by:

MARIANO V. JOSEPH JR.

Professional Electrical Engineer
Chief, Fire Safety Enforcement Division, BFP-DILG
Member, Fire Code Technical Staff



Stage 2. Flashover
Stage 1. Pre-flashover or growth phase
Stage 3. Fully developed fire (Stable Phase)

Stage 4. Decay (Cooling Period)
Irreversible injury to dry skin
within 30 second
Intolerable within 5 minutes
Intolerable within 15 minutes
Intolerable within 25 minutes
Air Temperature
Human Response
Tolerable for less than 1 hour
(depends on humidity, clothing worn,
and level of physical exertion)
Human comfort zone conditions
(depends on humidity, air motion,
and other factors)


The amount of material which is able to burn
and release heat and smoke. In a compartment,
limitation of fuel will help to reduce the dangers
of heat and smoke.

Fire could spread from one compartment into
neighboring compartments by conduction,
convection, radiation, ultimately to involve the
entire building and to the other buildings in the
vicinity.

Conduction
-is heat transfer through solid materials.
Convection
-is heat transfer by air motion.
Radiation
-is heat transfer by electromagnetic waves.



> Combustibility
> heat release
> surface spread of flame
> ignitability
> smoke toxicity
It applies to an element of construction (a structural
member, a ceiling, a partition, a door, a window, a
roof, a wall, a floor, etc), or to an assembly of
elements.

Testing standard for Material Characteristic
(Reaction to Fire) with accordance to BS 476

Part 4 to 11 Materials only
Part 4 Non-Combustibility
Part 5 Ignitability
Part 6 Fire propagation
Part 7 Surface spread of flame
Part 11 Heat emission

Testing standard for Fire Performance (Resistance to Fire)
with accordance to BS 476

Part 20 Methods for determination of the fire
resistance of elements of construction
(general principles)
Part 21 Load bearing elements of construction
Part 22 Non-Load bearing elements of construction
Part 23 Suspended ceilings and door seals
Part 24 Ventilation and smoke extraction duct
systems

Fire safety in buildings covers both the
safety of occupants, fire fighters,
building and contents, together with
buildings in the vicinity.

To achieve the life safety objective, it is
necessary to provide the building with
adequate protected escape route which
lead to places of ultimate safety.

Pro-active (Passive) protection includes elements
of the building construction such as structural
protection and compartmentation to contain fire
and smoke. Pro-active (Passive) measures are
there primarily to contain and limit fire spread,
smoke, and heat, so as to provide a safe
environment for escape and rescue. Pro-active
measures can support smoke management
systems by providing fire resistance to smoke
extract ducts.

Active systems are those which operate only on
the detection of fire, heat or smoke. Those
systems such as water-based systems (sprinklers)
are aimed at giving an early alarm signal and
suppressing the growth of the fire by means of
water spray. They are expected to react at the
early stage of the development of fire.
Note: Buildings shall be designed to incorporate both
passive and active protection systems which are
complementary measures to achieve an optimum result.

Objectives
All buildings should be designed such that occupants could
escape when fire occurs.
To meet the requirement, it is essential to ensure that the
routes are:
-of adequate capacity and number,
-travel distance is limited and acceptable,
-protected from fire and smoke,
-illuminated and signed in relevant wording to suit
the country.
In some cases, further enhancements such as smoke control
system are required.





The efficiency of Passive Fire Protection systems is measured by its Stability,
Integrity, and Insulation where combining all these properties will extend the
building elements capability to prevent the fire from spreading and failure of
structural elements;
Fire Ratings consist of three numbers, for example 60/60/60. This numbers are in
minutes and refer to:

Stability
The protected load bearing element fulfills its function
during the entire fire resistance period
Integrity
The system does not allow spread of fire or hot gasses
during the entire fire resistance period
Insulation
The temperature increase of the unexposed side of the
system remains under set limits during the entire fire
resistance period


Objectives:

Fire compartments are generally included in building
design to limit fire and smoke spread so that people have
longer time to escape.

