UNIT-5 FIRE SAFETY INSTALLATIONS 5.1 CAUSES OF FIRE AND ITS EFFECT Iis practically impossible : tocliminate completely the cause of fire in building contains some subst. ance which will casil eterna fire esisting” instead of *fire-prool™ The chief causes of fire are a building because every teh fire. Considering the fact that no building ional fire prevention congress recommended to use the term When dealing with building materialsand construction practice material is fully fire proof th 1. Smoking and e: relessly throwing the lighted ends of ¢ rettes and matches. Faulty workmanship with respeet to the electrical wiring, . Heating and cooking equipments 4. Children playing with matches wn Open flames and sparks 6, Flammable liquids 7. Suspeeted arson 8. Chimneys and flues . Lighting and ches fire different materials in the building produces different gases as When a building cate ). Spontancous combustion follows : his iva very poisonous gas. It hampers oxygen from reaching the brain, ps This isi (a) Carbon monoxide Be camille inilire ease It is invisible and odourless of bres ' imereases the rate Hhing and itis thus responsible for increasing , oxides This gas (b) Carbon diox: t ySes. the intake of other toxic & pris gav affects the nervous system and it eauses dizziness and pain in sulphide: This gas 4 en Sulp! ory system jx extremely poisonous and it numbs the throat \\ This gas is This & D (c) Hydrog the respi (dd) Nitrogen dioxide: 139a, > 140 BUILDING SERVICES 5.2 SAFETY REGULATIONS AS PER NBC — As stated earlier, NBC stands for “National Building Code” of India. The latest edition was reteased by the Bureau of Indian Standards during the year 2005. NBC provides exhaustive wuidelines with respect to fire safety for all category of buildings. Following are the some of the excerpts on fire safety guidelines given in NBC. L.A building or portion of the building may be occupied only if all means of exit and fire 4 protection measures arc in place and continuously maintained for the occupied part of the building 22 Rhighrise building shouldbe provided with a dry riser of minimum 100 mm diameter pipe, drums filled with water of atleast 2000 litres along with two fire buckets, and a water storage tank of minimum 20000 litres capacity (which can be used for other purpose also). 3. The maximum permissible height of high rise buildings for any combination of occupancy and types of construction should necessarily be related to the width of street fronting the building or floor area ratios and the local fire fighting facilities available. _4/ The open spaces around the building should be in accordance with the Development Control Regulations (DCR). 5. While designing openings at walls and floors particular attention should be paid to all such 7 factors which will limit fire spread through these openings. Every wall and floor opening should be provided with fire resisting doors. 6 Openings in walls or floors which have to allow passages of electrical wires, telephone cables, plumbing pipes etc. should be protected by enclosures in the form of ducts or shafts. 7é Allelectrical installations should be provided in accordance with the standard code of practice 4 to prevent fire from electric sparks due to leakages. 8. Air conditioning and ventilation systems circulating air to more than one floor should be provided with dampers designed to stop or close automatically to prevent spreading of fire or smoke. 9. Air conditioning system serving large places of assembly (over 1000 persons), large departmental stores or hotels with over 100 rooms in a single block should be provided with effective smoke sensitive devices. — 40. Smoke venting facilities should be provided in windowless buildings, underground structures. large area factories, hotels and assembly buildings. J17 Installation of chimneys and heating apparatus in a building should be in accordance with the code of practice.Re SAFETY INSTALLATIONS 2. The use of combust ua 12. ees a bie surface finishes on walls and ceilings tends to spread the fire and selecting the material fare Hf: Iti therefore essential to have adequate precautions in ‘OF Surface finish to avoid Spreading of flame in walls and ceilings, 13, Wired glass glazing or electro, " i hour fire esisanoee Fo-copper glazing can be employed with a minimum of half an Wired glass fc glass for skylights or Monitor lights should be minimum of half an hour fire rating, Louvers wherever provided should be a minimum of halfan hour fire resistance rating. 16. Glass of facade for high rise buildings should be of minimum one hour fire resistance rating. must be provided which ma ircase or external sta a street or to an adjoining build 7. A fire exit ; 7A i 'y be a doorway or corridor or passageway to an internal stai itcasc or verandah or roof or horizontal exit leading either to ling at the same level. AX Lifts and escalators should not be considered as fire exit, Every exit and its approaches should be continuously maintained free of all obstructions. Exits should be clearly visible and the route to reach the exits should be clearly marked and Signs posted to guide the occupants of the floor concerned. The signs should be illuminated in green colour and wired to an independent electrical circuit on an alternative source of supply. 