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the quest|on that has been haunt|ng

the masses |s whether |ts sae to sett|e


downthat h|ghabove the ground!
Why fire safety in high-rises is a grow-
ingconcern?
The Nat|ona| F|re Protect|on Asso-
c|at|on (NFPA) o SA de|nes "h|gh r|se
bu||d|ng", as a bu||d|ng greater than 25
m |n he|ght wh||st as per the Nat|ona|
Bu||d|ng Code o lnd|a, 2005, a|| the
bu||d|ngs 15m or above |n he|ght sha||
be cons|dered as h|ghr|se bu||d|ngs.
As a bu||d|ng gets ta||er, the number
o occupants |ncreases, and so does
the potent|a| |re hazard. lt shou|d be
remembered that a |re can occur at
any t|me |n any structure, |rrespect|ve
o the past |re ree record. To conta|n a
|re, the bu||d|ngs shou|d have a system
capab|e o |ght|ng |t. lt |s a known act
that | a |re cannot be ext|ngu|shed |n
the |n|t|a| stages, |t wou|d become more
and more d||cu|t or the |re |ghters to
ext|ngu|sh |t as the t|me advances. The
amount o water requ|red or |ght|ng a
|re w|th|n the |n|t|a| 3 m|nutes w||| |ncre-
ase to about 1000 o|ds w|th|n 10 m|n-
utes, wh|ch |s the norma| t|me or a |re
eng|ne to reach the s|te. Thus, a good
|re protect|on system shou|d not on|y
be |nsta||ed but a|so ma|nta|ned |n
good work|ng cond|t|on so as to meet
eventua||t|es at any t|me.
Embracing fire safety at the designers
desk: Prevent Fireignition
To m|t|gate the sources o |re and
|osses due to |t, p|ann|ng at the arch|-
tects tab|e enab|es us to des|gn a |re
sae bu||d|ng. Both act|ve and pass|ve
|re deenses prov|de reasonab|e saety
|olesl |||e ||gml|mg 3ysle~s to|
|gm-||se 3otely
-eep|mg |l |||e ||ee
120 The Masterbu||der - Novmber 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
nd|as pu|sat|ng economy |s today
ue|||ng a new ound demand among
lmodern masses to ||ve at greater
he|ghts. Th|s has opened up new bus|-
ness avenues that have changed urban
dynam|cs. W|th the grow|ng |ncomes,
peop|es asp|rat|ons or comort and
conven|ence have |ncreased many
o|ds & w|th 50% o lnd|an popu|at|on
expected to ||ve |n urban areas by 2030,
there |s a great demand |n the res|den-
t|a| and commerc|a| space. Thereore,
the lnd|an rea|-estate |ndustry |s now
exp|or|ng the vert|ca| space to over-
come cha||enges |n |and acqu|s|t|on,
space and costs.
But |n the ||ght o the recent |re acc|-
dents across the nat|on |n such h|gh
r|ses and the consequent exposure o
|ack o saety, |re |ght|ng equ|pments
&measures |nsta||ed |n such structures,
Cmo|lomyo o, Ooyo|
H|ghr|se Fire Fighting Systems
rom the eects o |re. Eva|uat|ng a de-
s|gn or bu||d|ng |re saety represents a
systemat|c approach to the |re saety
strategy. Hence a we|| kn|t p|an, |ts
|mp|ementat|on |n the des|gn and con-
struct|on o a h|gh-r|se res|dent|a| bu||-
d|ng executes a |re sae structure.
The |rst opportun|ty to ach|eve |re
saety |n a bu||d|ng |s through |re pre-
vent|on, wh|ch |nvo|ves separat|ng po-
tent|a| heat sources rompotent|a| ue|s.
Ma|or bu||d|ng |res are started by heat
sources and |gn|tab|e mater|a|s that
are brought |nto the bu||d|ng, not bu||t
|nto |t. Th|s means the des|gn o the bu||-
d|ng, rom the arch|tects and bu||ders
standpo|nt prov|des ||m|ted potent|a|
|everageonthebu||d|ngsuture |re expe-
r|ence.
