Fire Protection

Fire is a special kind of oxidation known as combustion. Oxidation is a process in which molecules of a fuel are combined with molecules of oxygen producing a mixture of gases and energy. When this occurs rapidly, as in a fire, energy is released as heat and light, and some gases become visible as smoke.
Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings Stein, Reynolds, Grondzik, Kwok

Fire has a triangle of needs

High Temperature

Fuel

Oxygen

A fire will be extinguished if deprived of just one of its needs.

High Temperature

Fuel

Oxygen

High Temperature

Fire
Fuel Oxygen

How the triangle influences design:

Fuel - Is the buildings structure and contents. The designer can control the buildings structure and finishes, but rarely oversees its contents. Temperature - A buildings cooling system cannot handle the heat of fire. Sprinkler systems will control the high temperatures fire needs. Oxygen - A building can deny oxygen to a fire but this often raises serious safety concerns since both people and fire thrive on oxygen. Fire suppression systems can cover the fuel (foam, dry chemicals) or displace oxygen with other gases (carbon dioxide) that inhibit the chemical action of the flame.

Fire
Sources of Ignition
Chemical (Spontaneous Combustion) Electrical Mechanical

Products of Combustion
Thermal - Heat and flame generally cause 25% of fire related deaths. Injuries include burns, shock, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and fluid blockage of the respiratory tract. Non-Thermal - Smoke and other gases generally cause 75% of fire related deaths. Smoke, which is seen and smelled, is made up of small particles of carbon and flammable tars. Smoke can cause suffocation and is often found in tandem with other gases. All gases involved with fire are dangerous because they displace oxygen. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are most prevalent in fire and can quickly displace oxygen. 21% - normal concentration of oxygen in a room 17% - muscular coordination and judgement are diminished 14% to 10% - people remain conscious but become irrational 10% to 6% - collapse occurs (revival is sill possible if oxygen is supplied)

Objectives in Fire Safety

National Fire Protection Association Fire Protection Handbook

1. Protection of Life 2. Protection of Property 3. Continuity of Operation

Fire Control
Fire and the built environment
Fire is harder to control/fight vertically than horizontally. Escalators, large open stairways, and large atriums are prone to an expansive fire. Poorly designed HVAC systems can become chimneys, allowing fire and smoke to penetrate floor planes. Large, open interior spaces when left unguarded by sprinklers can allow fire and smoke to spread rapidly. Windowless buildings are harder for fire fighters to gain access to, and also inhibit evacuation. Many finishes provide excellent fuel for fire while emitting dangerous gases.

Codes specify the minimum acceptable protection

Designers can go further than code to enhance fire safety. Codes typically prescribe design strategies that are passive means of limiting the spread of fire and protecting life: wall, floor, and ceiling constructions; maximum open floor areas; maximum distances to exits; etc. Designers can work with fire code enforcement agents to produce performance based fire safety design, rather than prescriptive approaches.

Summary of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code

Provisions of Occupant Load and Exit Capacity

Fire Control
Optimal architectural elements can be used for optimal fire safety
Thermal mass - passive heating/cooling, acoustic isolation, and fire barriers (thermally massive objects do not burn easily) High ceilings - daylight distribution, displacement ventilation, and collection of large quantity of smoke Windows - daylight, ventilation, view, and access to fire fighting/rescue, relief of smoke accumulation, and escape routes Solid overhangs over windows - sun-shading, and discourage fire from spreading vertically. Elevated water storage tanks - provide strong water pressure for plumbing, as well as for suppression systems in the critical first minutes of a fire.