2L” All buildings which are 15 m in height having area more than 500 m? on cach floor should have a minimum of two staircases, 22.° The exit doorway should not be less than 1000 mm in width except assembly buildings where door width should not be less than 2000 mm. Moreover, the height of the doorway should not be less than 2000 mm. 2 Exit doorways should open outwards away from the room. i ed in exit doorways to avoid confusion regarding the direction of 24” Mirrors should not be plac exit. internal staircases shou with non combustible materials and mus| 2. i should be constructed wit SA al staircases an external wall as one of its sides. 67 ing or electrical panels should be allowed ina stairway, 6.09 in . No gas pip’ th of tread without nosing should be 250 mm for internal staircase of vid 27 The minimum wie! D should be 300mm for assembly, hotels, educational, institutional, s. This s residential buildings iIdings. The treads should be constructed and maintained in a manner her buildings. business and ol to prevent slipping:gl 142 BUILDING SERVICES 28. The maximum height of riser should be 190 mm for residential buildings and 150 mm for other buildings and the number should be limited to 15 per flight. _29. The minimum headroom in a passage under the landing of a staircase and under the staircase should be 2.2 m. 302 Handrails should be provided at a height of 1000 mm to be measured from the base of the middle of the treads to the top of the handrails. 31.” External staircase should be constructed of non-combustible materials and should be directly connected to the ground. 32” No external staircase used as a fire escape should be inclined at an angle greater than 45° from the horizontal 33. External staircases should have a straight flight not less than 1250 mm wide with 250 mm . trends and rise not more than 190 mm. The number of risers should be limited to 15 per flight. _ 34/ Handrails should be of a height not less than 1000 mm and not exceeding 1200 mm. __35¢” A spiral staircases should not be less than 1500 mm diameter and should be designed to give adequate headroom. 36. A horizontal exit should be equipped with atleast one fire door of minimum 1 hour fire resistance rating. Further itis required to have direct connectivity to the fire escape staircase for evacuation. ~ | 4 377 Fire towers are the prefered type of escape route for high rise buildings over 8 storeysand | should be considered as the safest route for escape. 38. Where applicable fire lifts should be provided with a minimum capacity for 8 passengers and fully automated with emergency switch on ground level. In general, buildings of height above 15 m should be provided with fire lifts : _39- Emergency and escape lighting should be powered from a source independent of that supplying normal lighting, 40. Wherever required automatic fire detection and alarm facilities should be provided to warn the occupants of the existence of fire. : 2 5.3 PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS AGAINST FIRE IN BUILDINGS 5.3.1 Non Combustible Materials Non combustible materials are otherwise called fire resisting materials, Some of the characteristics of an ideal fire resisting material are:FIRE SAFETY INSTALLATIONS 2 (1) The composition of the material should be such that it does not become disintegrated under the effet of great heat. = (2) The expansion of the material duc to heat should not be such that it leads to unstability of the structure of which it forms the part ~~ (3) The contraction of the material due to sudden cooling with water after it has been heated toa high temperature should not be rapid 5.4 FIRE RESISTING PROPERTIES OF COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS 5.4.1 Stone The stone is a bad conductor of heat and it is generally a good fire resisting material, However the stone is liable to disintegrate into small pieces when heated and suddenly cooled. The granite explodes and gets easily disintegrated in case of fire. The limestone is easily crumbled even by ordinary fire. The sandstone of compact composition with fine grains can generally stand moderate fire successfully without the formation of serious cracks. 5.4.2 Bricks Similar to stone, brick is also a bad conductor of heat, It can resist very high temperatures in the range of 1200°C to 1300°C, if the type of mortar and quality of workmanship are good, However brick has its own structural limitations for use in the buildings. 