SU

BJEC
T-

TOPICDISASTER
RESISTANT
CONSTRUCTION
SUBTOPICRESISTANT
CONSTRUCTION

FIRE

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES

RASHMI BHAT.
FOURTH YEAR
B.ARCH(2012-13)
1 | Page

PAD.DR.D.Y.PATIL
COLLAGE OF
ARCHITECTURE

CONTENTS1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

INTRODUCTION
BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF FIRE RESISTIVE CONSTRUCTION
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN FIRE PROTECTION
FIRE RESISTING MATERIALS AND ITS CHARACHTERISTICS
FIRE RESISTING PROPERTIES OF BUILDINGS
5.1 FIRE RESISTANCE
5.2 BENEFITS
5.3 FIRE RESISTANCE TESTING
5.4 FIRE RESISTIVE ASSEMBLIES
6. FIRE RESISTIVE BUILDING TECHNIQUES
6.1 REASONABLE RESISTANCE
6.2 BUILT-IN PREVENTION
6.3 PLANNED PASSIVITY
6.4 PASSIVE AUTOMATION
7. FIRE PROTECTION ELECTRICAL LIFE SAFETY CIRCUITS
8. FIRE PROTECTION USING CONSTRUCTION METHODS
9. STUDY OF FIRE RESISTIVE BUILDINGS( case study )
10. CONCLUSIONS
11. REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION:
The building where we spent our life should be strong enough to handle natural
disaster like flood, earthquake and fire etc. Fire-resistive construction is that construction
designed to prevent or slow the spread of fire using materials and assemblies tested for their
fire-resistive properties. The International Building Code (IBC) defines fire resistance as:
That property of materials or their assemblies that prevent or retard the passage of
excessive heat, hot gases or flames under conditions of use.
It is defined as the fire protection of the occupants of the building and adjacent
buildings, contents, and structure of the building, and adjacent buildings from the risks of
fire and spread of fire. Alternatively, the purpose of fire protection is to protect life, goods
and activities within a building and of adjacent buildings. This objective is achieved by using
fire-material in construction; by suitable planning of building internally and in relation to
adjacent buildings and providing suitable means of quick escape for the occupants. These
measures are essential to minimize the spread of the fire and thus limit the total damage to a
minimum.
Fire protection is basic requirement of a building. To make buildings completely fireproof is not a practical proposition, though may not be impossible. However, the chances of
catching a fire in building can be reduced through adequate planning of building units in
horizontal and vertical directions (i.e. adequate means of escape), properly designing the
structural elements such as walls, columns, beams, etc. and use of these materials have
obvious limitations, as the contents of many buildings are more easily set on fire than the
materials used in their construction. The designer, therefore, should resort to the methods of
achieving the recognized standards of fire safety specified in the Buildings Code for different
classes of occupancy.

2. BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF FIRE RESISTIVE CONSTRUCTION:

The basic requirements laid down in the standards are as follows:

A building structure should not ignite easily.

A building should provide means for the occupants to leave the building safety and
quickly in the event of fire.
A building should be designed in such a way as to reduce as far as practically and
economically possible, the spread of fire, both within the building and through its
external walls.
To meet the above requirements, the availability of the fire brigades and the
provision of automatic and manual extinguishing and alarm equipment inside the
building may have to be taken into account. The overall protection from the fire in a
building is made up of a combination of some or all of these measures, depending
upon the height and size of the building and use to which it is put. If adequate
measures are not taken the buildings results in a fire risk of three types, namely
personal hazards, exposure hazards and structural hazards.

3. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN FIRE PROTECTION:

It should be the objective of every Engineer and Architect while planning and
designing the buildings that the structures offer sufficient resistance against fire so as to
afford protection to the occupants in the event of fire. These objective is achieved by adequate
planning, use of fire resisting materials and construction techniques and by providing quick
and safe means of escape in the building. The building should be so planned or oriented that
the elements of construction or building components can withstand the fire for a given time
depending upon the size and use of building to isolate various compartments so as to
minimize the spread of fire. Suitable separation is necessary to prevent fire, gases and
smokes from spreading rapidly through corridors, staircases, lift shafts etc. Adequate
separation from adjacent buildings should also be plan
All the structural elements, such as floors, walls, columns, beams etc., should be made
of fire resisting materials so that the life, goods contents an activities within the building can
be protected. The construction of structural elements, viz., walls, floors, columns, lintels,
arches etc., should be made in such a way that should continue to function at least for the
time, which may be sufficient for the occupants to escape safely in times of fire. Escape
elements, like stairways and staircases, corridors, lobbies and entrances should also be
constructed out fire-resistant materials and be well separated from rest of the building.
Adequate means of escape are provided for the occupants, to leave the building quickly
and safely, in times of outbreak of fire. This objective is attend by providing an exit from
within a building by way of definite escape ways, corridors and stairs to a street or an open
space or roof or an adjoining from where access to escape may be found. The desired degree
of fire resistance largely depends upon the use of buildings. In India, the types of building
construction and fire zones in a city are classified on the basis of fire resistance and fire
hazard characteristics respectively. The assessment of a building with regard to fire
resistance is made on the basis of fire load, possible means of escape, fire-fighting provisions,
type of occupancy, building dimensions and the contents of the building. For example, where
houses, go downs, for inflammable materials, like petroleum products, cotton, photography

goods, film stores etc, all required fire-proof structures. Buildings like cinema theaters,
schools, town halls, libraries, hotels, multistoried office buildings etc. should offer a better
degree of fire resistance.
In multistoried office buildings suitable equipment for detecting, extinguishing and
warning of fire should be installed in niches on all the floors for fire-fighting purposes. It
should be remembered that severity of a fire depends largely upon the amount, nature and
distribution of combustible materials in a buildings. The nature of hazards associated with
the fire is of following three types in order of importance:
i.
ii.
iii.

Personal. The hazard to the occupants of the buildings.

Damage. The hazard to the structure and contents.
Exposure. The hazard due to the spread of fire to other buildings.
On the basis of nature of hazards, it can be said that a theatre or town hall, because of
the large number of people accommodated, requires a greater degree of fire resistant
construction than a ware house or a go down involving extensive damage hazard but a
low degree of personal hazard.

While non-combustible materials

burn, significant fires may still
total failure. Pipe columns such
common in reinforced masonry,
non-combustible styles of

may not actually

result in partial or
as this are quite
fire resistant and
construction. If
capped with a solid
steel plate at top
and bottom, they,
become an enclosed
cylinder subject to
the same type of
failure under
intense heat exposure, as any other closed
container lacking a pressure venting
mechanism.
Firefighters should inspect any building
undergoing extensive remodeling, to insure
the integrity of fire resistive construction features. This is a diagram of a remodel of a
six story brown stone. A significant portion of the bearing wall on the second floor
was removed and replaced with a steel I beam to support the bearing wall above the
second floor. This I beam was then supported by a pipe column which was
unfortunately placed directly over a duct opening and a doorway. This point loaded
the weight of the bearing wall on the third through sixth floors directly over
construction features which were not designed to support that much weight. This
resulted in a collapse of a significant portion of this six-story brownstone.

