FIRE PROTECTION
PLANNING
The preservation of the structure and its contents against the damage or
destruction, though secondary in importance, is nonetheless, of serious concern to
owners and others having a financial interest in property.
Although the inclusion of Fire-fighting equipment in building is always
desirable and increasingly mandatory, good practice begins with the design of
structure. This is necessarily affected by the permitted, building density in the
locality and the flammability of the building and its expected contents.
Some of the materials and equipment that must be considered are:
A. Fire resistance of the selected structural type and material and the contents of
the building.
B. Limitations of volumes within fire-resistance barriers in other wise vulnerable
buildings.
C. Precautions against perforations of approved and required barriers.
D. Exits and afire Tower Stairs.
E. Protection against fire cause by defective electrical system.
F. Protection against fire cause by lightning.
G. Detection and alarm system.
H. Standpipe and hose system within and near building.
I. Automatic sprinkler system.
J. Automatic smoke and heat venting.
K. Smoke and heat shafts
L. Control of air-conditioning ducts.
M. Communication in high rise building.
N. Elevator control.
O. Fire command station in high-rise building.
HIGH-RISE FIRE SAFETY
Definition of a high-rise building in term of fire protection:
1. Too tall to be completely accessible to fire-fighting equipment from the ground.
This problem occurs anywhere from 6 to 12 stories, but usually 8 to 10 stories,
depending upon the reach of aerial ladder equipment available. It means that the
fire must be fought internally above the levels.
2. Too tall to make complete evacuation of occupants feasible. This occurs at
about 25 stories, where complete evacuation would take five minutes
theoretically and about 50 to 150 percent longer than this in reality. It means that
provision for safety and life, supports for the occupants must be made within the
building.
3. Tall enough to make possible chimney or stack effects for air and smoke flow.
This is to some extent true in all buildings, but it becomes especially pronounced
in buildings about 8 stories high. This means that provision must be made for the
control of air flow and products of combustion.
For all office buildings occupied by 100 persons above or below street level or more
than a total of 500 persons in the entire building:
FIRE SAFETY PLAN
1. Plan for fire drill and evacuation procedures; including appointment of Fire
Safety Director, Fire brigade and Floor Wardens.
2. Signs required at elevators and stairs.
For buildings 100 feet (30 mt.) or more in eight:
FIRE STAIR DOORS
Door to interior stairs shall not be locked except:
1. On street floor to prevent access to stars.
2. On stair side if every 4 stories or less, door is open-able.
3. Where fail safe electric door lock, activated by any detector, is provided.
CLASS E FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
1. Combination fire alarm signal system consisting of fire alarm and two-way voice
communication system (direct wire radio, or carrier current). with at least one
station per floor. Activation of alarm station will identify its floor location at the
fire command station, mechanical control center, and the regularly assigned
location of the Fire Safety Director, sound alarm and notify automatically Fire
Department.
2. Fire command station, located in lobby in building containing communication
capacity (two-way voice) between Fire Command station and floor warden stations,
mechanical control center elevators, air handling control rooms. Audible alarm
signal, visual display system to activate activation location on each floor.
DETECTORS
1. On each elevator landing, activation shall stop all fans, activate smoke exhaust
or stair pressurization fans, return affected elevators to terminal building, and
automatically sound alarm and notify fire department.
2. At the return air shafts at each floor.
COMPARTMENTATION
(applies to floors located more than 12 meters above grade served by multi-floor air
conditioning system)
1. Areas to be compartment-ed by one hour separation into spaces not to exceed
750 sq m.
2. Sub-division of area may be increased to 1500 sq m provided such area is
completely protected with space detectors.
3. Where local area exceeds 1,000 sq m at least one fire separation shall be two
hour rated and create areas of refuge.
SMOKE AND HEAT CONTROL
(Applies to buildings served by multi-floor air conditioning system)
1. Smoke shaft to exhaust heat and smoke to outdoors.
2. Systems to be activated automatically upon activation of any detectors.
ELEVATORS
1. Elevators serving fire floor to be recalled and retained at terminal floor by
activation of landing detectors or command station control.
2. Three elevators servicing each floor shall be equipped with service fire-men’s.
3. Interlock wiring for elevator hoist-way doors will be required to resistant to
high temperature.