Factors affecting the level of compartmentation:
occupancy load
building type or purpose
fire load
Height
active fire systems
Power cables for fire lifts, sprinkler pumps,
smoke detectors, fire alarms, etc.
Computer cables
Telecommunication cables
Wet risers
Gas pipes


The first priority of the fire resistance is to enable
firefighters to bring a fire under control, or to carry
out search and rescue operations without the
building collapsing.
* controlling spread of fire by compartmentation
* preventing structural collapse for a period of time
* maintaining the integrity of key access routes to a
level greater than that required
for escape

Objectives:




The second priority in fire safety design is to provide
adequate means of escape for the building occupants.
* stability of structure exposed to a fire during the
escape period
* compartments to be provided to keep smoke and
heat away from escaping occupants

The third priority of fire resistance is to prevent
disproportionate damage to property.

Objectives:

(Depending on following factors)
* the way they are heated
* the temperature reached
* the type of building materials used
* the way they are stressed


* Concrete
* Steel
* Timber
* Masonry
* Calcium Silicate Materials
* Gypsum Plaster
* Glass



Requirements of Building Components
* Walls * Floor * Roofs
Requirements of Building Components

Objectives:

The primary objective of smoke control is to
reduce the hazard due to smoke by control of
its movement, and by the reduction of its
concentration to increase visibility.



Active fire system are designed to detect and
suppress a fire through a process of detection,
activation and suppression. And at the same
time, alarms are raised to the building
management and the occupants for evaluation
as well as the fire brigades for further
assistance.

Such systems are fairly costly as they generally
require sophisticated electronic equipment to
operate properly.

Manual System


Automatic System
> Smoke Detectors
> Heat Detectors
> Flame Detectors

First Aid Appliances
> Hose Reels & Stand Pipe System
> Portable Fire Extinguishers
Automatic Suppression Systems
> Sprinkler Systems
> Gaseous Systems
> Foam Systems
> Dry Powder Systems


First Aid Appliances
> Hose Reels & Stand Pipe System


First Aid Appliances
> Portable Fire Extinguishers


Automatic Suppression Systems
> Sprinkler Systems
> Gaseous Systems
> Foam Systems
> Dry Powder Systems


Fire Safety Management
Practical Aspects of Fire Safety
Fire Safety Manual
Alteration or amendment
Distance from site
Traffic and Access
Availability of Water
Security

MEANS OF EGRESS
FIRE BARRIERS
DETECTION SYSTEM
ALARM SYSTEM
FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM
SMOKE CONTROL SYSTEM




MEANS OF EGRESS

1. THE EXIT ACCESS
2. THE EXIT
3. THE EXIT DISCHARGE



FIRE BARRIERS

Prevent Flame and Smoke Spread
Prevent Structural Collapse




DETECTION SYSTEM AND ALARM SYSTEM

Detect Fire at Early Stage
Alert Occupant
Others



FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM

By Manual Fire Fighting
By Automatic Sprinkler System
- Suppression at Room of Fire Origin

SMOKE CONTROL SYSTEM

Limit Smoke Movement
Make Non-Fire Area Smoke Free


ACTIVE FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM
PRO-ACTIVE (PASSIVE) FIRE PROTECTION
SYSTEM


To control fire growth:
- By providing hose reels, extinguishers, risers and
hydrants.
- By installing sprinklers or other extinguishing agents
for special hazards.

To alarm or notify people:
- By providing manual call points, alarm sounders or
other sort of emergency communication systems.
- By installing detection systems such as heat detectors
and smoke detectors.





To control smoke spread:
- By providing ventilation and extract system.
- By providing smoke detectors in ducts in order
to activate the smoke barriers.
- By providing automatic controls for the HVAC
system.
- By installing pressurization to the stairwells.
- Limiting the quantities of smoke by using
sprinklers.
- By providing automatic door releases to smoke
control and fire doors.




To limit fire spread within the fire building:
- By providing compartmentation by installing fire
dampers in ducts.
- Controlling the fire spread by installing sprinklers.

