[4.1] Requi Buildis for Fire Safe Mwewne . The level of combustible materials in a building to be reduced to the minimum. There should be adequate fire escape staircases & fire lifts with min escape distances. These Survival and Escape routes should be obstruction free. All floors and vertical Shafts should be segregated all floors. Special measures to be taken for basements: for smoke extraction &occupant evacuation. All areas of the building should be adequately ventilated. . All Electrical Installations should be kept a little away from the building and should not interfere with the fire protection systems, Installation of active fire protection systems according to design guidelines, [4.2] Design Guidelines for Fire Protection Systems (Detection and Suppression) Awww [4.3] Fire Safe jidelines for H. keno . Purpose of the System (detect/suppress), Protection goals of the owner. Type of occupancy that needs to be protected. Type, quality and quantity of the material present. Required response time. ‘Area by area analysis of the building and its content in the form of results which one wants to see. . Complete understanding/deseription of system operation including compatibility of all the equipments that are interconnected. items, Determine type of fire protection system required. Allocate the space required for the equipments, Integrate the entire fire services requirement. Various ways of selecting systems: (i) Fire safety is not mandatorily required in plotted housing as per law. (ii) British law says any building having more than 20 occupants should have a smoke detector. Hose reels, hydrants, sprinklers etc are mandatory in alll public buildings & basements. ‘Other requirements include: underground water storage tank with a diesel pump near it, an electrical booster pump, fire control room and smoke controller ‘Space requirement for a plant room (that consists of the above) is a must, A fire escape plan is a must for every public building: remy et Armen nt “Ss5.1] Basic Suppression Methods of Fire Suppression systems use a combination of dry chemicals and/or wet agents to suppress equipment fires. Most common method is cutting on heat and the best way is to use water: Hydrant and Hose Pipe System ‘Sprinkler System Down Comer System ‘Wet Riser System Dry Riser System Gaseous Suppression Manual Fire Extinguishers ARYEePo 5.1.1) Hydrant System of Suppression |, It is a water based system that has outlets for pressurised water at all floor levels, Pressure is created through pressure pumps. 2. It is a manual system: in case of its use, the folded hose system has to be unrolled and connected to hydrant and the nozzle at the end. 3. As soon as the hydrant flows the pressure causes the pump to start automatically and ‘water rushes out like a jet on the fire and cools it. Planning Implicati ‘Hydr nd Hc dations: a} Generally a hose station must be provided per 1000 m? area. Additional may be provided if building length is more than 30 m. b) Hose station size may be 1 m along corridor and depth should be 0.6 m c} Hydrant Cabinet must be less than 36 m from any point of the floor. d) Locate hydrants preferably near fire exit or fire escape passages, provided they do not impede the way of escape. ce) Garden or external hydrants should be located less than 6 m from the building and not more than 60 m from any point of the building. f) Fire tender movement should be unobstructed around the building on 6 m hard paved. easily trafficable road, [5.1.2] Sprinkler System 1. Consists of network of pipes (always charged with water) and heat sensitive sprinklers all over the building. It is both-detection as well as suppression system: very reliable. 2. Sprinkler consists of a small glass bulb filed with a small amount of alcohol that expands on a set temperature and on expansion, the bulb shatters and pen the nozzle that the bulb holds in position. 3, The water discharges and forms an umbrella pattern of discharge with small droplets that cover an area of 3,5-4 m in dia. This water cools the fire and extinguishes it. 4. Area that is protected varies with the height of room. The lower we put it, the lesser is the area of coverage.5. . 3] Down Comer System It is an arrangement of fire fighting within the building by means of s down-comer pipe connected to a terrace tank through terrace pump, gate valve and non return valve and having mains nor less than 100 mm internal diameter with landing valves ion each floor. It is also fitted with inlet connections at ground level for charging with water by pumping from fire service appliances and air release valve at roof level to release trapped air. [5.1.4] Wet Riser System of Fire Suppression A wet riser is a system of pipes (dia — 3-4.5 inches) that are charged with pressurised water, supplied by a mains pump and a storage tank fitted with a booster pump*. Generally, wet risers are installed in large buildings more than 60 metres above ground level and such systems can be identified from the outside, as there will be no visible pipe system or water inlet for the fire brigade. Inside the building, internal outlet valves can be found on staircase landings or at each lift lobby and are clearly labelled; these outlets usually resemble taps. In case of fire, the fire service will connect to the wet riser system: When the outlet valves are opened, water immediately begins moving through the pipes and shoots out to help extinguish the flames, As the stored pressurised water leaves the wet riser, the pumps activate and begin to refill the pipes with more pressurised water. This ensures a constant, steady supply of water that allows the fire brigade to put out flames more efficiently. *Location of Pump House: pump house of water tank should be located on ground floor level only (as near to the system as possible) so that tank ean be refilled easily & water is readily available for fire fighting and not on roof because it adds to the dead load of the building, the building height gets reduced, water overflow might affect the roof and the systems becomes less effective. But if it is placed on the roof level, overflow of the tank needs to be checked and transferred to another empty tank. [5.1.5] Dry Riser System of Fire Suppression ‘Acdry riser is a main vertical pipe intended to distribute water to multiple levels of a building less than 15 m of height as a component of the fire suppression systems. The pipe is maintained empty of water: The dry riser is the opposite of a "wet riser” system where the pipes are kept full of water, Dry pipe fire sprinkler system is a network of pipes connected to fixed sprinklers inside a building, which are full of air until one of the sprinklers is triggered. Planning ‘iderations a) by Dry risers have to have fire engine access within 18 m of the dry riser inet box. Dry risers in oceupied buildings have to be within a fire resistant shaft, usually one of a building's fire escape staircase enclosures.