5.4.3 Timber The structural elements made of timber ignite and get rapidly destroyed in case of fire. Moreover «as the fuel to the fire. The use of timber cannot be totally avoided as a construction material, such as ammonium phosphate, fant. itac the surface of the timber is coated with paints and/or certain chemicals: ammonium sulphate, borax, boric acid, zine chloride ete. to make it fire resis 5.44 Cast-iron Cast iron breaks into pieces when heated and suddenly cooled. Hence this material is rarely used as structural material and moreover if it is used itis covered by brickwork of atleast one brick thickne: 5.4.5 Steel “The steel is a non combustible material but it isa good conductor of heat, Hence itis rapidly heated in case of a fire, Its found that steel loses its tensile strength with the inerease in heat and the yield stress of mild stcel at 600°C is about 1/3rd of its value at normal temperature. Hence are atone fire. the unprotected stcel beams sag, the unprotected steel columns buckle and the structure collapses. Also the surface paint if any is not fire resistant then it assists in spreading the flame on the surface and thereby it adds to the intensity of the fire.144 BUILDING SERVICES 5.4.6 Glass This material is a bad conductor of heat and its expansion duc to heat is very less. The cracks are formed in this material when heated and suddenly cooled. The reinforced glass with steel wire is more fire resistant than ordinary glass and it can resist sudden variations in temperature without the formation of cracks. The reinforced or wired glass even if it breaks keeps the fractured glass in its original position. 5.4.7 Wrought-iron The material is rarely used as a structural material. It behaves more or less the same way as mild steel. J 5.4.8 Aluminium This material is a very good conductor of heat but it possesses poor fire resisting properties. Hence its use is restricted to those structures which have very low fire risks. 5.4.9 Asbestos cement This is a non-combustible building material with low coefficient of expansion and therefore possesses high fire resistance. Hence the asbestos cement products are widely used for the construction of fire resistant partition walls, roofs etc. This material is also used as a protective covering against fire for other structural members. 5.4.10 Concrete This material is a bad conductor of heat and it is an effective material for fire resisting construction. The concrete offers a much higher resistance to a fire than any other material. The actual behaviour of concrete in case of a fire depends on the quality of cement and type of aggregate forming the concrete and in case of reinforced and prestressed structures it also depends on the position of steel in concrete. There is practically no loss of strength in concrete when it is heated upto about 250°C. But a small loss of strength takes place at a temperature of about 300°C. From this point onwards, there is a steady increase in the reduction of strength of concrete and at temperatures of about 800°C to 900°C the strength of concrete is about 20% of its strength at normal temperature, The temperature on the surface and time of exposure will decide the depth upto which temperature is effective. This clearly shows that the cover of concrete under the reinforcement assumes significance with respect to fire resistance characteristics. 5.5 FIRE RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION All the structural components of a building should be constructed in such a way that they withstand as an integral member of the structure for a specific period in the event of fire. To achieve this objective due considerations should be made in design and construction of the following structural elements of the structure:ac SAFETY INSTALLATIONS | Wallsand columns > Hloors and roots 4 Wall opening and 4 Building fite escape clement - staneases 55.1 Walls and Columns The Toad bearing walls or columns of masonty shoul kl be thicker in section so that they can geust fire for longer time and act ay vertical bariers to the passage of heat and fire While constittcting solid bearing. walls bricks ean be prefetted to stones. For framed structures, ate preferred to steel frames, or mandatory steel struc ven, Walls of light weight concrete reinforced com ne conerete flames, ‘over protection ean be x ycightconerete, Both load bearing mortar of atleast 2 conere' be preferred to dense and non Toad bearing, wally should be plastered with fire resistive (cm thickness to improve fire resistance, For columns and girder the desirable grading is of 4 hours whereas for beams it is of 3 hours. The sufficient cover to R.C.C, me nbers like beams or columns should be provided to enable them to function satisfactorily under fire for a maximum time. Ith: cover of atleast 50 mm outside the main reinfor trusses and 38 mim for ordin: s been recommended that a nt of structural members like columns, girder ¥y beam, long span slab, span slabs should be provided. Some