To prevent fire spread to other buildings:
- Maintaining the integrity of glazing by using
drenchers.

To allow rapid egress:
- By providing detection and alarm systems.
- By providing illuminance sign and emergency lighting.




To facilitate Fire Service operations:
- By providing alarms with direct connection to the Fire
Service.
- By providing riser mains within the building

To prevent structural collapse:
- Controlling the fire with sprinklers.

To minimize damage to the building and its contents:
- Controlling or extinguishing the fire with sprinklers.



To control fire growth:
- By specifying suitable covering materials, including
consideration on the type of paint, colour of paint ,
thickness of wallpapers, thickness of veneer, etc., for
walls and ceilings that do not support rapid flame
spread.

To control smoke spread:
- By installing smoke stop doors lobbies.
- Ensuring that doors are closed.
- By sealing the penetrations.




To limit spread within the fire building:
- A building can be divided into fire compartments or
fire cells with barriers, which prevent fire spread for
the fire exposure design time. The reasons for
providing compartmentation include limiting the area
of possible loss, separating different occupancies,
isolating hazards, or protecting escape routes. Barriers
are usually horizontal floors or vertical walls. Besides
that, compartmentation can also be achieved by
ensuring that doors are closed, controlling vertical
shafts and seal penetrations.
- Partition ceiling spaces and other concealed spaces.



To prevent fire spread to other buildings:
- By limiting the size of windows and type of
glazing.
- Boundary walls must have sufficient fire
resistance, in order to remain standing and
contain a fire for the fire exposure design time.
To allow rapid egress:
- By providing safe egress routes.
To minimize damage to the building and its
contents:
- By controlling the extent of the fire and smoke
through compartmentation.



To facilitate Fire Service operations:
- By providing fire resistant access within the
building, preferably a separate access from the
main egress system, including firemans lift to
prevent overload of the egress system (firemen
going up, evacuees going down). The fire access
shall be classified as an essential service and shall
prove that it will stay in place for the appropriate
time to allow the fire fighters to have access to
the fire.




To prevent structural collapse:
-By controlling the extent of the fire through
compartmentation.
-Structural elements must be provided with sufficient
fire resistance to maintain stability for the fire exposure
design time. Prevention of collapse is essential for load-
bearing structural members and for load-bearing
barriers, which perform a fire-containing function.
Structural fire resistance must be provided to main
structural elements, and to secondary elements, which
support or provide stability to barriers or main members.
This is especially important for buildings, such as
hospitals, where total evacuation during a fire is not
possible and defend in place are practiced.




Local Code:
Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9514 Fire
Code of the Philippines 2008, as follows but not limited to::
Division 6 Section 10.2.6.1 Construction and Compartmentation
Division 6 Section 10.2.6.2 Protection of Vertical Opening and
Combustible Concealed Spaces
National Building Code of the Philippines, PD 1096

International Code:
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 Fire and Life Safety Code
International Building Code (IBC) 2006.




VII. ALTERNATIVE AND/OR REMEDIAL FIRE
SAFETY MEASURES

A. Fire Safety Construction
1. All interior partitions must be made of fire
resistive materials including parts or components,
extending from slab to slab.
2. Rooms, vertical and horizontal openings or
parts thereof must be totally enclosed.
3. All pipes chase must be constructed with fire
collar or fitted with sealant.


MC 2010 17





VII. ALTERNATIVE AND/OR REMEDIAL FIRE
SAFETY MEASURES

MC 2010 17

A. Fire Safety Construction
4. All exposed steel structure components must be
covered/coated with fire resistive materials to
protect its structural stability during conflagration.
5. All firewalls must be extended 20% more from
the established standard requirement.
6. All other fire safety construction components
must be constructed in accordance with
established standard requirement for any type of
occupancy.

ALWAYS REMEMBER
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
THANK YOU
MARIANO V. JOSEPH
Professional Electrical Engineer 2397
Chief, Fire Safety Enforcement Division
Bureau of Fire Protection, NHQ