Even if the collapse of not occurred, the removal of the bearing wall on the second floor
eliminated its ability to act as a fire division wall and it is doubtful that the steel I beams
would have been fire protected

Firefighters should make mental note of any

occupancy containing High Rack storage, as
these systems present a number of problems
in a fire. First, they may obstruct the spray
pattern of the sprinkler system if the
occupancy is so equipped. Second, being of
unprotected structural steel, any direct flame
exposure or high heat may cause collapse of
the steel supports and bring the contents
down. Third, these systems are sometimes
inadvertently overloaded beyond their designed weight carrying capacity further
increasing the likelihood of collapse in fire conditions. Fourth, these racks separate
the stored contents and provide maximum surface area exposure to the advance of a
fire.
Firefighters should be aware that mobile homes are built to much lower code
requirements than conventional wood frame construction. Hence bearing walls
(and that term can only be loosely applied in light of the minimal materials used in the
construction of these buildings) may have two by two studs, and floor joists and roof
rafters may consist of nothing more than two by three or two by four elements. Many
of the older mobile homes were built with materials which did not require low flame
spread ratings, and hence these materials will contribute to rapid flame spread within
the structure. This particular flaw has been corrected in more recent building codes
for mobile homes. Due to the lightweight nature of the roof of these buildings
personnel should attempt vertical ventilation with extreme caution and may wish to
consider the use of roof ladders to spread the weight of the personnel operating on the
roof over a larger area to minimize the
risk of going through the roof.
Any significant level of fire involvement
should prompt the incident commander
to consider defensive tactics since once
damaged these structures have little
salvage value and will almost always be
removed and replaced. Is such a low
cost structure worth the risk of injury to
department personnel? It also raises the
issue that we are entering a mobile
home park which almost always has very poor access, poor roads, poor hydrant
spacing and locations, minimal clearances between units, and very low value
comparatively. Since we are driving apparatus that in most cases is five to ten times
the cost of these structures, our rigs are the most expensive exposure at the incident!
Hence, Engineers should consider more defensive apparatus positioning in mobile
home fires than we have taken in the past.

4. FIRE RESISTING MATERIALS AND ITS CHARACHTERISTICS:

Fire Resistant Building Material

The building where we spent our life should be strong

enough to handle natural disaster like flood, earthquake and fire etc.
Fire prevention can be done by using the guidelines given below.
Characteristics of Fire Fighting/Resistant Materials
The material used in building should be of such nature that it
does not disintegrate under the effect of heat produced during
fire.
The material should not expand due to heat also and should
ensure stability of structure.
The nature of material used in building should have minimum
contraction due to sudden cooling with water after the material
is heated at high temperature.
The nature of material used in the building should be such that it
does not catch fire easily.

5. Fire Resistant Properties of Building:

Stone:
It is a bad conductor of heat. Sand stone with fine grains can
moderate fire successfully without having serious cracks. Granite is
disintegrated when it receives heat from fire. Lime stone is easily
crumbled by ordinary fire. Most of stones are disintegrated into small
pieces when heated during fire and cooled afterwards.
Brick:
Bricks are bad conductor of heat. They have no serious effect of heat
until the temperature during fire rises above 1200 degrees to 1300
degrees. At the time of construction if good quality mortar is used
and brick work constructed by skilled mason, brick masonry offers
good resistance to fire.

 Cast Iron:
This material is rarely used in building construction. Cast iron breaks
into pieces when gets a normal temperature after getting heat during
the fire. Care should be taken while using cast iron in the building that
it should be covered either by brick work, cement concrete or any
other fire resistant material.
Steel:
It is good conductor of heat and it is heated quickly during fire. Steel
bars looses its tensile strength, yields stress if it is heated above 600
degree centigrade during fire. Steel bars completely melt at a
temperature of 1400 degree centigrade. During fire unprotected steel
columns, beams etc. become unsafe due to high temperature and
structure may fail. The paint on the surface of the steel items catches
fire easily, keeping in the above problem fire resistant paint should be
done on steel members.
Concrete:
Concrete is a bad conductor of heat and an effective material for fire
resistant construction. It offers higher resistance to fire than any
other material. The actual behavior of concrete in case of fire
depends on quality of cement and type of aggregate which form
concrete. In case of reinforced and pre-stressed structures, it also
depends on the position of steel in concrete.
There is no loss of strength in concrete when it is heated up to 250
degrees centigrade. The reduction of strength starts when the
temperature of fire increases beyond 250 degrees centigrade.
Normally re-enforced concrete structure can resist fire for about one
hour at the temperature of 1000 degrees centigrade without any
serious damage. Hence cement concrete is widely used in fire
resistant construction.
Glass:
It is a poor conductor of heat and expends little during heating.
Cracks are formed in glass when it is cooled after heating. Reenforced glass with steel wire is more resistant to fire than ordinary
glass. Re-enforced glass can resist sudden variation in temperature
without forming cracks. Wired glass even if it breaks, keeps fractured
glass in its original position.

 Timber:
Any structure made from timbers rapidly destroys in case of fire.
Timber also enhances intensity of fire. As timber is bad conductor of
heat if heavy section is used it may attain a high degree of fire
resistance. To make timber more fire resistant, the surface of timber
is coated with chemicals such as ammonium phosphate and
soleplate, borax and boric acid. After doing treatment, the timber
becomes more resistant to heat. Sometimes fire resistant paint is also
applied on surface of the timber to protect it from heat.
5.1-Fire resistance:
In fire, concrete performs well both as an engineered structure, and
as a material in its own right.
Because of concretes inherent material properties, it can be used to
minimize fire risk for the lowest initial cost while requiring the least in
terms of ongoing maintenance. In most cases, concrete does not
require any additional fire-protection because of its built-in resistance
to fire. It is a non-combustible material (i.e. it does not burn), and has
a slow rate of heat transfer. Concrete ensures that structural integrity
remains, fire compartmentation is not compromised and shielding
from heat can be relied upon.
5.2 Benefits:
Concrete as a material
Concrete does not burn it cannot be set on fire unlike other
materials in a building and it does not emit any toxic fumes when
affected by fire.
Concrete is proven to have a high degree of fire resistance and, in the
majority of applications, can be described as virtually fireproof. This
excellent performance is due in the main to concretes constituent
materials (cement and aggregates) which, when chemically combined
within concrete, form a material that is essentially inert and,
importantly for fire safety design, has relatively poor thermal
conductivity. It is this slow rate of conductivity (heat transfer) that
enables concrete to act as an effective fire shield not only between
adjacent spaces, but also to protect itself from fire damage.
Concrete structures
Concrete structures perform well in fire. This is because of the
combination of the inherent properties of the concrete itself, along
with the appropriate design of the structural elements to give the

required fire performance and the design of the overall structure to

ensure robustness.
Fire performance is the ability of a particular structural element (as
opposed to any particular building material) to fulfil its designed
function for a period of time in the event of a fire. These criteria
appear in UK and European fire safety codes.
Concrete proof
The impact of a major fire at Tytherington County High
School, Cheshire, was limited due to the fire resistance of the
concrete structure
6. Fire Resistant Building Techniques:
Devastating, the single word that describes the material, financial,
and emotional damage caused by fires in structures. We really on
buildings to provide safety and protection, but how can buildings
themselves be protected from the ravages of incineration?

6.1 Reasonable Resistance

While it is difficult and costly to construct a completely fireproof
structure, it is reasonable to construct buildings that are significantly
fire resistant. Firefighters will readily agree that no two fires are
exactly the same even in seemingly identical structures. But there are
similarities in certain aspects of how fires start, spread, and
extinguish in buildings and structures. Therefore techniques used for
fire resistant construction attempt to take advantage of these similar
processes.

6.2 Built-In Prevention

Fire typically requires four elements: fuel, oxygen, heat, and a
chemical chain reaction. To start a fire there needs to be a source of
heat in the presence of oxygen (or an oxidizer of some kind) and a bit
of fuel. These must combine to begin the chemical chain reaction
needed to generate additional heat, which consumes more fuel and
oxygen, generating more heat, and so on. Removing any one or more
of these elements will prevent and/or suppress a fire. Creating fire

resistant structures then can be as simple as using non-combustible

construction materials such as metals, concrete, masonry, clay, sand,
glass, cork, ceramics, etc. However, as developed as these materials
have become in terms of aesthetics, combustible materials are still
typically desirable for interior and exterior design, finish work,
furniture, floor coverings, and so on.