of the (0). rehes and 25 mm for partition walls, short re proofing treatments are shown in Figures 5.1(a) to += Wire @ OO) ©) Fig, 5.1 Concrete cover to various members a Floors and Roofs The Moors and roofs should be made of fire resisting materials as they act as horizontal barriers roo vetical ditcctions. Flooring materials like conerete, ceramic tiles, terrazo, tospread heat and fire in verte eto be most Suitable materials with respect to fire safety marble, slate and brick are ‘baste materials like wood, cast iron, rubber, linoleum, cork, carpet However ifthe usage of Conn ive measures should be takensFor the fire resistant roof, the isunavoidable then arr picked roof and also the considerations for floors are applicable to Nat roof can be preferred ofsloping roof (piched roof) is warranted then the trusses made of either roofs also, Incase the id steel witha covering, of asbestos cement boards should be used. RCC or proteceted ngte— as i 146 BUILDING SERVICES 5.5.3 Wall Openings fety the opening in the walls should be minimum and they should be ments in the case of fire With respeet to fir protected by suitable arran; means of escape if properly protected otherwise they provide the pread of fire in the horizontal direction. Doors and windows should be made of wire gla: s and stecl rolling shutters are predominantly used for doorways and window openings in garages, godowns, shops, etc. duc to their ability in preventing the spread of Single and double fire proof doors are also being used at wall openings to prevent the spread Any window exposed to the roof of other structures should be protected by fire proof shutters. [any structure has a separation of less than 6 m from adjoining structure then all wall openings should be made of fire proof construction. These ope for th 5.5.4 Building fire escape elements - Staircases f Staircase is an important fire escape clement in a building which should be constructed out of tant materials. Doors if any to the staircase should also be made of fire resistant material. Stai should be located next to the outer walls and should be accessible from any floor in the direction of flow towards the exits from the building. The fire proof doors to these emergency staircases should be fixed in such a way to make them close from inside only. Such an arrangement will help the people to leave the building safely and quickly in the event of fire. The number and location of staircases should be in such a way that to provide for equitable distribution of the population of the floor over all the staircases. Alll internal staircases should be made of fire resisting materials like RCC and the entrances provided with automatic armoured fire doors or roller shutters. A straight flight type staircase should be provided where possible, All staircases should be cut off from other parts of the building by a fire resisting wall or wire glass partitions or such other safe enclosure. All external stairs like fire escape stairs, spiral stairs and ramps are treated as supplementary means to the internal staircases. Fire escape stairs should have a width of not less than 75 cm with 15 cm tread and risers not more than 20 cm, The number of risers should be limited to 16 per fight. Hand rails should be provided at a height not less than 100 om. Ramps should also be projected over the roofs by hand railing and they should not have the gradient of more than 1 in 10. Spiral staircases should be limited in use to buildings with low density of population. The spiral stairs should be made of non combustible materials and should have diameters of not less than 1.5 m and height not exceeding 9 m with adequate head room.) As discussed earlier where applicable, fie lifts shauld be provided with a minimum capacitY for 8 persons and fully automated with emergency switch on ground level. In genera, buildings with height 15 mand above should be provided with fire lifts. Incase of fie, only fire man should operate the fire lift, In normal course, it may be used by other persons. Each fire lit should be equipped with suitable inter communication equipment for communicating with control room on 5.6 FIRE LIFTSpré_ SAFETY INSTALLATIONS ; ground floor of the building, Th the 2 1 building. The number and location of fire lifts in a building sh¢ we should be gecided after taking into considerati ry ti der rtmentation ete jon various factors like building population, floor area, 5.7 LOBBIES Lobby is an open area insi ane vieaaoeet = ae the entrance ofa public building, Lobbies are also one of the fire ccaingstomens and ms ¥e constructed out of fire resistant material. All escape doors should be guch as ec circulation to the persons in passages and lobbies. 