FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM

IN HIGH RISE BUILDING

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FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM

• Fire is a reaction giving off heat, light, and smoke;

• The three essential elements for a fire to occur are: heat, fuel, and
oxygen.
• These three elements form what is called the fire triangle. Removing
any one of these components and a fire cannot occur, or continue.

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 FIRE TRIANGLE

All three fire triangle components are needed

for a fire to start/continue burning

Fire extinguishers remove one or more of these

components

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 Sources of Ignition
•Friction
•Hot surfaces
•Electrical shorts and electrical equipment
•Static electricity
•Tools
•Open flames
•Heating systems

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 Fire Detectors
Heat and flame detectors; have three basic operating
principles:
•Fusion; melting of a metal rather like a normal electrical
fuse which operates a switch thus closing an electrical alarm
circuit.
•Expansion; a bimetallic strip is used which expands when
heated and makes contact with an open electrical circuit,
thus closing it and sounding an alarm.
Flame (heat) and smoke detectors; an infra-red beam is
transmitted across the protected area. The smoke and heat
interfere with the transmission of the beam; this is detected
by the receiving unit and the alarm is initiated.
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 Classes of Fire
Classification according to type of material under fire:
Class A fires; involving solid materials - paper, wood, fabrics and so
on. Cooling by water or spray foam is the most effective way of
extinguishing this type of fire.
Class B fires; involving flammable liquids such as petrol, oils, fats;
foam and dry powder extinguishers should be used.
Class C fires; which are fueled by flammable gases such as natural gas,
butane and so on. Priority must be given to shutting off the source of
fuel and the fire should be tackled with dry powder.
Class D metal fires; involving metals such as aluminum and
magnesium; special powders are required in such situations.
Class E fires; in which live electrical equipment is involved
(sometimes known as ‘electrical fires’). Non-conducting agents such
as powder and carbon dioxide must be used

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Fire Protection of Buildings

There are four categories of fire protection systems for

buildings
• Portable extinguishers
• Fixed foam, carbon dioxide, and dry powder
extinguishers
• Fixed riser and hose-reel systems
• Sprinkler systems

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 Smoke Detectors
• Ionization detectors; work on the principle that
ions are absorbed by smoke particles. Some of the
ions are absorbed by the smoke and the ion flow
across the detection chamber is reduced; this
change is detected and the alarm operates.
• Light scatter detectors; contain a photoelectric cell
fitted in a chamber at right angles to a light source.
Smoke entering the chamber scatters the light and
the resulting disturbance triggers an alarm.
• Obscuration detectors; work on the opposite basis
to the light scattering principle in that when the
light which normally impinges on the photoelectric
cell is obscured by smoke, the alarm is triggered.

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 Portable Fire Extinguishers
• Water or spray foam fire extinguisher; suitable for class A
fires involving solid materials - paper, wood, fabrics and so
on.
• Foam and dry powder extinguishers; suitable for class B
fires involving flammable liquids such as petrol, oils, fats;
should be used.
• Dry powder extinguisher; suitable for class C fires which are
fueled by flammable gases such as natural gas, butane and
so on.
• Special powder extinguisher; suitable for class D metal fires
involving metals such as aluminum and magnesium. They
work by simply smothering the fire with powdered copper
Non-conducting agents such as powder and carbon dioxide
extinguishers; suitable for class E fires in which live electrical
equipment is involved

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 Portable Fire Extinguishers
• Alorton 1 extinguishers; like carbon dioxide units, are for use on class
B and C fires. Alorton 1 is an ozone-friendly replacement for Halon
1211. It discharges as a liquid, has high visibility during discharge, does
not cause thermal or static shock, leaves no residue, and is non-
conducting. These properties make it ideal for computer rooms, clean
rooms, telecommunications equipment, and electronics.
• FE-36 (Hydrofluorocarbon-236fa) extinguishers; The FE-36 agent is
less toxic than both Halon 1211 and Alorton 9. In addition, it has zero
ozone-depleting potential.
• Water mist extinguishers; are ideal for Class A fires where a potential
Class C hazard exists. Unlike an ordinary water extinguisher, the
misting nozzle provides safety from electric shock and reduces
scattering of burning materials. This is one of the best choices for
protection of hospital environments, books, documents, and clean
room facilities. In non-magnetic versions, water mist extinguishers are
the preferred choice for MRI or NMR facilities or for deployment on
mine sweepers.

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 Portable Fire Extinguishers

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 Fixed Fire Extinguishers (cont..)

• Dry Powder Systems: Dry powdered extinguishing

chemical agents under pressure of dry air or
nitrogen are discharged over the burning
materials. Normally, this system is suitable for
application on liquid and electrical equipment fires.

