FIRE PROOF CONSTRUC

INTRODUCTION
Fire safety may be deemed to cover
the following aspects
Fire prevention and reduction
number of outbreaks of fire

of

Spread of fire, both internally and

externally
Safe exit of any and all occupants in
the event of an out-break of fire
Fire extinguishing apparatus

FIRES ARE CAUSED BY

Careless discarding of lighted ends
cigarettes, cigars, matches and tobacco
Smoking in unauthorized places

of

Indifferent
maintenance
of
machinery
including overloading and under or over
lubricating of bearings
General indifference to cleanliness
Incorrect storage of materials
Faulty workmanship and inattention
electrical installations
Un-approved equipment and layout

of

Carelessness of persons concerned with

inspection

TYPES OF FIRE HAZARDS

Possibility of damage or life - Personal hazards
Possibility of fire occurring and spreading inside
the building itself - Internal hazard
Possibility of fire spreading from an adjoining
building or buildings or from across a street or
road - Exposure hazard

FIRE LOAD
Fire load is the amount of heat in Kilocalories (k
cal) which is liberated per square metre of floor
area of any compartment by the combustion of
the contents of the building and any
combustible part of the building itself. This
amount of heat is used as the basis of grading of
occupancies
For example, if a section of a building having an
area of 80 sq. metre has 1200 kg of combustible
material having a calorific value of 4000 kcal/kg
Fire load = 1200 x 4000/80 = 60000 kcal/m2

FIRE LOAD
Indian standard (IS : 1641 1960) grades
the fire loads into the following three
classes:
Classification
Fire load
Type of buildings
Low fire load

Not exceeding
275000 kcal/m2

Domestic buildings,
hotels and offices

Moderate fire load

Exceeding 275000
kcal/m2 but not
exceeding
550000 kcal/m2

Trading
establishments and
factories

High fire load

Exceeds 550000
kcal/m2 but does not
exceed 1100000
kcal/m2

Godowns

GRADING OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

Structural elements of buildings are graded,
for fire resistance, by the time for which they
resist a standard fire of given time
Grade No.

Time-in-hours

Fire load and class of fire which

the structural element can
withstand
Fire load in
kcal/m2

Class of Fire

1100000 and over

Very high

500000 - 1100000

High

275000 - 500000

Medium

Less than 275000

Low

0.5

Very low

GRADING OF BUILDINGS
Type

All components have

Type 1 construction

4 hrs fire resistance

Type 1 construction

3 hrs fire resistance

Type 1 construction

2 hrs fire resistance

Type 1 construction

1 hrs fire resistance

CHARACTERISTICS OF FIRE RESISTING MATE

The material should not disintegrate
under the effect of great heat
The expansion of the material due to
heat should not be such that it leads to
instability of the structure of which it
forms a part
The contraction of the material due to
sudden cooling with water (during fire
exinguition process) after it has been
heated to a high temperature should not

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Non-combustible materials
Are those which if decomposed by heat will
do so with absorption of heat (i.e.
endothermically)
Do not contribute to the growth or spread of
fire
But are damaged or decomposed when high
temperature are reached
Stones and brick, concrete, clay products,

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Combustible materials
Are those which, during fire, combine
exothermically with oxygen, resulting in
evolution of lot of heat and giving rise to
flame or glow
Such material burn and also contribute to
growth or spread of fire
Wood and wood products, fibre board, staw
board

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Stone
Non-combustible material
Bad conductor of heat
Does not contribute to fire
Disintegrate when heated and suddenly cooled
Granite- severe heat disintegrate and explode
Lime stone-worst performance- crumble under ordinary
fire
Sand stone can withstand moderate fire without serious
crack

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS

Bricks
Poor conductor of heat
Can stand exposure of fire for a considerable time
upto a temperature of 1200 oC
Brick masonry construction with good mortar and
better workmanship, is the most suitable for
safeguarding the structure against fire hazards

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS

The behaviour of concrete during exposure to fire

varies with
The nature of course aggregate and its density
The quality of cement
The position of steel in the concrete
Aggregate expand on heating
Concrete shrink on heating
These two opposite actions may lead to spalling of
concrete surface
Porous aggregate has less tendency to crack
For fire resistance more cover for fire resistance
In general concrete offer much higher fire resistance
than any other building materials
RCC structures can withstand fire lasting for several

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Steel
Very low fire resistance
Modulus of elasticity reduces
Looses its tensile strength rapidly

