Fire Fighting in High Rise Building

FIRE FIGHTING
CASE STUDY
HAFIZ UZAIR NAEEM UD DIN

BUILDING DESIGN SYSTEM
M. ARCH #13.
SUBMITTED TO: SIR ISHFAQ
Introduction
 Firefighting is the act of attempting to prevent the
spread of and extinguish significant unwanted fires in
buildings, vehicles, woodlands, etc.
 A firefighter suppresses fires to protect lives, property
and the environment.
 Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of
technical training.
BUILDING FIRE ESCAPE ROUT.
• Detection
 This covers the installation of methods whereby the fire may be detected
preferably at the earliest possible stage.
 • Control of spread of fire Here concern is placed on the fire, either within the
building or in adjacent properties.
 This control may either be affected by an in-built feature or by the control of
distance between buildings or by mechanical means.
 Prevention of structural damage or collapse This covers maintaining the stability
and the integrity of the structure as a whole or in part during the fire.
General details of fire safety
 Fire safety in a building should be addressed in a number
of fronts and hence would need a multi-disciplinary
approach.
 There are many standards and specifications that can be
used
 This is briefly presented to highlight various issues
involved.
 Fire safety consists of two major components,
 • Fire resistant construction
 • Fire fighting in case of occurrence
Control of ignition

 This can be done by controlling the flammability of material
within the structure, by proper selection of finishes, or by safety
management such as imposing restrictions on naked flames.
 Provision of adequate means of escape.
 This can be forced by the imposition of a statutory requirement
for provision of suitable escape facilities and by educating
 the occupants on the proper use of them in terms of the fire
drills.
The commonly used additives
 To have concrete with high strength, and a lower heat of hydration, a common
strategy is to have fly ash or Silica fume in small quantities.
 These have the effect of reducing the permeability by making the concrete dense
while giving rise to a pozzolanic reaction that will fill up most of the voids in
concrete.
 The behavior observed with aggregates available, indicated higher strength and
lower porosity values.
Fire Safety Challenges
 Modern Open-floor Office Design

 Cubicle Work Stations
 Dwarf Partitions
 Movement of smoke within building –
 Stack Effect
 Central Air Conditioning System
 Difficulty in Reaching the Fire Seat
 Upper floors evacuation only from inside
Fire Safety Challenges
 Access only through internal staircase

 beyond aerial apparatus reach
 Staircases is availed by fire-fighters and
 occupants simultaneously.
 Ventilation is complicated and critical.
 Reaction time is higher.
 Communication can be difficult
 Maintenance of in-built protection system
Preparedness
 Safe Operating Procedures (SOP)

 Staff Members Awareness
 Mock Drills
 Fire Prevention Procedures
 Fire Protection System
 Evacuation Facility
 Additional Resources
Stack Effect
 Natural movement of air within a tall building caused by temperature
difference between outside and inside of building Becomes stronger
as the building gets taller and the temperature difference becomes
greater
 Stratification location: when light heated air flows upward and

reaches a point where it is same temperature/weight as surrounding
air
Ventilation
 Planned and systematic removal of smoke, heat, and gases from
a structure
 Traditional ventilation not always available in
 high-rises
 • If no horizontal ventilation:
 Enclosed stairwell can be used
 Hold open door on fire floor into stairwell
 Use positive air pressure fans (with caution)
Elevators
 Elevator use has caused grave injuries or death in the past
 • Used when fire is higher than sixth floor
 • Remotely located elevators may be used
 • Knowledge of policies and procedures is necessary
Stairwells
 • If elevators are unsafe, use of stairwell support procedure is
implemented
 Teams stationed two floors apart in stairwell
 First team carries equipment up two floors to waiting
 firefighters
 Second team carries it up two more floors
 First team descends and rests while waiting to carry and pass on
additional equipment.
Pressurized Stairwells
 Designed to provide occupants and firefighters
 a smoke-free environment while moving within
 the stairwell
 Enclose the stairwell tightly
 Add a fan to increase the air pressure
Building Fire Protection Systems
 Building systems available to firefighters are:
 – Standpipes
 – Sprinkler and water supply systems
 – Fire pumps
 – Fire communications and command systems
 – Pressurized stairwells
Standpipes
 Most building codes require them
 Look at them as fire water mains built into the building with
an outlet Pressure at each floor will vary and in some cases
can be too high Pressure reducer will need to be installed.
Sprinklers and Water Supply
Systems
 Most new high-rises are equipped
 Can quickly control and extinguish most fires
 with water from two or less heads
 In taller high-rises, building is divided into zones with a
water supply tank installed in each zone
Fire Pumps
 Required in all high-rise buildings
 • Designed to increase pressure in the sprinkler
 and/or standpipe system
 Can be found singly or in pairs
 Essential for inlet and discharge gauges to be checked
 Critical that bypass valve is left closed after pump testing
Fire Communication Systems
 Steel columns and beams enclosed with concrete absorb energy
from fire department
 radio communications systems
 Makes communication ineffective
 Newer buildings have communication systems installed
 Hard wiring allows intra-building communication using
 series of high reliability speakers and telephone
 devices located throughout building
Conclusions
 In the case of fire it is absolutely necessary to ensure survival of the building until the building is
completely evacuated.
 In this context, it is advisable to use normal concrete in areas that may be exposed to fires instead of
high performance concrete that contain silica fume.
 Such high performance concrete could suffer greater damage and hence may pose a danger when
used in heavily loaded vertical members.
 The alternatives possible with normal concrete have also been proposed.
 This indicates that the use of high performance concrete in a building should be carefully controlled
in order to ensure least damage to the main structural load carrying members, in the event of fires.
 This indicates that it would be necessary to achieve compromising solutions between the durability,
fire resistance, early heat of hydration and strength when high rise buildings are planned.
 Indiscriminate use of high performance concrete may not be a good solution.

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What are the main components of fire safety in buildings?

What are some challenges faced in modern open-floor office designs regarding fire safety?

FIRE FIGHTING

HAFIZ UZAIR NAEEM UD DIN

 Modern Open-floor Office Design

 Access only through internal staircase

 Safe Operating Procedures (SOP)

 Stratification location: when light heated air flows upward and

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