Download Chapter 5

Exercise #2 (part 2)
• Based on what you read in Chapter 4, determine if the
corridors and exit doors meet the requirements for egress
width, according to the IBC.
• Use the information determined in the first part of Exercise
1 along with Table 1005.1: Egress Width Per Occupant
Served.
• Show your calculations for egress widths of doors and
corridors.
• Be prepared to turn in part 1 and part 2 of Exercise #2 at
the beginning of next class.
Fire-Resistant Materials &
Assemblies
Part 1
Chapter 5
Fire Prevention
• Construction Type (Chapter 3): assigns hourly
fire-resistance rating to almost every
structural element, including structural walls
& floors
• Fire & life safety codes: place restrictions on
building materials used inside the building
– Interior walls, windows, doors, ductwork, wiring,
plumbing pipes, finishes & furniture, etc.
• All considered combustible fuel loads.
Systems to Promote Fire Safety
• Passive Systems
– Once in place, nothing else has to occur to be part of
the control of a fire:
• Fire & smoke barriers & partitions
– walls
• Horizontal assemblies
– Floors, ceilings
• Opening protectives
– Windows, doors
• Through-penetration protectives
– Firestops, draftstops, dampers
• Finishes & furniture
Systems to Promote Fire Safety
• Active Systems
– Have to be activated in order to work against the
fire
• Detection systems
– Detectors, fire alarms, communication systems
• Extinguishing and suppression systems
– Fires extinguishers, fires hoses, sprinkler systems
• Emergency lighting
Systems to Promote Fire Safety
• Exiting Systems
– Elements of a building that assist and direct
occupants to a place of safety
• Means of egress
– Corridors, exits, stairs, ramps, etc.
• Exit communication systems
– Signage, audible, visual communication
Compartmentalization
• Overall concept of passive fire-protection
• Separation of areas in a building to control fire
and smoke by the use of wall, floor, and ceiling
assemblies
– Some are required to be fire rated, some will need
to be smoke rated, some will be a combo of both
• Important to note: Fire resistance ratings DO
NOT necessarily resist the spread of smoke
Fire Walls
(party walls)
• Fire walls have a separate foundation from the rest of the
building and extends to the roof
• Fire walls & side of building connected to it are designed to
remain intact even when the other side of the building is
demolished in an emergency
• Can divide a building that has 2 types of construction
– Ex: connecting a medical office building with a hospital that has
a different building type
• Or to create building divisions within the same construction
type
– Ex: Factory that has exceeded allowable area – fire walls break
up the building into separate buildings
• Rating: 2 – 4 hours
– Determined by occupancy classification and Table 705.4
• Typically, fire walls are usually planned & built
during initial construction
– May not be part of an interior project BUT:
• If you are punching through a fire wall (to add a door,
window, etc) the door/window assemblies must
maintain the same fire rating as the fire wall.
Fire-Rated Assemblies
• Create compartments within a building or
space: horizontally & vertically
– Fire barriers
• Vertical building elements like walls & shaft enclosures
– Fire partitions
• Vertical building elements like walls & shaft enclosures
– Horizontal assemblies
• Floor/ceiling or ceiling/roof assemblies that have a fire
rating
• Fire Barriers: continuous
from top of floor assembly
to bottom of floor/ceiling
assembly
– Limited number of openings
allowed
– Full enclosure
• Fire Partitions: less
restrictive. Most often used
to separate types of spaces
– Occupiable space, dwelling unit,
sleeping unit, guest room/suite,
living area/room, habitable room
(see inset in textbook, chapter 2)
– Number of openings is not
restricted (although are required
to be rated)
• Horizontal Assembly: same
function as fire barriers,
but horizontal instead of
vertical
• Fire Areas:
created by fire
barriers and/or fire
walls and/or
horizontal assembly
to provide
compartmentalizati
on = limits the
spread of fire
– Can divide a
building into
separate areas, that
may allow one area
to be sprinklered
and one not
– Used to separate
different
occupancies
Occupancy Separation
• Occupancies that have
dissimilar risk factors are
required to be separated
by fire barriers or
horizontal assembly
– Required for horizontally
adjacent spaces as well
as vertically adjacent
spaces
– Note: when deciding on
the rating for a horizontal
assembly (floor/ceiling)
make sure to check
Building Type rating as
well – use the strictest
one.
Other Types of Separation
• Tenant Separation
– only required within a covered mall – stores/restaurants
need to be separated by fire partition.
• Dwelling & Sleeping Unit Separation
– Fire partitions & Building Type
• Incidental Use Areas or Rooms (see Table 508.2)
– Machine and storage rooms are required to be enclosed by
fire barriers
• Vertical Shaft Enclosures
– Elevators, dumbwaiters, mechanical chases, & staircases
are required to be enclosed by fire barriers. Fire rating is
determined by how many floors are penetrated –
horizontal assembly is often required at the top and
bottom.
Rated Means of Egress
• Stairs
– Compartmentalized = fire barriers that are vertically continuous
through each floor & horizontal assemblies with minimal
penetrations
• Horizontal Exits
– Provides an exit away from the fire using fire barriers to provide
and exit from one space into another on the same floor
• Areas of Refuge
– Required as part of an accessible exit.
– Required to be separated by a smoke barrier (which provides a
fire-rating of 1 hour)
• Corridors
– Typically exit-access corridors are required to be rated, while
corridors within a small tenant space are not
• Exit-Access Corridors: lead to an exit
– Typically rated 1 hour: refer to Table 1017.1
– IBC: calls for fire partition (doesn’t affect horizontal assemblies)
so you must refer to Building Type to get required rating for
floor/ceiling
• Exit Passageways: corridors used as exits
– Typically have a 2 hour rating
– IBC & NFPA: both call for fire barriers with horizontal assemblies
that match fire-rating
Homework
• Read Chapter 6, complete part 2 of exercise #2, and complete
the following:
• Exercise #3: From the floorplan provided to you in class and
based on your reading and class lectures, determine the
following (re-drawn the floorplan to include):
• Occupant Classification & Occupant Load for each space
• Occupant load for the entire floor
• Travel distance & Path of travel (from each room to exit access,
from exit access to exit)
• Egress width (doors & corridor)
• Which walls are fire-rated? Determine the fire-rating for each and
include your reasoning.
• Call out:
–
–
–
–
Exit passageway
Access corridor
Area(s) of refuge
Horizontal exit
Due next class – will be collected.