5.8 MEANS OF FIRE ESCAPES The building should be provided with appropriate escapes when fire occures. This has special significance in the design of theatres, town halls, factories, and similar other public buildings. Such means of escape will also serve as easy access to the fire men. For example, in the case of qrulti-storied building if there isa fire in a particular storey the exit provisions should be such that the occupants of the floor immediately above and below that storey must find suitable safe exit in reasonable time. For this purpose the size of corridor, width of staircase and location of staircase should be suitably decided by keeping in view the safety requirements;) As discussed earlier the National Building Code has covered the topic of fire protection in etil and some of the important provisions with respect to fire eseape are as follows: |, A separate Siro Ii whomid boyprovided foun of fire brigade in the event of fire. | building should have a minimum of 2 staircases. 2. Every tall tin residential and mercantile occupancies. door should be treated as exits except Jators should not be considered as exits. pant to reach an exit for different type of No revolving The lifts and escal ance to be travelled by an occu yee The maximum dist buildings should be as follows: (a) Residential, educational, ins! (by Assembly, (c) Business = titutional, and hazardous = 22.5 m. mercantile, industrial and storage = 30m 45m. 5.9 AC SYSTEMS _ spect to AC systems are dealt in detail in “Refrigeration Principle h respec’ « requested to refer the same, ction with i : ‘The reader i The fire prot and Applications” chapter/ tothe emergency centre of fire service can be installed, 148 BUILDING SERVices 5.10 SPECIAL FEATURES REQUIRED FOR PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED AND ELDERLY IN VARIOUS BUILDING TYPES ‘For the fire safety of individuals, important features of the ability to act include the ability tq perceive, the ability to comprehend and the ability to move. Reduction of any of these abilities lessens the capacity of the residents to save themselves. AS disabled and elder persons are more prone to have reduced abilities proper planning in building is required with respect to fire safety especially for this section of people.’ ; “(In many situations, disabled and elderly persons do not require any specific design features because everyone is disabled in the case of fire) For example, smoke and toxic gases should obscure vision, bells and alarms can impair hearing and create panic and fear. These factors leads to confusion and reduced judging and deciding abilities of everyoné> Hence adequate fire safety education seems to be a common preventive measure for everyone, However, some of the design considerations are as follows: ‘+ Flashing lights can be activated simultaneously with an audible alarm system to alert persons with hearing impairments, 2. Braille map showing several alternative escape routes can be installed for persons who are visually impaired. 3. (Designing a refuge area within a building which is fully fire proof to accommodate for wheel chairs, for disabled and elderly people to take refuge in case of fire) Some building codes Tequire the provision of a refuge area usually at the fire protected stair landing on each Tloor that can safely hold one or two wheel chairs. 4. Large public buildings can have voluntary entry register in the main lobby so that persons with disabilities and old age can be easily located in the case of emergency. 5. _ Old age and disabled person need to be included in all fire drills, 6. Flashing lights, vibrating beds or variable velocity fans can alert deaf and blind people. _7— Emergency exit lights and directional signals can be mounted in each floor for easy escape. 8° Pre-revorded messages and on the spot broadcast from a central control room can be arranged. 9. A Pre-tecorded message installed in the telephone ean be useful for notifying the fir department. 10 Aneffective automatic fire alarm system based on smoke detection that is directly connected \ - ~ 7FIRE SAFETY INSTALLATIONS : 149 ou HEAT AND SMOKE DETECTORS AND FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS Detection of a potential ly dangerous rise A - fice are 1g in heat (air temperature) or pressure or the presence erate eee co Possible moment to prevent fire. It is rightly said that the first itol over the fre gang note portant than the next five hours, This is due to the fact thatthe ee hieved effectively if fought in the initial stage of its occurrence. Evacuation j ae peed Scranual or automatic contact with the fite brigade monitoring switchboard soe lame rane Cotte People are at risk. Means of detection can be combined with security surveillance. Fire detection can be done in various forms as follows: | Heat . 1 ae ee (temperature rise): Rise in local temperature leads to the melting of a fusible ire which holds close, a valve-on.a fuel pipe connected to a burner. The fluid filled ' bellows f OWS or capillary tube or movement of a bimetallic strip is connected to the alarm circuit to bang alarm, ' The presence of gas, oil, petrol or chemical vapour is detected by a catalytic chemical reaction. 