Lecture: 14

Ar. Leslie J. Dias

Srinivas School of Architecture
SIT- Valachil, Mangalore
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/uphaar-cinema-tragedy
3 issues need to be considered:

1. Fire Prevention: design and construction to provide for

passive fire protection measures

2. Life Safety: provisions in the event of a fire. Reducing loss of

life due to fire, smoke, fumes and panic

3. Fire Protection: devices and equipment used for detecting

fire, alerting occupants and fighting fire
1. Maximum Permissible Height
2. Setback
3. FAR
4. Type / Class of construction
5. Fire Fighting Provisions
6. Fire Proof Construction
Zone01 Zone02
AC Distribution Duct

AC Distribution Duct
Fire Doors

Fire Wall

Fire Damper

AC Main Duct

Fire Damper
1. Escape Elements: stairs, ramps,
corridors

2. Areas of refuge: fire assembly

area, pressurized fire tower

Source: http://ceephotos.karcor.com/tag/public-safety/
 Means of Egress: continuous and unobstructed path of travel from any point of a building
to its exit
Made of 3 components:

Exit Access Exit Exit Discharge

Means of egress that leads Portion of a means of Exits open into a safe place of
to an exit. Eg.: egress which is refuge/ discharge outside the
Doors separated from other building. Eg:
Corridors spaces of a building. Exit Court at ground level
Aisles Eg. Stairs, Corridors, Courtyard
Intervening Rooms Ramps, Lift Patio
Exit opens into: Public Way (Road)
Exit discharge
Other Exits
Public Way
Source http://www. Godrejproperties.com
Fire Protection: devices and equipment used for detecting fire,
alerting occupants and fighting fire
Fire Detection:
 Smoke Detectors
 Flame Detectors

Fire Detection: done by either smoke or

fire detectors mounted on the wall or
the ceiling.

 Based on change in temperature, CO2

content in the air or presence of
fumes, fire detector sends a warning to
the BMS ( Building management
system) or the alarm system.
Fire Alarm: installed to give an alarm and
call of assistance in the event of a fire.

 Alarm gives enough time for building

occupants to evacuate to a safe place
 2 types:
1. Manual Alarm: hand bell type which
emits a distinct sound when pressed

2. Automatic Alarm: Starts sounding

automatically in the event of a fire
Main fire Suppression Devices and
Systems are:

1. Fire Extinguishers
Good Water Supply &
2. Wet Riser/ Wet Downer System Pressure Essential

3. Dry Riser System

4. Automatic Sprinkler System

Protect electronic
5. Foam, Gaseous or Dry Powder equipment,
Systems computers, books and
artifacts
Types of Fire:

 Class A: Organic Material (Wood , Paper, Cloth,

Plastic)
 Class B: Flammable Liquids ( Petrol, Paints,
Solvents)
 Class C: Flammable Gases ( LPG, Acetylene)
 Class D: Combustible Metals (Mg, K, etc)
 Class E: Electrical Fires, motors and Switch gears
High Rise/ Multi Storied buildings: need an internal water
system for hose pipe hook up because fire fighters cannot
reach the higher floors from street level.
 Pipes are of wet pipe design and operate from a separate
water reserve or up feed pumping.
 Pipes located in a duct called fire duct , located near the
staircase enclosure.
 Pipes are usually of GI and of 100-150mm dia. (Color coded
RED)
 At landings, fire hose can be hooked up to standpipe
through the landing valve
 Standpipe can be used to supply water to the automatic
sprinkler system.
Fire Duct
Siren

Hose Reel

Fire Alarm

Landing Valve

GI Stand pipe of Fire Hose

150mm dia.
Let out jets or droplets of water at high pressure, when
activated in a fire hazard.
 Soldered metal links keep the sprinkler head closed until
temperature reaches the melting point of the solder.
 When solder yields, connection between the links is
broken and sprinkler head opens.
 Types:
 Large drop Heads : discharge large 2mm and small 1mm drops
simultaneously.

 Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) : heads have

thermal sensors and very large orifice and deflectors to produce
large drops.
 Threaded rod/ 25mm dia. GI
ms channel to branch for
support branch sprinkler

Elbow at bend
Sprinkler Head
 Choice of system is critical for reliability and
speed of response.
The Various systems are:
 Wet Pipe: pipes contain water under
pressure at all times.
 Rapid Response
 Simple design
 Not recommended in areas prone to have freezing
temperatures.

 Dry Pipe : pipes have pressurized air which

gets released in the event of a fire
 Pipes then fill with water which is used to feed the
fire hose and sprinkler systems
 Used in places having low/ freezing temperatures.
 Delayed response time as time needed to release
air and pipes to fill with water.
Dry Riser System
 Provided for making a connection
between water mains and fire
fighting equipment (Hose/ fire
engine)
 Commonly used is the post type
 Consists of a metal post called
barrel ( color coded red) Outlet ,
operating nut and drain hole
 To the outlet the fire hose is
connected . By opening the nut ,
the valve opens, letting in water
into the barrel.
 When nut is closed, valve closes.
Water in the barrel drained out by
opening the drain hole
Fig. 01:
Fig. 02:
Fig. 03:
Fig. 04: