Fire-Building Construction

Front 1

There are 12 terms I need to know when it comes to building construction. They are:

Back 1

Beam,column, dead load, firewall, joist, load bearing, live load, partition wall, party wall, plate, rafter, & stud

Front 2

Beam

Back 2

a structural member subject to loads perpendicular to its length.

Front 3

Column

Back 3

a vertical supporting member.

Front 4

Dead load

Back 4

load on a structure due to its weight and other fixed objects.

Front 5

Firewall

Back 5

a barrier design to stop the spread of fire within a structure or between two structures.

Front 6

Joints

Back 6

a small wooden beam which supports the floor or to which the ceiling is attached.

Front 7

Load bearing

Back 7

a structural member that supports and carries load of the structure such as the roof, floors, etc in addition to its own weight.

Front 8

Live load

Back 8

furniture, people & other movable objects not permanently attached.

Front 9

Partition wall

Back 9

an interior non-bearing wall dividing areas of a structure into living spaces.

Front 10

Party wall

Back 10

firewall used for joint service between two sections of a building.

Front 11

Plate

Back 11

the top and bottom horizontal structural member of a frame wall.

Front 12

Rafter

Back 12

a beam that supports the roof.

Front 13

Stud

Back 13

vertical upright frame in walls.

Front 14

● Type I: Fire Resistant

Back 14

structural members include walls, columns, beams, floors, and roofs are of approved noncombustible limited combustible materials. In-order to meet the standards of type I the members must have fire resistant rating of not less than:
» Exterior and interior bearing walls and columns 3 to 4 hours.
» Beam, girders, trusses and arches 2 to 4 hours.
» Floors 2 to 3 hours.
» and roof 1 ⁄ to 2 hours.
Type 1 will provide sufficient fire resistance is provided to insure life safety in occupancies with low to moderate hazards.
Define the basic structural characteristics of the five types of building construction and describe the general fire behavior expected with each. The fire spread through concealed spaces is reduced more readily controlled. These building are design to withstand major fire exposure without major structural damage. In these building the major causes of flame and smoke spread are breaches in the walls and ceiling.

Front 15

● Type II Noncombustible

Back 15

structural members including walls, columns, beams, floors, and roofs are of approved noncombustible or limited combustible materials. In order to meet fire resistant ratings of not less than:
» Exterior and interior bearing walls, columns, beams, girders, trusses, arches, and floors 1 to 2 hours.
» Roofs to 1 hours.
Type II usually have the same structural elements as fire resistant. Fire spread through concealed spaces is reduced and more readily controlled. Fire ignition involving the building is less likely.

Front 16

● Type III Ordinary

Back 16

exterior walls and structural members are made of approved noncombustible or limited combustible material. The interior walls and members (roof, floor, beams, etc) are wholly or partly of wood of smaller dimensions than required for heavy timber. In-order to meet the standards of type III fire resistance of structural members are not less than:
» Exterior bearing walls 2 hours.
» Interior bearing walls, columns, beams, floors, and roof:0 to 1 hours.
Type III Ordinary Construction burn easily unless the structure members of these buildings are protected they are equally subject to fire damage as wood frame. Fire stopping is essential to stop the spread as the building components add fuel to the load. Usually fire penetrates walls and doors easily.
Ordinary hide fire due to it construction more than any other type.

Front 17

● Type IV Heavy Timber

Back 17

exterior and their structural members are of approved noncombustible or limited combustible material. Other interior members are made of solid or laminated woo without concealed spaces. Must meet requirements specified for heave timber:
» Wood supporting columns
Floor loads 8" in any dimension.
Roof loads 6" in any dimension.
» Wood beams and supporting girders
Floor loads 6" X 10"
Roof loads only 4" to 6"
Floors must be constructed of splined or tongues and grooved planks not less than 3" thick and covered with 1" tongued and grooved flooring.
Type IV heavy timber resist failure in fire much longer, concealed spaces are prohibited, and the large dimensions of combustible members increases the fire resistance of the structure.

Front 18

● Type V wood frame

Back 18

exterior walls, bearing walls, floors, roof, and their supports are made wholly or partially of wood and other approved materials. The dimensions are smaller than heavy timber.
These are the most vulnerable to damage from fire. All the structural members combustible, as fire resistance is limited or nonexistent. There are many voids and concealed spaces which allow undetected fire spread. In wood frame is very susceptible to flashover as the members can flash over too.

Front 19

Signs of possible building collapse include:

Back 19

1. Poor mortar joints-bowing along tops of walls, cracks between bricks or blocks.
2. Overhangs separating from building.
3. Steel supports sagging.
4. Corner separation.
5. Sounds (deep trouble if you can hear these sounds over the fire ground noise.
6. Reinforcement stars on a building are indications of a weak structure.

Front 20

Why don't trust the truss?

Back 20

They have less solid joints or beams, which allows them to burn and fail quickly. H
Have little to no degree of fire resistance.
Lightweight metal or wood truss will fail after 5 to 10 minuets of fire exposure.
If only one truss fails often the whole set will fail causing the roof to fail.
Fast fire spread due to vertical web members.
When gusset plates are exposed to fire the ability of the plate to conduct heat causes the wood to expand ad the plate to loosen. Being that in a fire the points of connection in a truss are the first to fail.
Knowing this, if a building has burned for over five minutes in truss construction crew should not enter it or go onto the roof.