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 Fixed Fire Extinguishers

• Fixed Foam Extinguishers: Buildings containing flammable

liquids normally have a piping system installed in the
protected areas in the building with an inlet in the street
through which foam is pumped. The opening is protected
by a strong glass panel and is marked ‘FOAM INLET’. The
fire brigade will smash the glass to feed the inlet.
• Fixed Carbon Dioxide Extinguishers: This system consists of
a piping network with nozzles attached and located in the
protected areas. The system is connected to a fixed supply
of CO2. This system does not cause any side effect as it
leaves no residue after its application.

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 Standpipe/Riser and Hose-reel System

A rising main consists essentially of a pipe

(of 50 mm minimum diameter) installed vertically in a
building with a fire service and has inlet at the lower end
and outlets at each floor inside the building.

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 Standpipe/Riser and Hose-reel System

HOSE REEL

BREAK TANK
PUMP SYSTEM

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 Standpipe/Riser and Hose-reel System
There are two types of risers:
• WET RISERS; Wet risers are kept permanently charged with
water which is then immediately available for use on any
floor with an outlet. Buildings above 60 meters in height
should be provided with wet risers. Wet risers in building
should not be used for any other purpose.
The water supply system to the riser should be capable of
providing a pressure of 410 kPa at the highest outlet. Lower
outlets should be protected against excessive pressure
whereby pressures should limited to 520 kPa maximum at
any outlet.
Wet riser system is always the preferred system unless
freezing conditions may occur. In this case the dry riser
system is to be used.

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 Standpipe/Riser and Hose-reel System
• Dry risers; Dry risers are similar to wet risers but
are kept empty of water. When required, they will
be charged by fire service pumps at ground level.
Dry risers should only be installed where prompt
attention can be relied upon or where buildings are
not fire sensitive such as all-concrete buildings.
Appropriate occupants training will be required
when such systems are installed.
The most common material used for standpipes is
steel.
Internal hose reels may be fitted inside buildings
and should be sufficiently light and easily
manipulated to be used by employees for a first aid
fire protection.

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 Automatic Sprinkler Systems

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 Types of Automatic Sprinkler
Systems
• In general, sprinkler systems may be classified into two
main types: wet-pipe and dry-pipe systems
• Wet-pipe System; In the wet-pipe system the pipe work is
fully charged with water at all times and thus, it is the
fastest system in delivering water. This system is
recommended except when freezing conditions may
exist or accidental mechanical damage to sprinkler head
may result in property loss or damage. Therefore, this
system should not be used in spaces designated for
electrical equipment such as computers, switch boards
and alike.

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 Wet-pipe System

Schematic of wet-pipe sprinkler system

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 Types of
Automatic Sprinkler Systems
• Dry-pipe system: In this system no water is introduced
into the piping network until a fire occurs. The dry-pipe
systems are used where conditions are such that freezing may
occur due to weather or other conditions such as cold stores
where the temperature is artificially maintained close to, or
below freezing. In dry type systems the pipes are kept
charged, at all times, with air or nitrogen under pressure.
Activation of a sprinkler head by heat released from a nearby
fire results in a pressure loss which in turn activates a dry pipe
valve which opens allowing water to enter the piping network
and sprayed through opened sprinkler heads. The
disadvantage of this system is that accidental damage to a
sprinkler head or gas leakage may falsely indicate the
existence of fire and activate the system causing property
damage. To avoid these unfavorable characteristics of dry-
pipe system a preauction valve is used resulting in what is
termed the "preauction system".
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 Dry-Pipe System

Schematic of dry-pipe sprinkler system

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 Types of
Automatic Sprinkler Systems
• This system is a dry-pipe system
Preauction System:
with a preauction valve activated by a separate
fire detection system that is more sensitive to
fire than sprinkler heads. The fire detection
system may consist of smoke- or flame-sensitive
detection sensors that signal the actuators to
open the preauction valve allowing water to
flow through the sprinkler heads that are
already opened by heat from fire. Thus, this
system is much safer than the dry-pipe system
as the water is allowed to enter the piping
system only if fire occurs.

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 Preauction System

Schematic of preauction sprinkler system

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 Types of
Automatic Sprinkler Systems
• Deluge System: This system is also a dry-pipe system with sprinkler
heads (or nozzles) open all the time. The system is equipped with
"deluge" valve operated by heat, smoke, or flame sensitive sensors.
Upon valve opening water discharges out of all sprinkler heads
simultaneously.

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 Deluge System

Schematic of deluge sprinkler system

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 SPRINKLER

Upright sprinkler Pendent sprinkler

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 Temperatures and Identification Colors of Sprinklers

Operating Temperature orc Identification Color

57 Orange
68 Red
79 Yellow
93 Green
141 Blue
182 Mauve
227/288 Black

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 Design of Hose Reel System

General guidelines for the design of hose-reel systems have

been developed by different codes of practice. These are:
• Nozzle:
(a) Minimum pressure at the nozzle, P = 200 kPa
(b) Flow rate at each nozzle: q = 0.4 l/s (Hall, p. 39)
q = 0.5l /s (Code, p. 55)
(c) Hose-reel type and size:
Type: Rubber hose/flexible (BS3169)
Size: Lengths for two different diameters are given in
the following table
(d) Coverage: 418 m2/hose

