Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills 3rd Ed - Ch 7 Building Construction

Understanding components allows for better understanding of risk involved. Components are:

foundations, roof, floors and ceilings, trusses, walls, doors and windows, finishes and floor coverings

Dead load vs Live load

Dead: weight of the building itself
Live: buildings contents

How are fire resistive floor ceiling systems rated?

terms of hours

What type of floors are common in fire resistive construction?

concrete

What type of floors are common in non fire resistive construction?

wood

What size beams will you find in heavy timber construction? Floor thickness?

8-14" in depth
floors: 2-3" base + 1" finished covering
will often contain a fire for an hour

conventional wood flooring thickness and fire rating?

much lighter than heavy timber, 20 min

lightweight construction?

very thin layers and lightweight engineered joists: failed in 6 min

What is a ceilings primary function?

to hold light fixtures and diffuse light
mainly included in buildings for appearance reasons

Are roof designs as strong as floors?

not necessarily, especially in warmer climate areas

What are 3 primary roof designs?

pitched, flat, curved

What are some variations of pitched roofs?

gable, hip, mansard, gambrel, lean to

Rafters

solid wood joists mounted in an inclined position

Modern lightweight construction trusses

-manufactured using gusset plates (3/8" depth)
-structural component composed of smaller pieces joined together to form a triangular configuration or system triangles
-often fail with no prior warning

which shingles were used in ancient times and are either flat or rounded?

clay tiles (mission tiles)

Where do you normally see curved roofs?

supermarkets, warehouses, industrial buildings, arenas, bowling alleys, churches, etc

Flat roofs

-found on apartment buildings, shopping centers, schools, etc
-slight slope for water drain off
-support systems usually wood or steel

What happens to steel when it is heated?

elongates - can crack the outside walls

flat roof coverings consist of:

vapor barrier
thermal insulation
water proof membrane
drainage layer
wear course

parallel chord truss

two parallel horizontal members connected by a system of diagonal and sometimes vertical members.
top and bottom piece = chord
connecting pieces = web members

bowstring truss

like an archery bow
-top chord is curved

Does checking the roof or floor for a spongy feeling in modern lightweight construction ensure safety?

no

Do trusses have a high surface to mass ratio?

yes
-burns quickly and will fail quickly, failure in one sot results in total failure, gusset plates especially prone to failure

How long will a 100' steel beam or truss elongate when heated 1000F?

9 inches

Should FF go on truss loft roofs?

no

load bearing wall

-provides structural support to building
-interior or exterior

nonbearing walls

support their own weight

party walls

on the line between two properties, almost always load bearing, can be a fire wall too but not always

fire wall

designed to limit fire spread from one side of the wall to the other, constructed of fire resistive materials
-extend from foundation to roof

fire partition

extend from floor to underside of floor above
-often divide floors into separate fire compartments

fire enclosures

fire rated assemblies that enclose interior vertical openings, such as stairwells, elevator shafts, chases..prevents fire from spreading floor to floor via the opening

curtain wall

non load bearing exterior walls
-often serve as a skin on high rise steel frame buildings

Solid load bearing masonry walls 6-8" thick can be how high?

6 stories

solid masonry wall

will have a kings row pattern every 7th course
-otherwise it is probably a veneer

solid core door provides what fire resistance?

20 min or more

How fast will fore destroy a manufactured home?

a few minutes

Fire doors and windows are tested per what NFPA?

80

Where are fire windows located?

in fire walls, often made with wired glass to withstand high temps

death rate in mobile homes vs standard homes?

3 times as high

Buildings under construction

high risk for fire due to:
wood framework is exposed, lots of vent openings, sprinklers inop, additional fire loads with lumber piles, flammable gases and liquids for construction, unoccupied for periods of time

majority of FF death in residential structures due to:

structure collapse, usually floors then ceilings

pre incident planning

identify type of building construction and hazards prior to any incidents