An additional prevention step is to exclude oxygen, but for

obvious reasons this technique is limited to applying gas
impermeable coatings to a limited selection of combustible materials.
In doing so care must be taken to avoid generation of poisonous
gases and fumes if combustion does manage to start, as they may be
more hazardous than the fire itself.
Which leaves the final prevention step of eliminating sources of
excess heat, sparks, and exposed flame? Electronic ignition used in
gas appliances, spark arrestors, appropriate attention to electrical
wiring codes and power usage, and less reliance on flame based
heating appliances like fireplaces and wood stoves have significantly
reduced the related incidence of fires started by these sources.

6.3 Planned Passivity

However much care is taken to prevent structure fires from starting,
they will almost certainly continue to ignite due to accidents,
negligence, arson, carelessness, and equipment failures. The next
best fire defense then is to prevent it from spreading once started.
Several construction techniques are used to achieve this goal. Passive
measures such as spray applied fire proofing coatings can be used in
inaccessible, non-finished areas. Fire stops are required by most
building codes and consist of blocks, putty, sleeves, caulking,
sealants, and/or in tumescent materials. They function by preventing
a fire from spreading through joints, penetrations, and framing gaps
between and through walls, floors, and ceilings. Controlled openings
for access and ventilation along with blocking vacant vertical shafts
(such as chutes, elevator runs, stairwells, etc.) prevent them from
acting as chimneys during a fire. This can effectively oxygen-starve
combustion and help with suppression. Used in conjunction with rated

fire walls, ceilings, floors, and doors these techniques effectively

compartmentalize a fire and slow or prevent its spread.

6.4 Active Automation

Built-in active measures are also used to suppress fires in progress.
These include automated sprinkler systems and chemical
extinguishers, automated door closers, and alarm systems. While
typically more expensive to incorporate than passive measures,
active measures have been shown to be extremely effective in
slowing and even suppressing fires that would have otherwise
become uncontrollable. And with a structure fire occurring almost
every minute in the United States alone, it is clear that all available
prevention and suppression measures will continue to be needed in
building construction for many years to come .
7. Fire Protection of Electrical Life Safety Circuits:
Wonderful though electricity was in its early day s as a miraculous source of light and power,
installations did seem to have a habit of catching fire rather too often. In 1 896, a young Swiss
professor, Franois Boral, who was researching way s of improving cables, filed
a patent for an all- mineral-insulated fire-resistant cable. But it was not until the 1 93 0s that
a French company found way s to manufacture the cable in commercial quantities. At the
same time, buoyed by the publicity of the Louvre permitting its use for the museums firstever artificial lighting system , mineral-insulated cable became the choice for applications
where fire safety was critical. In 1 93 6, mineral-insulated cable manufacturing technology
was transferred to the UK.

Critical circuits
With the advent of high-rise building, fire protection of electrical life safety
conductors became extremely important. These critical circuits in high-rise buildings,
hospitals, institutions and places of public assembly are required to be protected from fire.
They supply Power for two essential fire protection functions: facilitating safe egress for
occupants, and fire fighting. Circuits that facilitate safe egress for occupants include feeders
for pressurization fans for stair wells, smoke extraction fans, the fire alarm sy stem and
circuits supplying essential system s in hospitals. Circuits that are required to stay
operational for firefighting include emergency generator, fire pump, fire fighters' elevator
and again, of course, the fire alarm system.
CIRCUIT INTEGRITY CABLES:
Typical Applications of 2 -hour fire-rated Fire Alarm and Power cables that meet stringent
requirements for Life-Safety circuits.
Emergency Power Supply

Firefighter's Elevator
Fire Pumps
Fire Alarm
Voice Communication & Fire fighter's
Handsets
Emergency Power for Lighting
Pressurization Fans & Smoke Dampers

Smoke Venting Fans

Typical locations requiring circuit integrity emergency power feeders include:

High-rise buildings
Hospitals and other institutions
Historic buildings
Tunnels and subway s
Airports, stadium s, hotels, banks, etc.

Conventional cable temperatures reached when exposed to fire

8. Fire Protection Using Construction Methods

Conduits encased in concrete
Encasing conventional wiring in concrete is a traditional method for addressing fire
protection. Two inches of concrete has historically been considered adequate for one-hour
fire resistance; approximately four inches are required to protect conductors for two hours.
Encasing conduits in concrete is very cost effectiv e if proper coverage can be achieved
throughout the entire circuit. However, while it is perfectly feasible to encase conduits up
to 2 -in diameter in a slab floor of a building (2 -in concrete times two, plus 2 -in conduit
implies a 6-in thick slab), it is hard to guarantee uniform 2 -in coverage, and larger conduits

are difficult because of the thickness of the slab. If 4-in concrete is required to achiev e a 2
hour rating, the slab can be very large indeed, e.g. 4-in conduit with 4-in concrete on either
side implies a 1 2 -in slab! In addition, the lack of fire rating of junction and pull boxes com
promises the system .Moreover, this method, as with other construction methods, is not a
listed system for fire protection of electrical conductors.
Note: Encasing conduit in concrete is also very difficult after the fact when
retrofit work has to be done.
Gypsum board enclosures
CharacteristicsGypsum, a mineral, has outstanding fire-resistant properties. When exposed to high
Temperatures , chemically combined water in the gypsum is gradually released, providing
protection until all of its combined water is completely driven off. Its fire resistance plus the
fact that gypsum panels were far less expensive than MI fire-rated cable (the only other viable
non-concrete alternative for y ears) made gypsum board enclosures a
traditional and obvious choice for the fire protection of life safety electrical circuits.
Other advantages include:
Weight- a 2 -hour fire-rated gypsum wall weighs only nine pounds per sq ft;
And thinness- a 2 -hour fire-rated wall is only 3 - -in thick. They also install m ore quickly
and economically than "wet" shaft walls, such as masonry. Gypsum panel shaft walls are com
pelted early in the construction process and finished later, along with other interior
partitions. Moreover, gypsum panel system s have undergone extensive independent testing
as fire barriers-gypsum boards of different core formulation are fire-rated from one to four
hours. By adding layers of gypsum panels to each side of the studs, the fire resistance of
virtually any wall can be increased
In addition, when used for fire protection of electrical cables, gypsum panels are com
m only perceived as in expensive ; or even free' in the sense that gypsum board used
for fire-rated enclosures is usually absorbed within the overall gypsum board budget
line item rather than listed as a separate line under the electrical estimate.

Challenges of specifying gypsum panel enclosures. Since the introduction of polymer

fire-rated cables as another alternative, m any in the building industry are reassessing
the apparent obvious advantages of gypsum board enclosures. There are several
significant issues that com e to the forefront when assessing gypsum board enclosures.
One is the complexity of designing and constructing fire-resistant walls and shafts that
are effective in producing the fire rating required as a fire barrier. A second is the
performance of gypsum enclosures given the fact that while they have been tested for
their resistance to fire. They have never been tested or listed for their protection of
electrical conductors. A third concerns the construction/inspection issues of gypsum
enclosures.

2 -hour fire separation using vertical shaft way and horizontal run
Construction methods, left; and fire-rated cable, right.

2 -hour rated assembly horizontal metal duct enclosure (fire tested both sides).
While meeting test temperature requirements, this assembly is not tested
or listed for protecting conventional wiring for 2 hours.

