03 Building Construction: Firefighting Problems and Structural Hazards

Question 1

Five Standard Types of Building Construction

Answer 1

Fire-resistive
Noncombustible/Limited combustible
Ordinary (brick-and-wood-joist)
Heavy timber
Wood Frame

Question 2

What is the major fire problem in a fire-resistive building?

Answer 2

The central air-conditioning system

Question 3

In a low-rise building smoke spreads by four means. A high-rise adds another means of spreading.

Answer 3

Heat
Convection currents
Fire Pressure
Wind
High-Rise: HVAC System

Question 4

3/4 of all fire deaths are caused by what?

Answer 4

Smoke, not fire.

Question 5

Experience has shown that FFs operating hoselines cannot extinguish fires in floor areas over what?

Answer 5

5,000 sq. ft.

Question 6

What is the major fire problem in noncombustible/limited combustible buildings?

Answer 6

The flat, combustible asphalt roof deck covering that can ignite during a fire.

Question 7

What is the major fire problem in ordinary buildings?

Answer 7

Fire and smoke spread throughout concealed spaces.

Question 8

The largest and most serious concealed space is the _______________________.

Answer 8

Common roof space or cockloft (the space above the ceiling but below the roof)

Question 9

What is the major fire problem in heavy timber buildings?

Answer 9

The large wooden interior timber framework.

Question 10

To qualify as a heavy timber construction, a wood column cannot be less than ________ thick in any dimension and a wood girder cannot be less than ________ thick.

Answer 10

8in / 6in

Question 11

What is the major fire problem in wood-frame buildings?

Answer 11

The combustible exterior walls.

Question 12

Why could a floor collapse before it’s fire-rated time?

Answer 12

1. The actual fire may be more intense than the test fire
2. A small-scale sample of a floor cannot predict the way a full-scale floor will be affected by fire
3. The bearing wall, column, or girder supporting the floor may collapse, cause the floor to fail.
4. The fire may burn undetected for longer than thought
5. The workmanship and materials of the actual building floor may be inferior to the test floor

Question 13

What are the two types of fire-resistive construction?

Answer 13

Reinforced Concrete
Structural Steel

Question 14

Concrete ceiling collapse in a reinforced concrete fire resistive building is caused by spalling. What is spalling?

Answer 14

Spalling is the rapid expansion of heated moisture inside the concrete.

Question 15

In a steel skeleton construction, the under side of each floor is not concrete; each floor consists of a light-guage steel sheet, called a __________________, which supports several inches of concrete flooring above it.

Answer 15

Fluted metal deck

Question 16

What is becoming the nation’s most widely used construction type?

Answer 16

Noncombustible/limited combustible

Question 17

The three basic types of noncombustible buildings:

Answer 17

1. The “steel building” metal-frame structure
2. The metal-frame structure, enclosed by concrete block, nonbearing exterior walls
3. The concrete block bearing walls supporting a metal roof structure

Question 18

The collapse danger of a noncombustible building is…

Answer 18

1. Roof cave-in
2. the collapsing material
3. the unprotected steel open-web bar joist.

Question 19

Main advantage and disadvantage of the open-web bar joist:

Answer 19

Advantage: does not add fuel to fire
Disadvantage: It’s susceptibility to damage by fire

Question 20

What is the main structural hazard of noncombustible construction.

Answer 20

The open-web bar joist

Question 21

The structural hazard of ordinary constructed buildings is…

Answer 21

The parapet wall

Question 22

What is the structural hazards of heavy timber construction?

Answer 22

Falling masonry walls that crash to the ground and spray bouncing chunks of bricks and mortar

Question 23

The structural hazard of a wood-frame building is what?

Answer 23

The combustible bearing walls constructed of 2x4 wood studs.

Question 24

Which walls are usually the bearing walls in a wood-frame building?

Answer 24

The two side walls. Usually the front and rear are nonbearing walls.