BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

UNIT GOAL
To introduce the student to the fundamentals of types of building construction and how it is impacted by fire. Also an introduction to testing of building materials used in construction

UNIT OBJECTIVES
The student by the end of the semester shall: Define the following terms Interior finish Fire loading List the five [5] types of building construction as mentioned in the model building codes List two [2] types of loads Define the term truss Describe at least three [3] types of building materials List two [2] organizations that perform fire testing of materials

KEY TERMS Fire Resistive Noncombustible Ordinary Construction Heavy Timber Wood Frame Interior Finish Steiner Tunnel Test Truss Construction Fire Rate Doors
Compression Tension Shear. Concentrated load
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Dead load Distributed load Fire load Live load Impact load Axial load Eccentric load Torsional load

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INTRODUCTION
The majority of fire responded to by fire departments occur in some type of a structure. Fires in structures, while impacted by the same principles of fire, are very different than exterior fires.. It is critical for fire service personnel and fire protection specialists to know how a fire will react within the confines of a structure. According to statistics the third leading cause of firefighter deaths are a result of firefighters being caught or trapped during fire suppression operations. Over the years collapse of burning buildings have accounted for many firefighter deaths. Some of the fires were: 1962 - 23rd Street fire, New York, NY - 12 dead. Approx. 1979 - Walbaumbs Fire, Brooklyn, NY - 6 dead 1988 - Hackensack, NJ dealership fire - 5 dead According the Fire Prevention Triangle, one way of preventing fires is through better engineered buildings and structures. To improve life safety it is critical that building be designed to resist the ravages of fire as long as possible, and be built in such a way to limit the spread of fire within the structure and without to other strictures.. This unit will introduce the student to the basics of building construction as it relates to fire safety. In this unit we will cover types of construction, the mechanics and materials of building construction, fires effects on common types of building materials, and some of the testing procedures used on building materials.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION TYPES

[ See Figure 1 ] There are five general types of building construction classifications defined for fire protection purposes. They are classified according to their fire-resistive properties. Most of the model codes use this classification in their building and fire codes. They include the following: Type 1 - Fire Resistive - A broad range of structural systems capable of withstanding fires of specified intensity and duration without failure. Common fire-resistive components include masonry load-bearing walls, reinforced concrete or protective steel columns, and poured or precast concrete floors and roofs. Examples are Highrise building, Hazardous or explosive material storage structures. Type 2 - Noncombustible - Type of structure made of noncombustible materials in lieu of fireresistant materials. Steel beams, columns, and masonry or metal walls are used Examples are wharehouse, supermarkets or stores [ Walmart, Home Depot ]. Type 3 - Ordinary - Consists of masonry exterior load-bearing walls that are of noncombustible construction. Interior framing, floors, and roofs are made of wood or other combustible materials, whose bulk is less than that needed to qualify as heavy-timber construction. If the floor and roof construction and their supports have a one-hour fire resistance rating and all openings through the floors (stairwells) are enclosed with partitions having a one-hour fire resistance rating, then the construction is classified as protected ordinary construction Examples are older apartment buildings, typical late 19th and early 20th century construction, also known as Main Street U.S.A. Type 4 - Heavy Timber - Characterized by masonry walls, heavy-timber columns and beams, and heavy plank floors. Although not immune to fire, the large mass of the wooden members slows the rate of combustion. Heavy timber construction can be used where the smallest dimension of the members exceeds 5.5 in. (14 cm). When timbers are this large, they are charred but not consumed in a fire and are generally considered akin to a fire-resistant type of construction
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Examples are late 19th and early 20th century warehouse and factory building, some large churches. Type 5 - Wood Frame - Building construction characterized by use of wood exterior walls, partitions, floors, and roofs. Exterior walls may be sheathed with brick veneer, stucco, or metal clad or asphalt Examples are one- and two-family dwellings.

Figure 1 - Examples of Construction Types

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MECHANICS AND MATERIALS OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Mechanics [ See Figure 2 ] How a building is constructed and how it will standup to various types of natural and man-made occurrences is the basis for the mechanics of building construction. In order to understand how a building will resist certain types of occurrences we must understand the term loading. Loading is the weight of the building and what the structure must be able to resist. Some of the different type of loads are: Concentrated load - A load applied to a small area, such as an air conditioning unit on a roof. Dead load - The weight of the building materials and any part of the building permanently attached or built in. Distributed load - A load applied equally over an area. Fire load - All the parts or contents of a building that will burn. This is measured in BTUs, typically wood and its by-products produce about 8,000 Btus per pound, while synthetics [plastics ] produce 12,000 to 15,000 Btus per pound. To determine the hazard of a building you could calculate the weight of all the contents in a given area of a structure and multiply that weight, in pounds, by the amount of Btus that material would produce. This would help in determining how much water is needed to control a fire In that area. Live load - The weight of all materials and people associated with, but not part of a structure. An example of a live load would be the accumulation of snow or water on the surface of a flat roof. Impact load - A load that is in motion when it is applied. An example would be a firefighter jumping from a ladder on to the surface of a flat roof. It is also important to understand how these loads are applied or supported by the structure. Axial load - a load passing through the center of the mass of the supporting element, perpendicular to its cross section. Eccentric load - A load perpendicular to the cross section of the supporting member that does not pass through the center of the mass Torsional load - a load parallel to the cross section of the supporting member that does not pass through the long axis. These loads are applied to structural elements as forces. Compression - A force that tends to push materials together. Tension - A force that pulls materials apart Shear - A force that tends to break materials by causing its molecules to slide past each other. Under normal conditions these loads and forces work together to allow a building to remain standing under day to day operations. It is when a fire weakens structural member causing these same loads and forces to try to bring the building down.