9. STUDY OF FIRE RESISTIVE BUILDINGS:

 Fire Resistive Buildings Up until the late nineteen forties most

Fire Resistive buildings were steel framed. This meant the
building had a skeletal framework of steel columns and beams
which supported the actual weight of the structure and its
contents. These structural steel load carrying elements were
fireproofed by encasement in either concrete or tile. The
floors were normally cast in place concrete. Vertical shafts
such as elevator(s) and stairwells were enclosed in masonry
materials which provided at least a one hour fire barrier,
minimizing vertical extension of fires from one floor to the next.
While the slide indicates adequate standpipe systems, in fact
there were a number of problems with the standpipe systems
that existed in these structures. First, the systems were
normally not cross-connected. This particular flaw presented us
with significant operational problems in the Cooper Arms highrise fire. This the reason departmental policies and procedures
require at least one supply line be hooked into each Fire
Department Connection (F. D. C.) of any standpipe supplied
structure. During walkthrough inspections personnel should
check to insure that any standpipe system which exists in the
structure is cross-connected, and if not, a note should be added
to the Target Hazard Plan for that occupancy indicating that the
system is not cross-connected! Second, the standpipe
diameters found in these early structures is smaller than that
required by present day codes, resulting in inadequate fire flows
in some cases. Third, these early systems may not be backed
up by in-house fire pumps.
These older structures did, however, have several features
which work to our advantage in significant fires. First, since
cost-effective centralized heating, ventilating and air
conditioning (H. V. A. C) systems and fluorescent lighting had not
yet been designed, these buildings had to use natural ventilation
and lighting which limited the floor size and required windows
which could be opened. This kept the occupant- and fire-loads
to reasonable levels. Second, interior walls were normally of
masonry materials which served as one hour barriers to fire
spread and provided Fire fighting personnel with points at which
to anchor offensive attacks or make defensive stands safely.
Third, these buildings contained very few poke-throughs,
minimizing vertical flame spread from one floor to the next.
Fourth, these buildings have solid exterior walls with
comparatively small window area, which minimized exterior

vertical flame spread from floor to floor. All these features

combined to minimize the speed of fire extension from one unit
to the next on the fire floor and from one floor to the next within
the building. This contributes to our being able to get enough
fire fighting resources onto the fire floor quickly enough to affect
a knockdown before significant vertical extension can occur.
This is not true in the newer high-rises, which have lighter
weight walls, central H. V. A. C. and fluorescent lighting (which
required windows to be sealed units, which could not be opened
for ventilation purposes), all of which contribute to larger floor
areas, meaning more of a fire- and occupant load on each floor,
and less inherent fire resistive construction features and
materials. These features increase the speed at which a fire can
develop and spread, and reduce the time we have to get
sufficient resources onto the fire floor, before they find
themselves faced with a fire of such magnitude that they cant
effectively fight it, and have to withdraw to a higher floor to
attempt to prevent vertical extension.
We have a number of older structures in the downtown area
which have exterior fires escapes. Fire personnel should keep a
number of points in mind regarding the use of these exterior fire
escapes. First, due to the age of these systems their physical
condition should be suspect. If Fire personnel have to use them,
they should place ground ladders against the building and not
the fire escape railing, they should keep the number of both fire
and civilian personnel on any one landing or stairway, and the
entire system, to a minimum. Firefighters should tread
cautiously on each stair tread, and place their feet toward the
outer edge of each stair tread, and move cautiously to minimize
impact loading of the
system.
If we have no choice but to
remove building occupants
via the exterior fire escape,
they should be taken one
level below the fire floor
and returned to the inside
of the building to continue
their evacuation via normal
means of egress. This will
minimize the number of people on the fire escape at any one
time and also minimize the number of fire department personnel

required to escort occupants

completely out of the building.

Although the encasement of

actual structural elements is not
shown in
this slide. This is an
example of what tile encasement
would look like.
This slide is of the Blackstone
Hotel in downtown Long Beach,
in which weve had several fires
recently including one secondalarm. It is an example of a typical post-WW II concrete
constructed high-rise structure with many of the features
discussed previously of buildings of its era. It is demonstrative
of a number of buildings sited between Ocean Boulevard and
Seaside Way. The primary entrance, on the south side of Ocean
Boulevard, is the addressed side and is considered grade level,
and hence the first floor . However, there are also entrances on
the south side of the building (Seaside Way) two floors below, in
many of these buildings. Hence, there is often confusion as to
which floor crews are operating on, which creates
communications conflicts during incidents. Personnel need to
know the buildings in their first-in district, in order to minimize
this type of problem.
Beginning in the early nineteen fifties, concrete framed
structures gave way to steel framed structures due to economics
until the mid nineteen-eighties when various forms of steel
reinforced concrete construction became more economical.. The
slide indicates sprayed on fireproofing is ineffective, and a
health hazard. In fact, the health hazard portion of this
statement refers to sprayed on fireproofing which contained
asbestos, which is not found here in Long Beach. The claim that
sprayed on fireproofing is ineffective is also inaccurate. In fact,
the First Interstate fire in downtown Los Angeles demonstrated
quite clearly that sprayed on fireproofing, when applied properly
is quite effective. In that fire, temperatures of 2,400 were
reached and sustained for several hours. This exceeded both
the temperature and time rating that the sprayed on fireproofing
was originally certified for, and yet no failure of any of the
structural steel elements occurred. This was true even in a
number of areas where sprayed on fireproofing had been
damaged or completely removed during tenant renovations on

several floors. Theyre also other documented cases of such

sprayed on fireproofing performing well in significant fire
exposures.
In an effort to reduce weight and thereby lower cost, lightweight
structural elements such as bar joist trusses supporting floor
systems have replaced earlier and more fire resistant beams in
newer buildings. As in any other form of construction lighter
weight structural elements are inherently less fire resistant than
the heavier elements they have replaced.
The advent of fluorescent lighting and centralized heating and
ventilating and air conditioning (H. V. A. C.) systems has also
permitted significantly larger floor areas, leading to much higher
fire- and occupant-loads on each floor. As a result of these
innovations, it was now more efficient to keep the building
completely sealed, meaning windows could no longer be
opened. This complicated ventilation operations and also
significantly increased the phenomenon known as stack
effect. Centralized H. V. A. C. also complicated Fire fighting
operations by creating extensive networks of ductwork, which
often cover several floors,
resulting in more pokethroughs. This
significantly increased and
expedited the movement of
heat and smoke from the
fire floor to other
uninvolved portions of the
structure. One of the first
actions of firefighting
personnel upon arrival
should be to gain control of
the H. V. A. C. system in order to shut down either the zone
which covers the involved portion of the building, or the entire
system if necessary. If the system is built with fire rated
dampers, they can be used to control the movement of heat and
smoke through and out of the structure.
Newer structures contain more utility and phone conduits
increasing the number of poke-throughs. During this era we also
began seeing the advent of curtain wall buildings in which the
entire exterior of the building was sealed in glass panels, or
masonry and glass panels. These panels were connected to the
ends of the floor systems with either two (2) or four (4) bolts. In

some structures the seal between the end of the floor system
and the curtain walls is very irregular, providing another means
of vertical extension for heat and smoke. Even in cases where
the seal was good, the glass in these panels possesses very little
fire resistance, and normally peels away quite easily under fire
exposure, significantly increasing the vertical extension on the
exterior of the building.
Another method of reducing
weight, and thereby cost, was
the replacement of masonry
materials formerly used to

enclose vertical shafts with gypsum

board (drywall).
Around 1980 the advent of posttensioned concrete shifted the
economics of construction away
from steel frame and toward the
more predominant use of concrete
materials.
This slide should more accurately be titled Steel Reinforced Concrete
Moment Resisting Frame, as all the various structural elements of
the various construction styles are in fact steel reinforced. This steel
reinforcement takes the form of reinforcement bars A. K. A. rebar.
The floor systems can take a variety of configurations some of which
are diagramed in the upper left. Corrugated steel decking (Robertson
decking) with light weight concrete topping was the most prevalent
form and is the most commonly found here in Long Beach. Once the
structural framework of the building is completed the exterior surface
can be weather sealed with masonry or stone inlaid materials or a
variety of preformed panels which are then bolted to the exterior of
the building.
An earlier method of exterior curtain wall sealing consisted of
using an extruded aluminum framework into which were placed

