
can serve as emergency exterior
places of refuge
elevated water storage tanks
provide both adequate water pressure
for plumbing fixtures
water for firefighting in the first few
minutes of a fire before firefighters
arrive
Protection of Life
designers should consider how building
occupants make decisions in a fire
in the first phase, cues are detected—the
smell of smoke, sounds associated with a
fire (breaking glass, sirens, alarm bells),
and, more rarely, the sight of flames
open plans (with longer visible indoor
distances) are more amenable to exposing
such clues to a wider population
in the second phase, the occupants define
the situation: Just how serious is this fire?
the more numerous the cues, the more
rapid the definition phase
how other people are reacting is
influential, and in the absence of strong
cues can actually lead to a group refusal to
evacuate in the early stages of a fire
in the third phase, coping behavior begins:
fight or flight?
for most low-rise buildings, a reasonable
goal is the evacuation of all occupants in
the time interval between the detection of
a fire and the arrival of the firefighters
designers can provide clearly defined
pathways to exits (exit access) that can be
kept relatively clear of smoke
to accommodate a wheelchair, a minimum
clear width of 32 in. (813 mm) is required
exits can take a variety of forms
vertical exits include smokeproof
towers, exterior and interior stairs and
ramps, and escalators that meet
specific requirements
vertical exits do not include elevators;
they are too easily stalled or, worse,
opened at the floor of a fire by
malfunctioning signal equipment
exits in the horizontal plane include doors
leading directly to the outside, 2-hour fire-
rated enclosed hallways, and moving walks
special horizontal exits are provided by
internal firewalls penetrated by two fire
doors—one swinging open in either
direction
exit discharge is the area outside an exit
that leads to a public way and may still
need protection in a fire
at least 30% of building fire deaths result
from fire cutting off the paths to exits
EXAMPLE: A multistory office building is 80 ft (24
m) wide by 300 ft (80 m) long. What exit capacity
is required per floor?
SOLUTION (I-P units)
The gross floor area = 80 × 300 = 2400 ft2
From Table 24.4, “business” categories are based on
one
person per gross 100 ft2
The population per floor is, therefore, (2400
ft2)/(100 ft2/person) = 240 people
Exit doors (to stairs): 240 people × 0.2 in./person
= 48 in. total
(One 34-in. clear door into each of two stairs = 2
doors × 34 = 68 in., more than the minimum.)
Stairs: 240 people × 0.3 in./person = 72 in. total
(Two stairs at 44 in. each = 88 in., more than the
minimum.)
building population as estimated for fire
safety is usually much greater than the
population for which HVAC, water, or
elevator service is designed
stairs with direct access to outdoor air at
each floor—so-called smokeproof towers—
are the safest kind
fire stair must allow firefighters to move
up while occupants are moving down.
another phenomenon is reentry, in which
occupants who have exited decide to
reenter despite the danger
high-rise buildings present much more
difficult problems
firefighting equipment can ordinarily reach
no higher than seven floors (about 90 ft
[27 m])
typically, only two exit stairways are
provided
downward flow rates in stairs were
formerly assumed at about 45 persons/
minute/22 in. (559 mm) of width, but
more recently, peak flows of only 24
persons/minute/22 in. (559 mm) have
been observed.
Property Protection
one of the earliest design concerns in this
category is that the site should permit access
for firefighting equipment
another factor is the amount of time it will
ordinarily take for firefighters to reach a site
another design concern is adequate water to
fight the fire
exposure protection is becoming common in
areas where highly flammable surroundings
pose a serious threat of fires originating
outside a building
exposure protection guards against heat
transfer by radiation and convective
currents and against direct fire transfer via
flying embers
exposure protection begins with the use of
nonflammable materials for the building’s
exterior
compartmentation
concealed spaces
structural protection allows a building to
continue to stand during a fire and enables
it to be salvaged rather than demolished
after a fire
Continuity of Operations
for most building functions, it is desirable to
minimize the disruption of operation that a
fire will cause
design strategies to encourage continuity of
operations include
special fire alarm/suppression systems
for especially critical operations areas
design of HVAC systems to allow for
100% outside air
provision for the speedy removal of the
water dumped on a fire from a sprinkler
system
WATER FOR FIRE SUPPRESSION
Hazard Classification
Pipe size,
Light Ordinary
in.
Steel Copper Steel Copper
1 2 2 2 2
1¼ 3 3 3 3
1½ 5 5 5 5
2 10 12 10 12
2½ 30 40 20 25
3 60 65 40 45
3½ 100 115 65 75
4 a a 100 115
5 160 180
6 275 300
8 b b
a One 4-in. system may serve up to 52,000 sq ft of floor area
b One 8-in. system may serve up to 52,000 sq ft of floor area
Source: NFPA 13
Hydraulic Method
the hydraulic method actually calculates
the pipe size of the entire piping system
based on
distribution of sprinklers
developed length
fitting losses
size and location of areas within the
building
water density and pressure required
Hydraulic Calculation Procedure