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Materials There are four basic materials that are used for structural support and finishes in a building. These are steel, concrete, masonry, and wood. In most building you will find a combination of these materials used. Based on the type of material and what is it used for will impact how the building will react under fire conditions. Steel - It is a material that is a mixture of carbon and iron ore heated and rolled in the various shapes. It possess high compressive strength, which makes it an excellent structural support member; since it will not collapse under excessive dead or live loads. It is primarily use as beam, girders, trusses, and columns. Under normal conditions steel is excellent, but it tends to lose strength as temperatures increase. At 8000 F. Steel loses about 55% of its strength. At about 1,1000F. Ordinary steel will fail, and structural steel will lose 50% of it strength. As steel increases in temperature it will expand. At temperatures of 1,0000 F. Steel will increase in length approximately 1 inch for every 10 feet. This is enough under fire condition to cause a steel structural member to expand enough to bush out a wall causing a collapse. To increase the strength of steel under possible fire conditions it is usually covered or encased by a fire resistive material, such as concrete, gypsum board, spry on fire resistive material. Concrete - it is a mixture of portland cement, sand, grave, and water. When it cures [ hardens] it has excellent compressive strength. Under most conditions it has very good fire resistive qualities and is used as a protective covering for steel structural members. Under fire conditions concrete will have a tendency to spall [ the deterioration of concrete by the loss of surface material due to the expansion of moisture when exposed to heat ]. This can cause concrete chunks to be propelled off the surface and be a safety hazard. It can also cause structural steel members protected by concrete to be exposed to heat, which could to possible failure. Masonry - Usually refers to brick, concrete blocks, and stone work. We can find this as a veneer over other material [ concrete or wood ] or as a load-bearing wall. These bricks or blocks are held in place by layers of mortar [ sand/portland/lime mixes ]. While the masonry block has excellent compressive strength, like concrete, the mortar does not. It is here where there is a potential for collapse under fire conditions. This type of wall is more commonly found in ordinary and heavy timber constructions as a
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load bearing wall and on wood frame construction as a veneer wall. Wood - This is the only material that will readily burn under most conditions and by itself has no fire resistive qualities.. Wood is the most common building material used because of it availability and cost.. In order for wood to be fire resistive it must be covered or protected by a fire resistive material, such as, gypsum board or masonry. Truss Construction A truss is defined as a framed structure consisting of a group of triangles arranged in a simple plane in such a manner that loads applied at point of intersections of the members will cause only direst stress on the members. This type of construction allow for the use of lighter weight construction material [ steel, wood ] to support greater weights and support larger areas. They are commonly used to support roofs and flooring. Under normal conditions large weights can be supported by very light weight material. The basis of a truss is the triangle, which is the most stable design from a structural standpoint. Under fire conditions the truss can be a very dangerous form of construction to firefighters, several collapses of trusses have caused the death of firefighters. Most notably are the Hackensack, NJ car dealership in 1988 causing five deaths and the Waldbaums supermarket in Brooklyn, NY in 1979 causing six deaths. When a truss assembly is exposed to heat the steel begins to weaken, as a result what was a normal load is now an excessive load. As the truss begins to fail the other members are forced to pick up the slack of the failed units forcing them to be overburdened and eventually collapsing also. In wooden truss assemblies the truss is held together by gusset plates [ A connecting plate used in truss construction. They are flat steel stock in steel trusses and light-gauge metal in wood trusses]. As the wood begins to decompose from the heat the gusset plates will tend to fall out causing the collapse of the truss assembly, and the eventual collapse of the roof or floor assembly..