either steel and, or glass panels. An example of this style of

construction is the Public Safety building north of Fire Station
One, on Broadway in the downtown section of the city. Knowing
the approximate era of these types of construction features will
allow personnel to begin to gauge what other construction
features may be present before they even enter a building. This
type of sizing up knowledge may be invaluable in situations
where you are about to fight a fire in a building you havent had
an opportunity to pre-plan.
The problem with these extruded
aluminum frameworks is they have a
low tolerance for heat and hence
under fire conditions will peel off the
side of the building, providing an
avenue for vertical extension to the
floor above, as well as a risk to
personnel operating in the
street below.
Downtown Long Beach
High Rises on Ocean Blvd.
this shot clearly shows the
difference between a postWW II constructed steel
reinforced concrete structure on the right, the Breakers Hotel,
and the new curtain wall style construction in the building to the
left of it. One advantage to residential high-rises is that all of
the residential floors almost universally have the exact same
floor plan from one floor to the next. Firefighting crews should
familiarize themselves with the floor plan of the floor just below
the fire floor before beginning operations on the fire floor.
Knowing the layout will increase their safety and operational
effectiveness.
Residential high-rises possess another advantage, fewer pokethroughs. This is because most residential units contain their
own individual HVAC system, or a localized zoned system that
covers only a few units as opposed to commercial/office high
rises in which the HVAC system will cover an entire floor, or
several floors. Commercial/office high rise floor plans also
usually vary from one floor to the next. Residential high-rises

can also be thought of as center hallway in design in that

normally every unit on either side of the hall is on an exterior
wall in order to provide a view. This greatly simplifies ventilation
operations, as opposed to commercial or office high-rises, which
may contain interior office spaces, where ventilating to the
exterior requires ventilating across an entire floor from one
stairwell to another. Finally commercial or office high-rises often
contain open floor plans with half-height walls or cubicles,
instead of full height walls. These open floor plans greatly
expedite extension of fire across the entire floor. These newer
curtain wall type buildings also shed their exterior coverings,
more quickly, resulting in more rapid vertical extension.
This raises another cause for concern with these new curtain
wall buildings. Shedding their exteriors creates flying debris
which can travel for blocks. Hence, apparatus should approach
and take up protected positions if at all possible, and Engineers
should do everything possible to cover exposed supply lines to
the standpipe inlets. They should be in full PPE, and should have
the compartment door next to the pump panel raised, and stand
under it for added protection. If possible, personnel entering the
building should enter from a protected passageway under the
structure, underground parking, utility corridors etc., in order to
minimize their exposure to falling debris.
Park Tower. Bordered by P. C. H., Anaheim and Clark. This
building is an excellent example of why crews should conduct
target hazard inspections. Two of the upper floors of this
building are owned by the same company. The owner decided to
have a central atrium open to both floors, served by an
unprotected stairway. Since this stairway is not considered part
of the required exiting it is not required by code to be protected.
Hence a fire on the lower of the two floors will very quickly
extend to the floor above. Based on the exterior appearance
many individuals assume this building to be steel framed. It is
however Steel reinforced concrete. This can be easily
determined by popping one of the drop-in ceiling panels up and
looking at the underside of the floor system of the floor above.
Crews conducting target hazard inspections should not hesitate
to perform such visual inspections of void spaces, in order to
guarantee knowledge of the type of construction of the buildings
theyre working in. So far, our discussion of steel reinforced
concrete construction has been limited to structures which were
cast in place. This type of steel reinforced concrete

construction is very rarely ever seen any more. This is due to

the costs associated with all of the formwork as well as the
extended cure times required before the structure could be
occupied. For this reason steel reinforced concrete cast in place
style construction gave way to newer generations of steel
framed structures. But, eventually newer steel reinforced
concrete technologies came to bear, one of them being the use
of pre-cast steel reinforced concrete structural elements which
are created off site at a factory, trucked to the construction site,
lifted in place by a crane, and attached to the other structural
elements already in place. These pre-cast structural elements
can take many forms as are shown here. Single tees, double
tees, flat planks, load bearing wall panels, beams and columns
can all be pre-cast In whatever size, length, or configuration
required by the buildings design and ultimate use. As a side
note, this type of construction performs very poorly in
earthquake situations. At present in Long Beach, the only precast structures in use are
parking garages.
The examination of the tee
and double tee (diagramed
on the right side of the slide)
shows a characteristic which
is common to pre-cast
elements. Because these
elements are normally built to
be supported at their ends
only, reinforcing steel (rebar)
is normally found only at the bottom of the stems of the tee or
double tee elements. As with any other simple beam, once
loaded, the top, (in this case the wings of the tees), will be
compression loaded while the stem or bottom of the beam
undergoes tensile loading. Since the only reason that reinforcing
steel is added to concrete is to give it to the ability to withstand
tensile loads, the only place where it is needed is in the area
carrying the highest tensile load, mainly at the bottom of the
stem of the beam (tee). Therefore, this is the only location
where reinforcing steel will normally be found in pre cast
structural elements.

 This information becomes

critical in heavy lift or
shoring applications when
youre working with precast structural elements.
Since theyre designed to
be supported at the ends
only, any shoring or lifting
done mid-span from
underneath, would reverse
the forces the beam is
designed to carry, placing the stem in compression and the
wings in tension, causing the tee (beam) to crack and fail
directly above the lift or shoring points.
Pre-cast is also known as pre-tensioned because of the way it is
formed. Once the form of a pre-cast structural element has
been decided upon, forms are built in which the reinforcing steel
is placed prior to the concrete being poured. The reinforcing
steel is placed under the proper tensile load, and anchored at
each, and the concrete is then poured into the form around the
pre-tensioned reinforcing steel. Once the concrete has cured
to the proper level, the pre-cast element is released from the
form, and trucked to the construction site. This combination of
pre-tensioned reinforcing steel and concrete forms a truly
composite structure (the combination of two or more dissimilar
elements, utilizing the strengths of each material to complement
the whole, or make up for the weakness of the other elements to
form a stronger final element). Since the concrete is cured
around and adheres to the reinforcing steel, which is already
pre-tensioned, it maintains the tensile loading in the reinforcing
steel and the tensile loading of the reinforcing steel places the
concrete under a
compression load.
This is different from the
second type of steel
reinforced concrete
construction which is still
in use today, (shown on
the right of the slide), the
so-called post-tensioned
form of construction. The
post-tensioned type of

construction is similar to the earlier poured in place type of

concrete construction in that formwork is built on site and the
concrete is poured into that form work and allowed to cure for
the required time. The difference is, before the concrete is
poured in post-tensioned construction, conduits (tubes) are laid
from one end of the slab to the other. Once the concrete has
cured to the proper hardness, high strength steel cable is run
through the conduit. This cable, properly called a tendon, is
anchored at one of the slab, and a hydraulic jack is placed onto
the other end of the tendon. This jack is operated until the
tendon is placed under the proper tensile loading, normally
several hundred thousand pounds, at which point this end of the
tendon is also anchored to the end of the slab. By anchoring
each end of this highly tensile loaded tendon against the end of
the concrete we are in effect compression loading the concrete.
This also creates a composite structure, but due to the higher
strength of the tendon (cable) used, this composite element is
considerably stronger than the pre-tensioned element we
discussed earlier. This added strength allows the structure to be
designed and built using lighter elements, reducing weight, and
therefore cost. Hence, post-tensioned concrete is now the
industry standard for new construction, as it is less expensive
than other forms of concrete or steel framed construction
methods. We have a number of post-tensioned buildings in Long
Beach, the International Tower, the Pacific Club and others
downtown.
This style of construction does have some drawbacks for the fire
service however. As with pre-cast structures, it performs very
poorly in earthquakes. And, it contains less reinforcing steel
than conventional concrete construction. This becomes a
problem for us in significant fires, as the concrete will spall, and
may expose the tendons, which due to extremely high tensile
loading, will fail upon exposure to high heat more rapidly than
conventional reinforcing steel which is loaded at much lower
levels. Additionally, since the more efficient use of elements
allows lighter weight elements to be used, as with all other
forms of construction, a structural element of less mass carrying
the same load as a more massive element will fail more quickly
under fire conditions.
Finally, if during any operation, you need to cut through a
concrete slab, and come across a hollow section (the conduit)
with a steel cable (tendon) running through it, do not under any

