Chapter 13 Building Design Flashcards
(44 cards)
According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, there are approximately 1,700 high-rise buildings in the State of California; of these, Los Angeles has approximately ___.
745
Most of the high-rise buildings in Los Angeles consist of commercial occupancies. About ___ percent are habitational, such as hotels, apartment buildings, and condos.
20 to 25
High-rise buildings are divided into two groups: “___” and “____.”
Existing High-Rise / New High-Rise
Approximately ___ of the high-rise buildings in Los Angeles are new high-rises.
225
The Los Angeles City Hall, with ___, and the USC-LA County General Hospital, with ___ , are exceptions to this rule.
27 stories / 19 stories
A “High-Rise Retrofit Program” was initiated by the LAFD and the state in ___ to bring these buildings into conformance with newer building codes.
1976
Type I (fire resistive) construction is that type of construction in which the structural members, including walls, columns, beams, floors and roofs are of ____, and are required to have varying fire-resistive rating depending on their usage.
noncombustible or limited combustible materials
The Type I building is designed to withstand the most severe fire to be expected within the building for ____ without structural failure.
two or more hours
Post 1960 : However, instead of reinforced concrete, they were generally built with Steel Beams Coated With a Fire Retardant Material commonly known as ___.
Mono-Kote.
By the 1960’s, the codes required “COMPARTMENTATION,” that is, subdivision of buildings into “fire areas.” This was accomplished by providing _____ between floor levels and around vertical shafts. ____ and other fire protection assemblies are installed to protect penetrations through these separations.
two-hour, fire-resistive separations / Fire doors
___ on the periphery of some high-rise buildings were constructed to provide “smoke-free” exiting and access.
Smoke Towers
In a smoke tower, you travel through a vestibule where smoke can escape___ as you move between the building and the stairshaft.
to the outside atmosphere
Each new high-rise is required to maintain a ___ Fire Control Room previously known as the building control station, in an approved location (usually the ground floor).
one-hour rated
All new high-rise buildings must have an ____, a system capable of exhausting smoke directly to the exterior of the building, or perimeter windows must be openable or have breakable tempered glass in each ____ , or a combination of the above.
emergency smoke control system / corner and every 50 linear feet
HVAC systems designed for smoke removal may also be used, providing they exhaust a minimum of ___ per hour, and exhaust to the exterior of the building without recirculating to the other sections of the building.
six air changes
Most new high-rise buildings have an Emergency Helicopter Landing Facility on the roof. The number inside the ____ pad identifies the load capacity of the pad in _____. The numbering is ____.
50’ by 50’ / thousands of pounds / 10’ wide
Also, such fire escapes were required to have wired glass or equivalent protection for the windows on all landings and within ____ on either side of the landing.
5’
At least two approved means of egress were required to be provided from each floor level. At least one was to be an enclosed,____ ; the other could be an existing____ if no other stairway was available.
one-hour stairshaft / fire escape
A smoke detector in each lobby serving automatic elevators which would ____.
recall the elevators
A Smoke Control System to remove smoke and heat had to be provided. Older buildings with ___ needed nothing more.
openable windows
The post-1960, sealed, high-rise buildings normally had breakable Tempered Glass around the perimeter of the building every ____, mechanical ventilation could be provided by modifying their HVAC system.
50 linear feet
Effective emergency power was ___ by the state mandated Retrofit Program. Also, electrically operated fire pumps and elevators did not have to be provided with a back-up system during power loss.
NOT REQUIRED
Approximately ___ of the older existing high-rise buildings chose to not comply with the requirements of the High-Rise Retrofit Program, primarily because of the problem of providing two approved means of egress. These buildings were___.
30 / vacated and sealed.
As a result of the_____, a Retrofit Sprinkler Ordinance was passed in August of 1988 requiring installation of fire sprinklers in all existing high-rise office buildings.
First Interstate Bank Building Fire in May 1988