Fire Control
Protection of life, property, and the continuity of operations
Clearly defined and lit pathways to exits must be provided, without dead-end corridors. At least 30% of fire related deaths occur due to a person being cut off from an exit. Adequate and uninhibited means of vertical egress must be provided. (smoke proof towers, exterior/interior stairs and ramps) These paths must also allow for fire fighting teams to enter the building in the opposite direction. Elevators are not vertical egress and contemporary models will shut down in the event of a fire. People as a collective will react to cues (smoke, sirens, heat) and visual confirmation of fire is rare. Offering more of these cues will help motivate groups of people to evacuate a scene before there is a serious problem. Adequate suppression systems must be provided to counter the first minutes of fire and greatly reduce property damage. Adequate fire barriers must be provided to counter the spread of fire to neighboring rooms, zones, buildings, and neighborhoods. (exposure protection, firewalls) The building should be designed to isolate incident as well as handle the effects of water and smoke damage in order to quickly restart the operations of the building.

Exit Access & Exit Discharge

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Protection Systems

Smoke Management
Confinement - The most passive design response to smoke is to try and confine it to the area itself, or confine occupants to areas where smoke cannot intrude. Refuges - Areas where building occupants can be sheltered from smoke inhalation. These are often found in fire stairwells. Curtain boards- Smoke barriers suspended from the ceiling in an effort to trap heat and smoke at least for a limited amount of time. Compartmentation - Not the best strategy as egress routes can become intoxicated with gases.

Fire Protection Systems

Smoke Management
Dilution - During initial minutes of fire, the dilution of smoke with 100% outside air might ease evacuation, provided through the HVAC system. However, dilution alone is rarely sufficient due to the large quantities of air needed. Pressurization - Similar to dilution, by adding air pressure to stairways smoke will have difficulty entering the zone via open doors or small cracks. Exhaust - Using both air velocity and pressure, automated venting hatches and fans designed specifically for this reason can remove smoke at same rate in which it is generated. These are generally used for large open spaces (atriums, warehouses, auditoriums) and can also be employed after a fire.

Fire Protection Systems

Sprinkler systems and HVAC systems can hamper the function of smoke exhaust systems (cooling the smoke, reducing buoyancy, spreading the smoke through duct work) and must be closely coordinated with fire protection systems.

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Suppression Systems
Water is most popular medium for fire suppression it is relatively cheap and readily available cools, smothers, emulsifies, and dilutes removes large quantities of heat as it turns to vapor increases in volume 1,700 times and pushes away oxygen Water also has many disadvantages it is damaging it conducts electricity in a spray or surface flammable oils float to its surface water vapor can be harmful

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Suppression Systems: Standpipes (Classes)
Class I - Full-scale fire fighting. Typically required in buildings over 3 stories or buildings with large floor areas. These are 2-1/2 hose connections at designated locations. Class II - Immediate first-aid. 1-1/2 hose connections that generally store a hose, nozzle, and rack. Class III - A combination of Class I and Class II, both hose connections are provided. Class II and Class III systems are becoming outdated because firefighters would rather have occupants evacuate a building than try and fight a fire.

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Suppression Systems: Standpipes (System Types)
Automatic-wet systems - Pipes are always connected to a water supply capable of automatically defending against fire. Always filled, water will flow immediately once hose or sprinkle valve is opened Automatic-dry systems - Pipes are always connected to a water supply capable of automatically defending against fire, however the system is pressurized with gas until a valve is opened. As gas exits water replaces it. Semiautomatic-dry systems - Same as an automatic-dry system, however the system must also send a signal from a remote sensor to activate water. Manual-dry systems - Pipes are not connected to a water supply and the system must be filled by the fire department through an easily accessed connection. Manual-wet systems - Pipes are filled by a domestic water source in order to test the system but water for fire fighting is also provided by the fire department through an easily accessed connection.