circumstances, cut that cable!!! Doing so may precipitate

localized or possibly total collapse of the structure. This is
because these tendons are similar to lightweight truss
construction, in that if one tendon fails, it overloads the tendons
on either side of it, which then become overloaded and may also
fail, and this progression continues until either a structural
element strong enough to resist the added loading is
encountered yielding a localized collapse, or if that doesnt
happen, until the entire structure has failed. These conduits
may be dry-packed in which the tendon will be visible once
you break through into the conduit, or wet-packed, where the
conduit will be filled with grease, to keep the cable from
corroding due to salt air exposure near the ocean.
Additionally, once these tendons fail, they shoot out of the end
of the concrete slab and fly into whatever is in their path. There
are documented cases of this happening. In Anchorage Alaska,
after the 1969 earthquake, a post-tensioned structure failed and
cables shot across a four lane street and embedded into the
building on the opposite side. The parking structure for the
convention center downtown is post-tensioned. A maintenance
worker making repairs to the concrete accidentally struck a
tendon, causing it to separate, and one end peeled the concrete
back seven feet before dissipating its energy. In the process, the
worker was struck by a piece of concrete blown off the deck at
high speed, and was injured.
As the slide points out, until the concrete has cured to the
proper hardness, should the construction site suffer a fire, there
is a significant risk of the building collapsing. Under such
circumstances one of the first tactical priorities is to protect the
falsework and formwork
which is normally all wood.
The International Tower
located on the southwest
corner of Ocean Blvd. and
Alamitos, downtown. This
happens to be a posttensioned structure. It has a
characteristic feature which
all post-tensioned structures
possess, very thin floor slabs. In conventional concrete
construction, floors are at least six inches thick, even the lighter
Robertson decking (corrugated sheet metal pan, with light

weight concrete poured over the top), the slab is at least four
inches thick. In post-tensioned concrete buildings, the floor
slabs will be no thicker than four inches, and normally will be flat
on the underside, no corrugations, no column capitals, no other
irregularities to the shape of the underside are usually visible.
These thin flat floor slabs are usually a dead giveaway that you
are looking at a post-tensioned slab.
In this building under construction notice
the thin floor slabs, the lack of beams or
column capitals, and the openings in the
end of the slabs.
What kind of
concrete
construction is
this? Answer =
Post-tensioned.
Notice also, the
higher

concentration of
conduits
where the floors
intersect the
columns, and the
amount of
formwork and
shoring in
place on the top
floor. This is
what must be
protected if
it is exposed to a
fire.
Notice the tendons sticking out of the conduits, this is another
dead-bang giveaway that this is going to be a post-tensioned
building.
Unprotected Structural Steel I Beams supporting a lightweight
metal building. This type of construction is quite common in
industrial and commercial areas of Long Beach and Signal Hill. The
term Unprotected Structural Steel should be an instant indicator of
a lack of fire resistance. Any building with steel structural elements
which are not protected by either permanent encasement (masonry
materials or concrete) or a sprayed-on in tumescent coating such as
Gunnite should be noted during walk-through inspections. This type
of unprotected construction will result in structural failure if the
structural steel elements are exposed to extreme heat (anything over
850 degrees according to some references, which is reached very

early in the average interior fire) or direct flame impingement for as

little as 10-15 minute time frames (the more heavily loaded the
structural element is, the quicker it will fail). The presence of a full
sprinkler
system which operates
correctly
will normally double this
failure
time.

Note the high fire load,

stacked in such a way as to
maximize the availability of
oxygen to feed any fire
which may start, causing
rapid extension. Note also
that this fire load is
concentrated under the peak of the roof. The only
structural feature which this building has which will work in
our favor is the presence of fiberglass panels acting as
skylights. These will burn through quickly, ventilating the
fire.
Firefighters should keep in mind that this is a very
inexpensive type of construction to build and replace. Is it
worth risking your life to save it, if no lives other than yours
are at risk?
This is an example of conventional steel frame
construction. This type of construction was prevalent from
the mid-1960s until pre-cast and post-tensioned types of
concrete building construction were developed in the late
1980s, offering a
more cost effective
alternative.
Note the steel I
beams supporting the
floor system. Large
areas are divided by
these beams into
smaller areas, where
smaller intermediate
beams support the
floor load in between the larger beams and carry it to
them. Still smaller beams further sub-divide these
intermediate sections into even smaller areas. The small
beams act as transfer beams transferring their load to the

intermediate size beams, which collect their load and also

act as transfer beams transferring their load to the largest
beams, which then transfer the load to the steel H
columns, which then carry it to the foundation. This is the
structural steel skeleton of the building.
A corrugated sheet metal steel pan is laid on top of the
horizontal steel beams, and lightweight concrete is poured
over this pan. This forms the final element of the floor
system. This has become known within the building trades
as Robertson decking, although this is a misnomer, like
calling all photocopiers Xerox machines. This corrugated
sheet metal pan is usually sixteen gauge thickness, with
from two-and-one-half to four (2 & -4) inches of
lightweight concrete poured on top. Firefighters need to be
familiar with this type of floor system, as it presents some
unique characteristics in fires. If you happen to be in a
structure with this type of floor system, and the concrete is
spalling upward at you, you are most likely one floor above
the fire and directly over it. The concrete is being heated
from below, but the sheet metal floor pan is preventing the
concrete from spalling toward the heat as it normally would
in a conventional concrete building.

 This type of floor system is diagrammed here. In an effort

to compete with pre-cast and post-tensioned types of
concrete construction, the steel industry has helped to
develop lighter and more economical (translation=less fire
resistive)

construction methods. One of them

involves replacing many of the small
and intermediate steel beams supporting this type of floor
system with open web
bar joist trusses, as
shown in the bottom half
of the slide. This is the
type of construction
which supported the floor
systems of the World
Trade Center towers, and
which helped to
contribute to their
collapse. As of the date
this handout was written
(early 2002), there are a
number of buildings
which use this type of
floor system, but none
incorporate open web
bar joist trusses as
support. That advantage
is tempered by the fact that the post-tensioned type of
concrete construction unfortunately is prevalent in most of
the newer high rises built in Long Beach, which poses even
more risk of fire related collapse.
A view of the underside of a corrugated sheet metal pan floor system.

An identical type of floor system with sprayed-on fire resistive

coating. Fire personnel should familiarize themselves with the
appearance of this material, in order to be able to gauge the
structural elements resistance to fire as they walk through buildings.
The Arco Towers These
buildings and the World Trade
Center across from it, are
examples of Curtain Wall type
high-rise construction, in which
the exterior panels are bolted to
the ends of the floor pan by
either two (2) or four (4) bolts.
These panels can be all glass
(the Arco Towers), or a
combination of glass and
masonry materials Some of these panels weigh up to five
hundred pounds. Fire fighters should remember a number of
points regarding this type of construction. First, there are
frequently gaps between these exterior panels and the end of
the floor pan, allowing fire extension from a floor to the one
above it. Second, exposure to the heat of a fire can cause these
panels to break away from the building, dropping debris up to a
quarter of a mile out away from the base of the building.
Engineers should remember this when they place their
apparatus for a working high rise fire. They should also open the
compartment door next to the pump panel and work under it as
much as possible to gain further protection from falling debris.
Hose lines supplying standpipes will also need protection from
falling materials which might sever the line(s) and rob the fire
attack team(s) of water at a critical point in the attack. Third,
once these panels break away there is no barrier to the vertical
extension of the fire to the floor above. And, finally, in the case
of all glass panels, even if they dont break away, there is very
little resistance to vertical extension by heat conduction and
radiation.
In a few cases, the glass on the outside of these curtain wall
type structures is in fact a polycarbonate (Lexan etc.). This type
of material doesnt break, but also limits our ability to remove it
during ventilation operations. The only effective method of
removing polycarbonate window materials is to cut it with a
rotary saw with a carbide tipped (wood) blade. A twelve-to-

eighteen (12-18) tipped blade has been found most effective in

tests conducted on these types of windows.