SPRINKLERS
1. For show rooms exceeding 750 sq m located more than 12 m above grade
shall be put with sprinkler. Use for domestic water permitted.
2. When floor is completely put with sprinkler, compartmentation and smoke
shaft and stair pressurization is exempted.
WATER AND STANDBY POWER
A very large industrial plant may settle in a suburb or in a small community where
the local company cannot entirely cope. In such cases reserve underground storage
of several hundred thousand of gallons or an adjacent artificial lake would not be
unusual.
When such reserves must be delivered by pumping during a fire, and electrical
power outage could be a tragedy; then standby power must cut in. Diesel-powered
pump take over. These units and their fuel storage should be separately housed in
fire-resistant enclosure, remote from the possible location of fire in the main
building.
STANDPIPES AND HOSES
Fire companies with their apparatus find difficulty in fighting fires from the street in
tall structures. Standpipes and hoses with a separate water reserve or upfeed
pumping are extremely valuable in any building but become highly essential in tall
building. The figure drawn here shows such a system, which is intended for use by
building personnel until the fire engines arrived and thereafter by the trained staff of
the fire department.
It is not practical to store enough water on the roof for a protracted fire-fighting
period and it is usually assumed that a half hour supply will be more than enough to
provide for the short period it take the fire engines to arrived.
When the system is used by the Fire Department its pumps are attached to the
street siamese to deliver water from street hydrants or the building’s ‘ secondary
source’.
The check valve closest to the siamese in use opens and the check valves at the tank
closes to prevent the water from rising in to the tank no avail.
After the engines are disconnected from the siamese, the water between the
siamese and the adjacent check valve drain out through the ball drip.
The overhead tank is considered a most dependable source, but it sometimes
requires a height that is architecturally undesirable. In this case upfeed fire pumps
operating automatically to deliver water to higher stories from lower suction reserve
tanks may be used.
Another alternate in this case is a pneumatic tank used to deliver water by the
power of the air that is compressed in the upper portion of the tank.
The water zone as shown in the figure of hot and cold water zoning are also
generally followed in planning for fire protection. Fire standpipes, and their hoses
are usually located at or near fire stairs from which personnel for fire fighter can
approach a fire.
B. SPRINKLERS
Automatic sprinkler systems consist of a horizontal pattern of pipes placed near the
ceilings of industrial building, warehouses store, theaters, and other structures
where the fire hazard requires their use. These pipes are provided with outlets and
sprinkler heads so constructed that temperatures of 135 to 160 ° F (55 ° to 70° C)
celsius will cause them to open automatically and emit a series of fine water sprays.
Two System s of Sprinklers:
1. Wet Pipe System - ordinary with water constantly filling both mains and
distribution pipes.
2. Dry Pipe System - generally confined to unheated buildings. There is no water in
the distributing pipes of the dry-pipe system except during a fire. Remote valves ,
may be actuated by sensitive elements to admit water to sprinkler heads.
Sprinkler Heads - these are of the
quartzoid bulb type. The valve is
transparent and contains a colored
liquid. At 136°F the bulb breaks and
releases a water system.
Two Types:
1. Upright - this type is used above the
piping is exposed. It is safer against
damage by workers.
2. Pendent - this type projects through a
finished ceiling when piping is
concealed.
Spacing of Sprinkler Heads
Is governed by several factors:
A. Type of occupancy and total area
B. Fire rating of the building (1 or 2 hrs)
C. Construction of the ceiling
D. Spacing of the joists
The coverage of one sprinkler head varies from about 20 sq m (200 sq ft) per
sprinkler for light hazard occupancy (like hospital, residences) to about 9 or 10 sq m
(90 sq ft) for extra hazard conditions (like chemical, woodworking, aircraft hangars).
nozzles are set about 8 to 12 ft 2.40 m to 3.60 apart on the supply pipes that in turn
are spaced about 10 to 14 ft apart (3.00-4.20 m) and are usually run at right angles
exposed beams or panels.
Special Installation requirements:
A. At least one fire department connection on each frontage
B. A master alarm valve control for all water supplies other than the department
connections.
C. Special fire walls between protected areas and unprotected areas
D. Sloping waterproof floors with drain or scuppers to carry away waste water.