[3.7] Drive-way around buildings and Service shafts 1. Drive-way: the drive-way width should be atleast 4.5-6 m and there should be no parking from the driveway towards to the building, 2. Service shafis: all service shafts shall be sealed at each floor levels to prevent the vertical spreading of fire and smoke, (3.8) AHU Shutoff The air condoning system or air handling unit (AHU) should be switched off during a fire because the return air allows air from any other area under fire to spread to another: since an AHU feeds a no. of rooms, a fire in any room cases heat to be taken from the room and then routed to AHU, from where it is again dispersed into all rooms causing the spread of fire to all the other rooms. © Thus the AHU needs to be shut off. It is automatically switched off electrically by the fire detection system, But if the AHU is serving only one space, say a Hall, then it does not need to be tripped because there is no risk of spreading of fire to other rooms, except for the AHU room itself. Some inferences: (a) Air conditioned rooms should have windows and ventilators to vent out smoke, (b) No duct should feed more than 2 floors: to prevent floor-to-floor fire spread. (c) Automatic smoke venting should be provided in large halls. [3.9|Fire Control Room « A Fire Control Room of 4 x 4m should be provided on the ground floor of a multi-storey building as close to the entrance as possible for easy accessibility in case of the mis-happening event of a fire. © The Control Rooms Houses the following: Gi) Fire Control Panel (ii) Public Addressal System (iii) Fire Extinguishers, 13.10] Fire Hose Cabinet (FHC) A cabinet housing a fire hose reel, pipes and high pressure water valves for emergency use during a fire; to cool it down by hydrant is called a fire hose cabinet or FHC. It measures 1200 mm X 600 mm in plan and it is a red coloured metal cabinet with a glass front, In case of the emergency the glass front is broken; the hose reel is unrolled and plugged to the water valves which splash water to cool down the fire. © It should be readily accessible during the fire with minimum distance from the fire prone areas and can be recessed in wall or clear wall mounted.[3.3] Fire Escape Travel Distances ¢ Itis the maximum distance that a person needs to travel to reach the fire escape staircase or ramp in case ofa fire in any building: the distance is from the farthest comers of any room through a door, passage or any other obstruction to the way of the fire escape staircase. Some Escape Distances: (i) Residential, Education and Institutional Buildings: 22.5 m (ii) Business, Mercantile or Assembly Buildings: 30 m (iii) Industrial Buildings: 45 m Ifa building has sprinkler system of protection, the fire escape travel distances given above are increased by 50% for each category and if it is a basement, these distances are usually halved. 13.4] Refuge Areas J. What is a refuge area? The purpose of a refuge area is to allow people on higher floors to reach a position of safety on the upper floors itself, if the vertical means of escape are blocked or ineffective. The occupants of the refuge area are then evacuated by fire brigade staffs through special recovery vehieles that can reach higher heights, 2. Design Considerations for Refuge Area: a) It should be a secure place where fire should not reach and so its entry should be with a 60 min fire rated door. b) The periphery of the building facing the refuge area should have 230 mm brickwork or non-combustible construction, c) A Refuge area should be provided for a building with more than 24 m height Le. a building with more than 7-8 floors. [3.5] Fire Escape Lifts (High Rise Buildings) Fire Lift is a reeue purpose lift with a fireman switch and fire resistant doors, It works like any other normal lift but takes up power form DC i.e. a backup mode. Requiremenis for Fire Lif a) Max number of lifts in one lift bank = 4. b) One fire lift should be provided 1200 m? area of buildings. ¢) Lift lobby should have self closing smoke stop door with 30 min fire rating. d) In case the lift opens into the basement, lift well should be adequately pressurised, 3.6] Requirements of Basements © The access to the basement shall be either from the main or alternate staircase providing access and exit from higher floors. * Basements should not be used for kitchens, workshops, assembly spaces, storage if inflammable oil or for installation of electrical Substation, * The basement shall be partitioned and in no case compartment shall be more than 500 sq, m. and less than 50 sq m. area except parking.Fire Rated Door « A fire rated door means that the door can withstand a temperature 1000° C on side when the temperature on the other side does not increase 40° C over the ambient temperature; to provide insulation, stability and integrity. (i) dasulation: temperature should not increase the above figures. Gi) Stabi the door frame should withstand the temperature & should not char. Gi) dniegrity: there should be no development of minor cracks for fire to transfer from one side to another, «Fire Rated Doors, used in escape staircases, boiler rooms, electrical rooms and kitchens; are usually made of hardwood like teak, insulated with mineral wool and have smoke seals on door jambs. © They can be rated 30 min, 60 min, 120 min ete, which is the time required for the fire to spread as it requires an initial to spread. 