3. Butane and propane vapour diffusion is detected by a membrane. The rise of local atmospheric pressure above a preset value is detected. 5.11.1 lonizat in Smoke Detector (lonization smoke detector contain a radioactive source of around 1 micro curie, typically americium-241 which bombards room air within the detector with alpha particles (ionization). Electrical current consumption is 50 1A. In case of fire, the presence of smoke reduces the flow of alpha ions, the electric current decreases and at a preset value, an alarm is activated) 5.11.2 Visible Smoke Detector ‘[Link] of light is directed ata receiving photocell. In case of fire, smoke obscures or scatters the light and an alarm is triggered. §.11.3 Fire Alarm Systems “These systems are installed with a view to give an alarm and to call for assistance in case of a fire. The fire alarm gives enough time and warning to the occupants to reach to a safe place. The alarm systems are of two types: (a) Automatic Alarm Systems (b) Manual Alarm Systems (a) Automatic Alarm Systems 2 installed in large industrial buildings which is unoccupied at night. The automatic Itis usually : control point and at the same ti isal information to the nearest control point and at the same time, message is also fire alarm sends the in sent to the nearest fire brigade station.| a / stairs and spiral stairs are practically not possible) The width of these |: ny, 150 BUILDING SERVICES (b) Manual Alarm System It consists ofa hand bell or such other arrangement by which the occupants of the whole o part of the building are informed about the happening of a fire. The manually operated alarms shoulg be provided near all ma: s and in the natural path of escape from fire and at readily accessible points which are not likely to be obstructed by smoke. 5.12 SNORKEL LADDER hese are used in buildings having very low density of population where the use of fire escape ladders should not be less than 45 cm and grips projecting 100 cm above the top of the rungs should be provided. Landings at approach and at intermediate stages should be provided where ladder height exceeds 6 meters, Ladders used with height exceeding 9 m should be provided with guards to form an enclosure for refuge in the event of fire(Ladders should preferably be located at least 10. cm away from the wall and not steeper than 60° to the horizontal. This may also refers to the one that is fixed on the fire fighting vehicle) Generally it is folded when not in use and can be unfolded by control systems to reach the particular height of the building with the fire personnel to extinguish the fire. However it has limitations.({ has been found that the snorkel ladder cannot go beyond 10 floors and highest of the turntable ladder reaches only upto 13th floor) >) 5.13 FIRE LIGHTINGS This is otherwise called as emergency and escape lighting. National Building Code has clearly formulated certain guidelines for installation and operation of emergency and escape lighting, These guidelines are as follows: Le Emergency lighting should be powered from a source independent of that supplying the ‘normal lighting. 20 Escape lighting should be capable of indicating clearly and unambiguously the escape routes. 3. Escape lighting should ensure that the fire alarm call points and fire fighting equipments provided along the escape routes should be easily located. 4. — The horizontal luminance at floor level on the centre line of an escape route should not be less than 10 lux. In addition for escape routes upto 2 m wide, $0 percent of the route width should be lit to a minimum of 5 lux. 5. The emergency lighting should be provided to be put on within one second of the failure of the normal lighting supply. 6. _ Escape lighting should be located on the following locations (a) Near each intersection of corridorspike SAFETY INSTALLATIONS FIRE (b) At each exit door - (c) Nei ‘ach change of direction in the escape route (a) Near each staircase ' Siease so that each flight of stars receives direct light (¢) Near any other change of floor level (1) Outside each final exit and close to it (g) Near each fire alarm eall point (h) Near fire-fighting equipment and (9 To illuminate exit and safety signs as required by the enforcing authority Emer Emergency lighting systems should be designed to ensure that a fault or failure in any one ‘iminaire does not further reduce the effectiveness of the system 8 The luminairies should be mounted as low as possible but atleast 2 m above the floor level 9. Signs are required at all exits, emer gency exits and escape routes which should comply with the graphic requirements of the rel jevent Indian standards. 