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Suppression Systems: Water Supply and Sprinklers
Water is initially supplied in larger buildings, before the fire department arrives, by a fire reservoir. The reservoir is located either above the building as a water tower or beside the building as a tank and usually coincides with a domestic use tank. Sprinkles can be handled an number of ways but the typical sprinkler head contains water by holding a plug or cap tightly against the orifice of the sprinkler head. The restraining device is typically glass filled with both a red dye and a bubble of air. As the dye expands due to heat it compresses the air until the bulb bursts. This releases the water as a solid stream which is then deflected into a mist by a small metal plate located on the sprinkler. Flow control sprinklers close automatically once ceiling temperatures are reduced. Ordinary sprinklers will remain activated until main valve is manually closed. Deluge sprinkler systems have sprinkler heads that are always opened. A separate heat and smoke detection system will open a valve and flood all heads in the system with water. (Aircraft hangars, flammable storage)

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Suppression Systems: Other Methods
Intumescent Material - Fire proofing finish materials swell when heated and block openings through which fire and smoke could have passed. Halon 1301 - A gas that has a flame-extinguishing capability that interrupts the chemical chain reaction in a fire. It does not displace oxygen and can quickly suppress a fire where water damage is sensitive (computer rooms, museums) Foams and Carbon Dioxide - Foams can suppress fires on the surfaces of liquids since they float and do not harm delicate machinery, while CO2 can displace oxygen in tight spaces that are free of people. Portable Fire Extinguishers - Most fires in buildings can be extinguished at an early stage with these common devices (water filled, gas filled)

Fire Protection Systems

Lightning Protection
Factors that influence a need to protect against hot lightning bolts are frequency and severity of thunderstorms, value of building, hazard to occupants, and exposure (tall, open field). Basic principle is to provide a continuous metallic path to solid ground for the lightning strike, preventing the strike from passing through nonconductive portions of a building (generates heat due to high resistance) All types consist of three elements air terminal - pointed copper or aluminum rod above structure ground terminal - end of wire deep within highly conductive soil down conductor - the continuous metallic path between There are three types of protection Franklin Cone Overhead Ground Shield Faraday Cage

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Alarms
Fire alarms protect life and property by notifying occupants and fire departments of a fire, or potential fire. Types of systems Household fire warning systems Protected premises systems Off-Premise systems Types of detection (in order of hazard) Gas detection Ionization detection (typical smoke detector) Photoelectric detection Flame detection Heat detection

Fire Protection Systems

Ionization Detection - Typical Smoke Detection
These detectors contain a small amount of radioactive material that serves to ionize the air between two charged surfaces, causing a current to flow. Combustion particles entering the detector chamber, as in smoke, reduce the mobility of the ions present in air, thus reducing current and increasing voltage. Changes are sensed and the alarm is set off. Ionization detectors should not be placed in areas where large amounts of small particles, such as smoke, haze, dust, are produced (kitchens, wood shops, stages, poolside, places with concentrated engine exhaust) All detectors should be hardwired and backed up with battery power.

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Alarms - Get Out Devices
Manual Stations - In contrast to automatic detection, these are operated by hand and aide in spreading alarm throughout a building after fire has been detected by a person. Found on normal paths of egress Can be wired by zone or by building Manual stations will not set off the sprinkler system (despite Hollywood) Audible Signals - A signal that delivers an alarm bell, or horn, 15 dBA above the average ambient sound for at least one minute and can be activated by either an automatic detector or a manual station. Visible Signals - A strobe light, generally in tandem with an audible signal, located inside rooms, egress paths, and outdoors. A maximum distance between strobes does not exceed 100 feet. EXIT Signs - Signs located on paths of egress that denote the path with arrows and indicate appropriate doorways. Ill-conceived aesthetic appropriations of manual stations, visual and audible enunciators can be extremely dangerous

Fire Protection Systems

Fire Command Posts
All buildings with an integrated protected premises system or off-premises system will have some form of fire command post. These range from simple fire alarm enunciators/control panels to specifically dedicated control rooms Are generally found within or adjacent to the lobby space of a building Fire alarm annunciators/control panels link the entire fire alarm system to an easily accessed unit and announce which alarms have been activated. These panels usually display a typical floor plan construction. Control rooms are found in much larger buildings, generally high-rises offering vital services to the fire department on scene. Two-way communication to at least one fire station per floor Selected distribution of alert tones throughout the building Communication with the city fire departments central location Visual displays of all alarms and fire pump status Emergency generator status and means to test all circuits and devices Control of smoke control devices, security access systems, and elevator control and displays