3.2] Fire Escape Staircase 1, What is a Fire Escape Staircase? * A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but separate from the main areas of the building. © [t provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency that makes the stairwells inside a building inaccessible. 2. Design Guidelines for Fire Escape Staircase a) Fire Rated Door: The Staircase should be equipped with a 120 minute rated fire entry door and this door shall open into the staircase. b) Widths and Dimensions; Fire escape staircase should be 1 m wide for residential buildings, 1.5 m wide for hostels and educational buildings and 2 m wide for hospitals and assembly buildings; and the tread should be 250-300 mm while riser should be 150 mm. ©) Pressurisation: All intemal staircases should be positively pressurised (forcible air pressure) by using fans ete, to prevent the entry of smoke from other parts of the buildings (air passes from the staircase into internal parts of the building) and no service shaft should pass through it. d) Ventilation: Any building having an area of more than 500 m* per floor requires two. slaireases and atleast one of them should be ventilated directly to the outside air on an external wall because in an enclosed staircase, any smoke that escapes into it will cause smoke logging and reduce light in exit as well as cause inhalations of fumes. Segregation: The staircase leading from the higher floor to the ground floor and the staircase coming from basement should be segregated so that fire from basement should not reach to the ground floor. Eventually there should be two doors- one for the basement evacuees and one for ground floor exit, e)12.3] Heat Detectors A heat detector is a fire alarm device designed to respond when the convected thermal energy ofa fire increases the temperature of a heat sensitive element. Heat detectors have three main classifications of operation: 1. Fixed Temperature Type: It is the most common type of heat detector; that includes a bimetallic strip with a feasible link in between. It reaches its operating temperature afier the surrounding air temperature exceeds that ‘fixed’ threshold temperature. It is essentially used in closed rooms. 2. ROR (Rate of Rise) Type: These detectors are used in response to rapidly increasing temperatures (caused by rapidly increasing fires), irrespective of the starting temperature and have the electronic thermostat as a main component. As the rate of heat goes up, the resistance of thermostat drops and the detector activates. It is used in areas having rise in temperature and not in fluctuating ambient temperatures. 3. Rate Compensation Type: It is a sealed, more sensitive detector designed for dusty & moist areas; used in enclosed areas and severe environments like historic monuments etc. [2.4] Flame Detectors A flame detector is a detector that uses optical sensors to detect flames at the flame stage of fire. They are of Various Types: (i) UV type (ii) IR type (iii)Thermocouple flame detectors. (iv) Ionisation flame detectors (which use current flow in the flame to detect flame presence).1, Alternator: a device used to generate AC by rotating conductors periodically through a magnetic field, 2. Ambient Temperature; the temperature surrounding a device. Ambient temperature needs to be maintained. Eg. In a computer rooms, LAN wires produce a lot of heat so it has to be an air-conditioned room. 3. Ammeter: a device that measures the flow of current through a wire. It should have low impedance and should be connected in series. Unit: ampere. 1A = 1C/18. 4. Amplifier: device used to increase the intensity of a signal. 5, Ampacity: maximum current rating of a wire or device, 6, Amplitude: highest value reached by a signal — current or voltage. 1, & |. Attenuator: device used to decrease the amount of signal. Branch Circuit: a circuit or portion of wiring system that extends beyond a circuit protection device. 9, Capacitor: a device made of two conductive plates with a di-electric (insulator) in the centre. It is a temporary charge holder. 10, Choke: is an inductor designed to present impedance to AC or to be used as a current filter for DC power supply. 11 Circuit: a closed loop of conducting wires or current. 12. Compressor: a device used in refrigeration system to maintain a constant predssure between high and low sides. 13, Conduction Level: the point at which at a given voltage and current, the device shall start passing the current. . Current Rating: amount of current flow that a device is designed to withstand. 15, Hybrid Circuit: Combination of series and parallel circuits. They are not used in power circuits because power circuits require exact amount of current. 16, Ohm's Law: Current is proportion to voltage and V = IR. 17. Ohmmeter: a device that measures the resistance of a wire. It does not require circuit, power source but has a battery. Unit: Ohm, 18. Parallel Cireuit: more than one path of current flow. Current in circuit is equal to the sum of current flowing in individual paths or each component in parallel circuit has same voltage drop or total resistance is reciprocal of the sum of reciprocals of individual resistance: 1/R = 1/Ri + 1/AR2 + 1.R3. 19. Resistance: is the obstruction in the flow of current. It is a funetion of the material of a wire. It depends on area of cross-section (less area, more resistance), material of wire, length of wire (more length, more resistance), and temperature (more temperature, more resistance ~ high temperature, more electrons bang with each other). 20. Series Circuit: current flow is same at any point in circuit or sum of voltage drops around it must be equal to applied voltage. R= Ri +R2+Rs. 21. Voltage: force that pushes electrons through a wire, Voltmeter: a device that measures voltage at any point in the cireuit. It is direct connected across a power source in series, Unit: Volt. 23, Watt: measure of amount of power used by cireuit. P = VI or P = PR. =