10” Emergency lighting luminaires and their fittings should be of non-flammable type. ML. Itis essential that the wiring and installation of the emergency lighting systems are of high quality so as to ensure their perfect serviceability at all times, The emergency lighting system should be capable of continuous operation for a minimum duration of one hour and 30 minutes even for the smallest premises. 13. Emergency lighting system should be well maintained by periodical inspections and tests so as to ensure that perfect serviceability at all times. 14. The staircase and corridor lighting should be on separate circuits and should be independently connected s0 that it could be operated by one switch installation on the ground floor easily accessible to fire fighting staff at any time irrespective ofthe position of the individual control of the light points, if any. It should be of miniature circuit breaker type of switch so as to avoid replacement of fuse in case of crisis. : Iso be connected to alternative supply. The alternative . .d corridor lighting should al ¢ ply. ee may be provided by battery continuously trickle changed from the electric sour means. de by installing double throw switches to ensure that the . ngements should be ma ; 16, Suitable arr in the staircase and the corridor does not get connected to two source of See atane ously. Double throw switch should be installed in the service room for supply terminating the stand-by supply.{ | ere aR RNA al a tite, | 152 BUILDING SERVICES ( 5-14 WATER STORAGE AND PUMPS A satisfactory supply of water for the purpose of fire fighting shall always be available in the form of underground/terrace level static storage tank with capacity appropriate for each building replenished with alternative source of supply at the rate of 1000 l/min. When this is not practicable the capacity of static storage tank should be increased proportionately in consultation with the local fire brigade. The static storage water supply required for fire fighting purposes should entirely be accessible to the fire engines of the local fire service. Provision of suitable number of manholes should be made available for inspection, repairs, insertion of suction hose etc. The covering slab should withstand the total vehicular load of 45 tons equally divided as a four point load when the slab forms a part of pathway/driveway. To prevent stagnation of water in the static water storage tank, the suction tank of the domestic water supply should be fed only through an overflow arrangement to maintain the level therein at the minimum specified capacity. This arrangement is shown in Figure §.2. 4Nos.6 Prime Fire Pump Mover Man Hole one 2 Town’ Nain ‘Supply andNert ' i aca GL 18mm AY“ |f-- = N= --~ =~ cam Fire | Separation | ‘Domestic Water IFighting} atte Wall Supply Tank Tank (Other than Ske Slope__ | Drinking Water) Foot Valves Fig. 5.2 Typical arrangement for providing combined fire fighting and domestic water storage tank {the static water storage tank should be provided with a “fire brigade collecting head” consis of 4 number of 63 mm diameter inlets. These inlets are housed in a cabinet or valve box and located at a suitable point at street level. This cabinet is connected from the tank with the help of fire pump (with the capacity of 1400 ion pipe shown in Figure 5. ”) ‘min) through suction pipé 2sFIRE_ SAFETY INSTALLATIONS 5.15 DRY AND WET RisERS 5.15.1 Dry Riser 153 An arrangement of fir fighting i shan 100 mm internal diameter war nt Oui eter with landing valve n tern; es but is capable of being charged with Water usual ng by means of vertical rising mains not less on each floor/landing which is normally dry lly by pumping from fire service appliane es, 5.15.2 Wet riser ‘Itis almost similar to di iy riser except that the riser is always charged with pressurized supply of water. : The pressure of the water should be maintained in the range of 410 to 520 kpa. The upper pressure limit is to protect the fire brigade hoses from bursting and is achieved by fitting an orifice plate restriction before the landing valves on the lower floors of a tall building. The maximum static pressure in the system when all the landing valves are shutis limited to 690 kpa by recirculating water to the supply tanks through a 75 mm retum pipe. Pressure boosting of the water supply should be provided by a duplicate pump installation capable of delivering atleast 23 I/s. Pumps are started automatically on fall of water pressure or water flow commencement. Audible and visual alarms are triggered to indicate booster plant operation. wet hydrant riser which is installed in buildings of maximum height 60 m, ae eee supply tank and Pumps for each 60 m height. Similar to dry riser sh landing valve is fitted at l m above the floor level in each flor of the building, Additionally cae sanding va aneous fire brigade inlet valved terminals ate provided ata 150 umm breaching four 65 mm instan ed glass box with clear label in an external wall as described for dry riser. A Sitting in a ree ieee ein to 45.5 mm is required and mains water make up should be at the rate of break tank capacity on driven by a diesel engine fed from a3 to 6 hour Capacity fuel storage tank 27 Vs. A standby put ma to the engine may also be arranged. A nearby river or canal or lake can cones ee ae source with a permanently connected pipe from a jack well and pumps. also be useRR eg NR 154 BUILDING SERVICES 5.16 AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS — An automatic sprinkler system involves automatic sprinklers attached to a piping system containing water under pressure and connected to a water supply so that water discharges immediately from the sprinklers heads which are opened by the fire itself. ) Automatic sprinklers are usually installed in important structures such as textile mills, paper mills, factories, warehouses, theatres, hospitals, machine shops, coal oo etc, The arrangement consists of a system of overhead pipes which are fixed in the ceiling of the room. The Pipes are usually provided at a centre to contre distances of 3m. The heat (fire) actuated devices known as the sprinkler heads are fitted at regular intervals usually 3 m along. the pipes as shown in Figure 5.3. | Pee v spor mee mi ue an ey a |» ____»____» __s__ Fig. 5.3 Automatic Sprinkler Installation The pipes obtain water from the header. The diameters of header and pipes are generally 40 mm and 20 mm respectively. The sprinkler heads are provided with fusible plugs, These plugs melt ata predetermined temperature. In case of fire, the sprinkler head near to the fire gets melted and allows water to fall on the origin of fire. Thus a shower of water sprinkles on the floor and the fire is brought under control in a short period. Different types of sprinkler heads are used depending on the hazard predicted. (a) Fusible Link: A soldered link in a system of levers holds the wat: fer outlet. Ata predetermined temperature of 68°C, the solder melts and water starts sprinklin, —_— iB (b) Chemical Head: \tis similar to fusible link except using a block of chemical which melts at 7 718C depending on the application. (©) Glass Bulb: Itis a quartz bulb containing a coloured fluid with ahigh coefficient of expansion which breaks at 57°C or more.fik_SAFETY INSTALLATIONS (Open Sprinkle Heads (deluge 5 Vs 155 cle system): These are used t orage tanks or st (0 combat high intensi ere geatuctra Steel work. They are controlled by ae cae = oni ieee OF OF a conventional sprinkler arrangement. A eee of fire. the external Openings of a building to prevent the spread Sprinkl ‘ater over tallations are classified ‘under four principal types. They are: Water filled pipes are Permanently charged with water. Dry pipework filled wi j 5C orabove 70°C, with compressed air ‘where pipework is exposed to air temperature below Alternate system in which pipes are filled with water during the summer andair in the winter. A pre-action system is a system in which a dry pipe is installed but has additional heat detectors which prompt the opening of sprinkler heads and admit water into the pipework converting it to wet pipe operation. Ps \ Acceptable sources of water for a sprinkler system are as follows: A water main fed by a source of 1000 m* capacity where the correct pressure and flow rate can be guaranteed. An elevated private reservoir of 500 m* or more depending on the fire risk category. A gravity tank on site, which can be refilled in six hours with a capacity of 9 to 875 m? depending on the fire risk category. An automatic pump arranged to draw water from the main or a break tank of 9 to 875 m> capacity. ‘A pneumatic tank source can be used for certain light fire risk categories or as a backup facility to some other system. (the precautions to bet The pipes should be fitt aken in automatic sprinkler system arrangement are as follows ed on the ceiling of the room ata height not more than 4 meters. prinkler installation entirely depends on the supply of water to i head storage tank or " ‘ed for this purpose may be stored in an over! ee ein storage tank, the arrangement should be made to start the Q pane of fire so that the water is available at the required pressure. y in The working of automatic s the system. Th if water is storee IS automatica! ron hue system more effective, the arrangement should be made to cause an ake the 8 In order to ™ oa automatic alarm in ease OFez 156 BUILDING SERVICES Thus, each sprinkler installation must be provided w ith the following: 1. Main Stop Valve: Main stop valve which is strapped and Pasilocked in the open positon y enable the water flow to be stopped after the fire is extinguishe” re caused by water flow through the valye opens a v Alarm Valve: The differential pr branch pipe to the alarm gong motor. 3. Water motor alarm and gong: Water flow through a turbine motor es rotary ball clapper within a domed gong to give audible warning of sprinkler operation and commence evacuation of the building.