Figure 3 - Example of Truss Construction

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Interior Finish Another area to consider is that of interior finish. Many large loss fires in places of public assembly can be attributed to a highly combustible interior finish leading to a rapid spread of fire. Some of the notable fire were: Iroquois Theater, Chicago in 1903; 602 dead Coconut Grove, Boston in 1942; 492 dead Beverly Hills Supper Club, Southgate, Ky in 1977; 165 dead Interior finish is defined as those material that makeup exposed interior surface of wall, ceiling, and floor construction. Some types of interior finish are Plywood Plaster Gypsum board Acoustical tile Wall & ceiling coverings Floor coverings Some of uses of interior finish are: Aesthetics Acoustics Insulation Protection from wear & abrasion Most building and fire codes have strict requirements for what types of interior finish can be used in certain types of use groups.. Fire Rated Assemblies There are various parts of a structure that are designed to limit the spread of fire throughout. These are known as fire rated assemblies. Some of the more common are described below. Fire Walls - A designated partition, which by nature of its construction and certification status, is warranted to resist a cellulosic or hydrocarbon fire test for a particular time period and is able to withstand structural collapse on either side and remain standing. Firewalls are used prevent the spread of fire or its effects and are provided fire-resistance ratings to standardized fire exposures. fire test requirements specified in ASTM E119, Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials; UL 263, Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials; NFPA 251, Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Building Fire Rated Partition - A wall having a fire resistant rating, but not considered a true firewall due to lack of structural integrity. Testing requirements are found in the same standards as for firealls. Fire Door Assembly - Any combination of a fire door, a frame, hardware, and other accessories that together provide a specific degree of fire protection to the opening in which the door is placed. They are given hourly fire ratings. Fire doors that have 20- or 30-minute fire-resistant ratings are primarily provided for smoke control. They are normally provided along a corridor where smoke control is required and in fire partitions of ratings of up to one hour. The degree of fire resistance of a manufactured door is determined according to the fire test requirements specified in ANSI/NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Fire Windows.. Fire Window Assembly - A window or glass block assembly having a fire resistance or protection
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rating. The assembly includes all components that support the window installation. Fire windows are tested in accordance with NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Fire Windows. Fire windows were originally designed to protect openings in exterior walls. Therefore, radiant heat transfer was not a significant consideration, since the main function of fire windows was to contain the flames from a fire within the building.

TESTING OF MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLIES

There are various types of testing methods for fire rated assemblies. As with most fire tests these tests are based on time and temperature These tests determine the fire resistive rating for a material based on time. At the completion of the test the assembly is given a rating in hours, or in some cases with doors in minutes. Example: a door may be given a fire rating of 1 hour to 4 hours. The same goes for wall, floor or ceiling assemblies. These tests are destructive tests. The time that is assigned to the assembly is NOT HOW LONG THE ASSEMBLY WILL PROTECT YOU IN A FIRE SITUATION, BUT HOW LONG IT TOOK TO DESTROY THE ASSEMBLY. These test are usually conducted by Underwriters Labs, Inc. or Factory Mutual Research Corporation. The results of the tests are attached to the assembly if it is a door or a window. Some them are listed below NFPA Std. 251, Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials is used for fire rated wall assemblies. The test criteria is: Failure to support a load Temperature increase on the unexposed surface Passage of heat and flame sufficient to ignite cotton waste Excess temperature on steel members Structural failure under hose streams of 250 g.p.m. NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Fire Windows uses the same standard criteria as NFPA 251. Interior Finish Tests As with other tests these are based on time and temperature, but these are designed to determine how fast fire will spread across the surface of the material. Based on this the material is given a rating from 0 to 200. This known as a Flame Spread Index (FSI). A relative performance of fire travel over the surface of a material when tested in accordance with the provisions of NFPA 255, Standard Method of Test of Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials; ASTM E-84, Standard Method of Test of Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials; UL 723, Standard Test Method for Surface Flammability of Materials, or the Steiner Tunnel Test. The test was developed by A. J. Steiner at Underwriters Laboratories after World War I. Research on the test was increased after the Coconut Grove Fire in Boston in 1942 in which 492 people were killed and the interior combustible materials were cited as a contributing factor. The method was recognized by ASTM in 1950 and by NFPA in 1955, after three fatal hotel fires (with the loss of 199 lives) in 1946 that cited interior finish as a contributing factor. In the fire test, a building material specimen, about 25 ft. (7.62 m) by 20 in. (0.5 m) is mounted to form the roof of a tunnel about 1 ft. (0.3 m) high. Two gas burners at the front of the tunnel provide a controlled heat source. The flame is developed by burning methane at a rate of 5,000 Btu/min. (5,274 kJ/min.) with an air velocity of 240 ft./min. (72 m/min.). It is designed to provide a moderately severe exposure of approximately 1,400F (760C) in the area of flame impingement. The tunnel is calibrated using inorganic reinforced cement board and red oak. The cement board is assigned a flame spread index of zero and red oak of 100. The surface flammability of the test sample is reported in relative terms against the performance of reinforced cement board and red oak. Smoke developed is also measured during this 10-minute test in a relative manner between the performance of reinforced
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cement board and red oak. The test requires that coatings intended for application to combustible surfaces be tested when applied to that surface. Coatings intended for application to any wood surface may be tested when applied to Douglas fir and coatings for application to noncombustible surfaces are to be tested when applied to 0.25 in. (0.75 cm) of inorganic reinforced cement board. Building codes have established major performance levels for the surface flammability levels of building materials. These flame spread indexes are 0 to 25 (Class A or Class I), 26 to 75 (Class B or Class II), and 76 to 200 (Class C or Class III). Class D (201 to 500) and Class E (over 500) are also registered by the E-84 test method. Requirements for smoke are typically limited by building codes for materials such as plastics and for air handling systems. It may also be called a flame spread rating.

Figure 4 - Example of Steiner Tunnel Apparatus

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