Jien Ryan Aaron C.

Par
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“Transportation System and Life Safety Systems in Buildings”
Since the technological and industrial era have been
started, man discovered different systems applied to the
mechanical systems of a building. Ordinary stairs became
escalators and elevators, ordinary fire extinguishing solution
such as applying plain water and suffocating the fire adjusted to
water sprinklers and solution-classed extinguishers, and merely
first response from fire-fighters became an automatic detection
system designed to extinguish the fire outright. These
technological advancements made life easier for humans on
transportation and fire safety systems within buildings.
Transportation, as discussed in the video presentation, is
the movement of people and goods within the building while also
covering the entrances and exits. It is then classified into four
types: ramps, lifts, escalator, walkways, and elevators. Ramps
are used when many people and goods have to move from floor to
floor. These are mostly seen on stadiums, railroad station and
exhibit halls, and are required for all building because it can
accommodate to people in wheelchairs. Lifts, or a wheelchair
lift, is a device designed to raise a scooter or a wheelchair.
Escalator is a conveyor transport device that consists of
staircases whose steps move up and down on tracks that keep the
surfaces of the individual steps to be horizontal. This device
doesn’t have a wait interval and can be usually seen within
public buildings. It can also be arranged as crisscross, single
continuous, continuous parallel, and non-continuous parallel.
Moving walkways are a power-driven slow moving conveyor belt that
transports people horizontally. Unlike the escalator, the walkway
doesn’t transport people to move from floor to floor, but
instead, is like a moving pavement that transport people within a
single floor. This type of device is mostly seen in airports and
other travel facilities that allows many people to move with
their baggage without taking a large space. Lastly, the elevator
is a hoisting or lowering mechanism designed to carry passengers
in a protected enclosure along a fixed guide and serves two or
more landings on a hoist-way.
Life safety systems in buildings is any interior building
element designed to protect and evacutate the building population
during emergencies. As mainly focused on the discussion, fire is
a set of complex chemical reaction in which fuel combines with
oxygen and ignition source to produce heat. The elements of the
fire are fuel, oxygen, and heat. It is classified into five
classes described each type as a fuel to fire; Class A, B, C, D,
and K. A fire has its own stages of life: ignition, flame spread,
flashover, and consumption. As a feared disaster, a fire
protection system have been designed to help protect the building
and its occupants during a fire. An Active fire protection system
is then designed to extinguish the fire outright by delaying its
damaging effects; this include standpipe, sprinkler, and spray
systems. A fire standpipe is a network of piping in tall large
structures that delivers water for manual firefighting. It is
classified into wet and dry. A sprinkler system is an piping
system installed in large building with a systematic pattern
which automatically discharges water when activated. A fire alarm
system is activated by the presence of fire, wherein a signal is
transmitted to designated locations instead of sounding a general
alarm. Fire extinguishers are rated and classified mainly by the
type of fire fuel it encountered on.
These general systems within buildings help the occupants
feel calm, easy, free, and safe within moving around in these
private and public spaces. It would always be an enjoyable trip
if there wouldn’t be any accidents or dilemmas within a chillax
session outside or even at work.