Yeild stress at 600 deg C is about half at normal temperat

Steel beam sags and column buckles

Protect steel members with some covering insulating mat

Brick concrete etc

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Timber
Timber is a combustible material
Ignites and get rapidly destroyed during fire
If timber is used in thick section, it possesses the
properties of self-insulation and slow burning
During exposure to fire, timber surface gets charred,
the charred portion act as a protective coating to the
inner portion
If temperature are higher than 500 deg C timber
gets dehydrated under continued exposure, giving
rise to combustible volatile gases which readily catch

Timber

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS

Timber is made fire resistant by

Using thicker section

Reducing number of corners and reducing surface a

Coating timber structure with chemical like ammoni

phosphate and sulphate, borax and boric acid, zinc c

Painting timber surface with asbestos paints
Oil paints should not be used as these paints catch

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Cast-iron and wrought iron
Rarely used in fire resistance construction
On cooling sudden contraction , breaks in to pieces
Failure is sudden
Cover it by brick or concrete for higher resistance

Asbestos cement good fire resistance property

Aluminium poor fire resistance

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
Glass
Poor conductor of heat
Thermal expansion is less
When suddenly cooled cracks are formed
Cracks minimised by steel reinforcing- reinforced
glass is more fire resistant
And therefore used in fire-resisting doors, windows etc

FIRE RESISTANCE PROPERTIES OF

COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS

Plaster or mortar
Plaster is non-combustible
Used as a protective coating against fire risk
Cement plaster is better than lime plaster
Lime plaster is likely to be calcined during fire
Reinforced with metal mesh for more fire resistance

GENERAL FIRE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS

Electrical and/or mechanical lifts may not always
reliable during fire
Buildings having more than one storey shall be
provided with safe fire proof exits and escapes
Exits shall be so placed that they are always
immediately accessible and of having capacity to take
all persons of that floor
Escape routes shall be well-ventilated as persons
using the escapes are likely to be facing smoke
problems during fire
Fire proof doors and the building components should
be of grade as per the code
Easily operable doors and windows

GENERAL FIRE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS

Construction of false ceiling should be given special
attention to prevent total or early collapse in the
event of fire
It is essential that fire resistance of the basement
shall conform to the highest order and all columns for
supporting the upper structures shall have a grading
not less than laid down in grade 1 to 3
Unobstructed smoke extracts, distributed locations,
location should be easily identifiable from inside and
out side of the building, easily breakable cover for
smoke extracts, properly isolated from adjacent
rooms by fire proof construction materials are must
for basement floors for smoke extraction

FIRE PROOF CONSRUCTION : WALLS AND COLUMNS

Made of thicker section so that they can withstand
the fire for longer time
They can also act as barrier against spread of fire to
adjoining areas
For walls bricks are preferred than stones
For framed construction RCC should be preferred
than steel
Steel if used should be encased with concrete or
bricks
Thicker cover for reinforcements
Partition wall should be of fire resistant material,
concrete hollow blocks, bricks, reinforced glass,
asbestos sheets, metal wire mesh with plaster

FIRE PROOF CONSRUCTION : FLOORS AND ROOFS

Flat roof (RCC) is preferable than pitched /sloping

roof
For pitched roof, truss in RCC or encased in fire
proofing materials
Floors concrete floor or steel floor encased in
concrete is better
Timber beams is of thicker sections without sharp
corners
False ceiling is of fire resistant materials like
asbestos cement sheets

FIRE PROOF CONSRUCTION : WALL OPENINGS AND FIRE ESC

Minimum opening to reduce
considering the escapes also

fire

spread

but

Escapes should be properly fire protected

Reinforced glass are better for glazings
Tiber doors thickness of the shutters and frame
should be increased
Fire escapes specifications

FIRE ALARMS

Manual and automatic

FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENTS

Manual
As soon as the fire starts
Not useful once the fire has spread
Portable carbon dioxide type
Foam generation type
Buckets of water and sand installed
convenient locations

at

Automatic sprinklers
Network of pipes 20 mm dia fixed to the ceiling
of the rooms
Spacing 3 m centre to centre
Heat actuated sprinkler heads with fusible plug
are fixed to these pipes at regular intervals
Fuse melts, water rushes out and fire brought
under control in a short period

FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENTS

Fire hydrants
Water pressure 3.5 to 4 kg/cm2
Based on density of population and importance to
the area
One hydrant per 4000 to 10 000 m2
Post hydrant or sunk/flush hydrant

FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENTS

Wet riser system