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 Design of Hose Reel System
General guidelines for the design of hose-reel systems (Jordanian
Code)
• Nozzle Size:

Operating pressure (bar) Hose diameter (mm)

3.5 65
3.0 40
3.0 19 0r 25*
1.25 19 or 25**
* Nozzle dam 4.5mm
** nozzle diam. 6.4 mm

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 SYSTEM FLOW RATE

•For systems using 65mm diameter hose:

• 31.5 – 78.8 lt/s for high and special hazards
• 15.8 – 78.3 lt/s for light and ordinary hazards
•For systems using 40 mm diameter hose .
• 6.3 lt/s for light and ordinary hazards.
•For systems using 19 or 25 mm diameter hose
• 1 lt/s

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Design of Hose Reel System

Table 1 hose diameter vs. length

D = 19 mm D = 25 mm
18 18
23 23
30 24
37 30
40 37
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 Design of Hose Reel System

Riser size:

Table 2: Riser diameter vs. building height

Diameter, D Building
)mm( height (m)


50 15
64 15 >

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Design of Hose Reel System

• Tank: water supply/storage tank size

= 1.6 m3 (Hall)
= 1.125 m3 (Code, p. 55)
• Hose-Reel assembly type:
• Fixed: the least expensive
• Swinging: more flexible for drawing off the hose
• Recessed-swinging: good for corridors
• Pumping specifications (if needed):
• 2.3 l / s discharge capacity
• duplicate pumps for maintenance

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 Design of Hose Reel System
Solution:
• According to the coverage of 412 m2 per hose reel,
two hose-reels on each floor is sufficient to cover
the whole floor area.

• Assume 2 hoses operating simultaneously, the riser

flow rate is then 1.0 l/s (0.5 l/s, each.)

• The hose length is chosen from Table 1 as 30m

with diameter of 19mm.

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 Design of Hose Reel System
A storage tank of 1.6 m3 is capable of providing two
hose reels at 1.0 l/s total flow rate for 1600 seconds
(or 27 minutes) duration.

We also choose a nozzle with 4.8 mm diameter

(Pressure connection to reel=3.0 bar.)

We further choose the riser to be 50 mm in diameter since

the building height is just slightly greater than 15 m (i.e.,
16 m) as the pump will take care of the difference.
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Hf d 5H f
q
Design of Hose Reel System
25  L  10 5

The only item left is the pump size. So, we size

the pump as follows:

Pressure required at point A is 3 bar (3.0e+5 Pa or 30.6

m head).
Static pressure head at point A is 15 m (up-feed) or 3.0
m down-feed.
Friction head loss Hf calculated using Thomas Box
formula
q = {(d5 *Hf)/(25*L*105)} 1/2

Hf = q2*25*L*105/d5
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 Standpipe/Riser and Hose-reel System

HOSE REEL

BREAK TANK
PUMP SYSTEM

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 Design of Sprinkler Installations

Sprinklers heads may be

arranged in two different
arrangements;
Standard and Staggered
arrangements as shown.

Sprinkler Heads
Arrangements
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 Design of Sprinkler Installations

•The requirements and

design parameters for a
sprinkler system are given in
the table next:

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 Design of Sprinkler Installations
In designing sprinklers system two approaches are
available:
1. The occupancy hazard fire control approach
2. The special design approach

1- The occupancy hazard fire control approach includes:

• The Pipe Schedule, and

• The Hydraulic Calculation approach
which can follow any of the following methods:
Area/density method
Room design method
Special design method; building service chute corridors

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 Design of Sprinkler Installations
Pipe Schedule Method
This method is used for the pipe materials; copper and
steel. It consists of the following steps:
1- Determine the hazard type applicable to the
given space/building . See note next slide.
2- Select the type of sprinklers arrangement, i.e.,
Standard or Staggered.
3- Distribute the sprinklers according to the rules
given in Table 3
4- Size the piping system according to item 7 of
Table 3
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 •Sprinkler systems having
sprinklers with orifices other
than 1/2 in. (13 mm) nominal,
extra hazard, Groups 1 and 2
systems, and exposure
protection systems shall be
hydraulically calculated.

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 The number of automatic
sprinklers on a given pipe size
on one floor shall not exceed
the number given in Tables 4a&
b. for a given occupancy.

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 Water Supply to Water Based Systems
(riser-hose-real and sprinkler systems

Private water supply system

The supply of water to the water based fire protection
system in private buildings should be done from a special
reservoir devoted for this purpose. If the building is
provided by a continuous water supply at a rate of not less
than 1.6 m3 /min, a break tank of only 11.5 m3 would be
sufficient.
In the absence of adequate or dependable water main a
reservoir of not less than 45.5 m3 in volume should be
available on site of the building. The reservoir should be
provided with a pipe outlet of 150 mm diameter at the
street level and branched into four 64 mm instantaneous
couplings for connection to fire trucks.

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