Firefighters should attempt, whenever possible, to find a

sheltered entrance into the building, through an underground
parking structure, or utility access tunnel etc., to avoid being
struck by falling debris. And, the base should be positioned
either in this underground area or far enough away to be out of
the fall zone.
The Federal Building, N. W.
corner of Ocean Blvd. and
Magnolia Ave.
This is an
example of a steel framed
building. The main thing to
remember about this structure
is that the Feds wont grant us
access to the fifth and sixth
floors. We have indicated that
we cant effectively fight a fire if we dont know what is present,
and they have indicated that they dont care. They were told it
might mean letting the fire burn until it burned down to the
fourth floor and stopping it there, and they indicated that was
fine by themyour tax dollars at work! Apparently they have
documents and other property that we arent cleared for. So,
should this building experience a fire, we may have to let it burn
to us on the fourth floor!
Shot of Elevator Lobby, indicating an elevator that serves floors
24 to 39. The Dept. has a policy regarding the use of elevators
in high-rise fires. First, the elevator shaft should be checked for
the presence of smoke by shining a light up the shaftway
between the car door(s) and the elevator lobby door(s). If no
smoke is visible, the elevator can be taken to no closer than five
(5) floors below the lowest suspected fire floor, if the elevator
has a Fire Service Recall system. The elevator chosen should
have the star of life indicator (meaning it is backed-up by an
emergency generator if the main power goes out). The elevator
should be tested to insure it is in the Fire Service Recall mode by
pushing the floor button for the floor just above the floor you
entered it on. If the elevator doesnt stop on this floor, the
system may not be functioning properly and may be taking you
directly to the fire floor. If the Emergency Stop button doesnt
work, you should jam an axe or Halligan blade into the crack
between the doors, and force the door(s) outward in their normal

direction of travel. This will activate a safety feature, and should

cause the car to stop. If it doesnt everyone should have their
facepieces on, with their regulators clicked in, breathing off of
their SCBAs, in case the door(s) open on the fire floor. An
extinguisher should be readied to discharge onto the fire floor to
better protect the occupants if they are met with fire. It may be
necessary to press the emergency door closure button, located
six (6) feet off the floor of the elevator car on either side of the
door, on the same wall as the door(s). This button overrides the
electric eye circuit in the door closure mechanism, allowing the
doors to close even if the door way is obstructed (obscured by
dry chemical powder from the extinguisher). At the same time,
youll need to hold the floor
button in until the door(s)
closes.
Whenever possible, crews
should choose to use an
elevator that is banked, that
doesnt serve the fire floor.
This will insure that you cannot
be taken directly to the fire
floor. One of the first actions of
the first crew ascending a highrise building in a suspected fire is to check the elevator lobbies
and floors to insure that the elevators can be used up to the
staging floor, once established, and report the conditions they
find as they ascend. Staging will normally be established two (2)
floors below the fire floor, unless there is a floor a little lower
that is more open and would provide a better staging location. If
there are building occupants which need to be evacuated, a
safe Refuge may need to be established just below staging,
and building occupants directed or escorted there.
Diagram of a high-rise building with elevator shafts shown. This
is to indicate that we should take the elevator that serves 1-6 if
the fire is above that. (NOTE: the diagram is drawn incorrectly.
The red elevator should serve the sixth floor, so that occupants
could get off the 1-6 car and get onto the 6-11 elevator.)

Diagram of two (2) elevator cars side-by-side.

This is to show that if one (1) car is disabled for
whatever reason, that in some cases a second car
serving the same hoistway can be brought
alongside and a transfer of car occupants can be
made. Note also the escape hatch at the top of
each car into the hoistway. If necessary, crews
can go to the floor above the stuck elevator and
gain access to the hoistway by cutting the plastic
(Gibbs) guide block at the base of each door, that
slides in the depressed tracks at the bottom of the
door opening, and then push the bottom of the door(s) inward into
the hoistway. (NOTE: This must be done very carefully, as it is
possible to force the doors too far inward and break them off of their
rails at the top of the opening, causing them to drop onto the top of
the elevator car below!) Once this has been accomplished, a ladder
can be lowered onto the top of the elevator car and occupants can be
assisted up and out of the hoistway. All elevator machinery must be
shut off before any such rescue is attempted, in order to prevent the
elevator car from moving during the rescue attempt. This type of
rescue evolution should only be done as a last resort, in cases of true
medical emergencies (severe difficulty breathing or chest pain etc.),
as this poses significant risks that should be avoided if waiting for the
elevator service
technician is an option.
NOTE: These
evolutions are for
mechanical
traction type elevators
only. They
can be distinguished
from
hydraulic elevators by
the height of
the floors served (most
hydraulic
elevators serve only
ground to third or fourth floor) which may be the entire height of
the building or an express bank serving a portion of the highrise. Mechanical traction elevators also have their mechanical
room at the top of the building, and suspend the elevator car by
a series of cables, which are also connected to the
counterweight for the car. Hydraulic elevators have mechanical
rooms at the bottom of the hoistway, and raise the car by
means of a large hydraulic ram under the car which extends to
raise it to the appropriate floor.

Should a hydraulic elevator car become stuck, it is possible to lower it

to the next lower floor by means of a small hydraulic valve in the
mechanical room. This will release hydraulic fluid out of the hydraulic
ram cylinder, lowering the car slowly until it reaches the next lower
floor. The elevator door(s) in the elevator lobby may need to be
spread slightly, in order to be able to visualize where the car is in
relation to the floor. Stop the car as close to its normal floor level as
possible, in order to allow the doors to be
opened without requiring forcing.
Before any of these evolutions are attempted,
the occupants should be advised of what you
are doing, and they should try the
Emergency Stop button, and try opening the
doors and allowing them to re-close slightly,
as sometimes the door open safety circuit
malfunctions and detects an open door (when
none exists) and stops the car. You should
determine the last floor that someone entered
the car and whether it was traveling up or
down before it stopped. Have a firefighter go to the last floor
someone entered from, and work the door(s) open and closed
slightly, and do so for each floor from there to where the car stopped.

 Aerial Shot of City Hall. Many steel reinforced concrete type

high-rise buildings were built with a central core where the
elevator and stairwell shafts, and utility runs are commonly
found This forms the main structural element (the backbone so
to speak) of the building, and each floor is basically built out
away from this core to columns along the exterior perimeter of
the building, which can be built smaller than if this strong
central core didnt exist. This reduced cost, and maximized the
views from each floor. City Hall is NOT an example of such
construction, In fact, the four towers on the north, east, south
and west
corners of
the
building
are the
main
vertical
structural
elements, with the floors suspended between them.
Steel Framed Building Under Construction. For the last four-five
(4-5) years I have been betting recruit classes that it was just a
matter of time before we would see additional solid structural
elements replaced by lightweight elements. If you look closely,
you will see that the intermediate beams in the floor systems
have been replaced in this structure by lightweight open web
trusses. These structures, by being far more combustible, and
far less fire resistive than the steel beams they replace, make
this structure far more dangerous to fire personnel. While we
havent seen any of this type of high-rise construction in Long
Beach yet, we have begun to see it in mid-rises built here!
Diagram of Structural and Non-Structural Building Elements.
Those components shown in yellow are non-structural, meaning
they support only their own weight. Those elements shown in
gray are structural elements that support their own weight as
well as other elements of the building. Note the non-structural
wall studs shown on the right. This may be important, as will be
shown a little later. Note also the drop ceilings. These play a
significant role in fire extension.


Dia
g
ram of
plenum
space
above
drop
ceiling.
Note that
the H. V.
A. C. system has ductwork
bringing air conditioned air into the living/working spaces, but
exhaust air from these areas enters the plenum through the
vent next to the light fixture, for return to the H. V. A. C. system.
This is what is called a common return air plenum, and it is open
throughout the entire floor area, above the drop ceiling. Should
a fire start in the living/working space of this floor, it would be
drawn into the return air plenum space and spread easily
throughout this hidden void space. This is one of the reasons
that as soon as you enter a floor from the stairwell, you should
pop a ceiling panel up and make sure the fire isnt already over
head before advancing any further onto the floor. Should you
not do this, you may find the fire has extended over your head
and behind you in this void space, cutting you off from your
means of escape. This is also one of the reasons that the first
arriving crews should gain control of the H. V. A. C.
system as soon as possible in a fire with such as
return air plenum space.
Most newly constructed commercial or office
buildings, particularly high-rises have interior, nonbearing walls made of galvanized sheet metal studs,
sheeted with drywall on both sides. These walls serve
as dividers between offices within an occupancy, or
between occupancies. Personnel should remember
this feature, as it could help them escape a building safely, if the
hallway they need to use to get back to the stairwell is now
blocked by fire. You may be able to simply break through these
lightweight walls until you can either get around the fire and
back into the hallway, or possibly even break all of the way
through into the stairwell itself.
Additionally, if a fire occurs in a highly secured office space, and
you are having difficulty in gaining access, you might be able to
enter the occupancy on either side of the involved one, and

break through one of these lightweight walls more quickly than

trying to force the high security hardware of the involved unit!
Drywall broken through, into the exit stairwell. Normally, in highrise construction you wouldnt expect to find wooden studs, but
the point is still valid. You may be able to break through the
type X or doubled drywall sheeting, into the exit stairwell, and
escape the fire, rather than risking a run down a hallway with
fire present.
Corridor Hallway After Fire. Note
the severity of the fire based on
the damage to the wall covering.
By code, exit hallways in these
type buildings are required to have
a minimum one hour fire rating.
This includes the ceiling tiles of a
drop ceiling. Hence, upon entering
any hallway from the exit stairwell, you should immediately
raise one of the ceiling panels and check overhead to insure the
fire isnt burning in the void space above the drop ceiling, before
proceeding any further into the hallway. If there isnt fire
present, and you choose to advance down the hallway, make
sure you replace the panel back into the ceiling grid properly, as
it is part of the one-hour fire rated enclosure of the hallway. To
leave it ajar would void the one (1) hour rating, possibly
providing the fire an avenue to extend into this void space, if it
gets behind you. Or, if you advance down the hallway without
replacing the tile, and the fire advances through the void space
above the ceiling, it may drop down into the hallway, cutting
you off from the exit
stairwell.
Diagram of Fire
Entering
Void Space Above
Membrane Ceiling.
This fire
rated drop ceiling is
referred to
as a Membrane
ceiling
assembly in the fire
code. In
some jurisdictions, it
may be
the only required fire
protection
for the structural elements directly above it, which support the
floor above. There are several problems with relying solely on
this type of system as the only fire protection for these
structural elements.

 First, fires produce pressure which

may dislodge these panels,
allowing the fire to extend into this
void space exposing the
unprotected structural elements to
the fire. Second, it is difficult to
tell the difference between fire
rated and non-rated panels. So,
when the building maintenance staff has to replace a panel,
they go to Home Depot, find a fire rated panel which costs a
dollar, and a non-rated one which costs a dime, and not knowing
the difference, they try to save the boss some money, and buy
the non-rated panel and put it into the ceiling grid. Once they
do, we have no way of insuring that the entire envelope is fire
rated. Third, a less diligent maintenance staff may take a panel
out of the nearest maintenance closet, unaware of its fire
resistive characteristics, and replace the broken tile in the public
area, leaving the hole in the membrane in the maintenance
closet, there by defeating the integrity of the membrane
fireproofing.
This is why Membrane Fireproofing systems are not allowed as
the sole means of protection of the ceiling void space and the
structural elements above ceilings in Long Beach. If they are
used, it is as a back-up to the other systems or features that are
also in place. If, during a walk-through inspection, you find a
membrane ceiling assembly, and the structural elements above
it are unprotected, call Fire Prevention and report it immediately
for correction.
Shot of the scorch mark from heat coming through a pokethrough hole for electrical conduit. Judging by the height that
the scorch mark extends to, we can see that fires do produce
considerable pressure, which will vent through every possible
opening in order to reduce the pressure. This is one of the
means of vertical extension in multi-story buildings. And,
thorough overhaul requires that we check the entire floor area
above the fire to insure that the fire hasnt extended via one of
these poke-through.

 The First Interstate fire, in Los

Angeles. This shot was taken
early into the fire. It can be
readily seen that the windows
have been burned out, and the
fire is extending vertically to the
floor above via the exterior of
the building. One of the features
in this fire, that complicated fire
attack was an open floor plan on the involved floors. The office
spaces consisted of cubicles with half-height walls, which left
the area above these half-height walls open from one end of the
floor to the other in several cases. We have a number of office
high-rises in Long Beach that also have this same type of open
floor plan, with half-height walls. You should make a mental
note of any such occupancy you inspect, as it will allow any fire
to spread horizontally unchecked much more quickly than if
even lightweight walls
extended from floor to
ceiling.
Shot of the First
Interstate fire later in the
incident, several floors
burning. Another
problem with the open
floor
concept is that the
contents of the entire
area
constitutes the fire load.
Hence,
we need to be able to
apply
enough water to absorb the heat produced by the entire mass of
combustibles for the entire floor, rather than the fire load that
would be found in the rooms that would be involved once we
entered the fire floor, as would be the case if the floor were
divided into separate office
spaces with full-height walls.
Since it takes an extended
time to get added fire crews
and lines emplaced to handle
the larger fire flows needed
to handle a fire on an entire
floor, the fire continues to
advance at a rate faster than
we can catch up to. Hence,

as with all
large fires, the
incident
commander needs
to write off
any floor which is
significantly
involved, and
move to one
far enough above
the fire to be able to have enough crews in place to be able to
handle the volume of fire which may develop once it gets to
their location.
The First Interstate the Morning After by the time L. A. City Fire
Dept. got this fire under control, they had approximately three
hundred and fifty firefighters assigned to it. One of the lessons
learned the hard way on this incident was to make sure you
know where the fuel inlet for the in-house fire pumps is, and
what quantity and of type of fuel it takes. At one point during
the fire, the fire pump ran out of fuel and crews lost pressure.
The pumpers were providing back-up supply to the standpipes,
but there was a noticeable drop in pressure and hence
firefighting effectiveness until the fire pump could be re-fueled
and restarted. This has resulted in all of the fire pump inlets in
Long Beach being clearly identified with the type of fuel
needed. This is also why we have a policy of insuring that at
least one charged line goes to every Fire Dept. Connection in
any building that has a fire, and at least two charged lines go
into every F. D. C. that has one or more attack lines actually
working off of it, as you never know when something will go
wrong and we will be supplying the fire flows rather than the inhouse pumps.

10.CONCLUSION:-

Fire resistance is a key element of the building codes intent to provide safety
to life and property from fire. If youre a designer, specifier, product representative, or
contractor, you need to be aware of the requirements for fire resistance. Most jurisdictions
will insist that tested or listed assemblies be used and specifically identified in the contract
documents. Care must be taken in selecting and specifying materials and products used in
fire-resistance-rated assemblies. Skilled labor must be utilized when constructing fireresistance-rated assemblies, including the penetrations, which require more attention than
just applying red putty around the item. In the end, the assembly you design, specify,
provide, or install, may be the one thing that prevents a tragic event. The fire resistance of the
World Trade Center was heavily scrutinized at all levels, and although the event far exceeded
what anyone could have imagined, the outcome may eventually have a significant impact on
fire-resistive construction in all future construction, big or small.

11. REFERENCES

Book- Building construction and material- S.P.Bindra, S.P.Arora

Net case study and data collection
Fire resistant construction journal