For des|gn purposes |re prevent|on
|s enhanced by careu| observance o
codes and standards |n the des|gn and
|nsta||at|ono e|ectr|ca| and ||ght|ng sys-
tem, heat|ng system and any other bu||t
|n equ|pments such as or cook|ng,
rer|gerat|on, a|r cond|t|on|ng, wash|ng
and dry|ng.
Protect|on rom ||ghten|ng and |re
exposure aects the externa| des|gn o
the bu||d|ng. F|re |n one bu||d|ng creates
an externa| |re hazard to ne|ghbor|ng
structure by expos|ng those structures
to heat rom rad|at|on and poss|b|y by
convent|on currents, as we|| as to the
danger o |y|ng burn|ng ragments.
Passive fire protection: Controllingthe
spread
PFPattempts to conta|n |res or s|ow
the spread, through use o |re-res|stant
wa||s, |oors, and doors. These systems
do not requ|re power or water to oper-
ate |n case o |re. The scope o app||-
cat|on or Pass|ve F|re Protect|on |s |n
o||ow|ng areas:
1. Structura| |re protect|on
2. Sae escape routes and reuge or
occupants.
3. Compartmentat|on and conta|n-
ment o |re spread
4. Preserv|ng the unct|on o act|ve |re
saety measures.
5. L|e saety o |re serv|ce personne|.
The bu||d|ng |re saety system can
be organ|zed around |re growth and |ts
resu|t|ng products o combust|on |.e.
|ames, heat, smoke and gases. The
ease o generat|on and movement o
these products |s |n|uenced by coun-
ter measure prov|ded by the bu||d|ng.
The eect|veness o the bu||d|ng |re
saety system determ|nes the speed,
quant|ty and paths o movement o
these products o combust|on.
Barr|ers such as wa||s, part|t|on and
|oors separate bu||d|ng spaces. These
barr|ers a|so de|ay or prevent |re rom
propagat|ng rom one p|ace to another.
F|re |n h|gh r|se bu||d|ngs |s a grow|ng concern
F|re rated duct work |n a h|gh r|se
121 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - November 2012
ln add|t|on, barr|ers are |mportant ea-
tures |n any |re |ght|ng operat|on be-
cause they d|ctate the s|ze o |re.
The eect|veness o abarr|er depends
upon |ts |nherent |re res|stance. se o
|ame retardant pa|nts, |re stop barr|-
ers, |rewa||s, |re doors and w|ndows
are ewmethods or contro|||ng the |res
by construct|on|nbu||d|ng.
F|rewa||s are not on|y |re res|stant
but are a|so des|gned to sub-d|v|de
bu||d|ngs such that | co||apse occurs
on one s|de, th|s w||| not aect the other
s|de. They can a|so be used to e||m|nate
the need or spr|nk|ers, as a trade-o.
F|re-res|stant g|ass us|ng mu|t|-|ayer
|ntumescent techno|ogy or w|re mesh
embeddedw|th|ntheg|assmaybeused
|n the abr|cat|on o |re-res|stant w|n-
dows |nwa||s.
Occupancy separat|ons are barr|-
ers that are |ntended to segregate parts
o bu||d|ngs, where d|erent uses are
on each s|de, or |nstance, apartments
onones|deandstoresontheother s|de.
Cab|e coat|ngs are |re-retardants,
wh|ch are e|ther endotherm|c or |ntu-
mescent, to reduce |ame spread and
smoke deve|opment o combust|b|e
cab|e-|acket|ng.
Spray|reproo|ngapp||cat|ono endo-
therm|c pa|nts, or |brous or cement|t|ous
p|asters |s done to keep substrates
H|ghr|se Fire Fighting Systems
The Masterbu||der - 2012 November www.masterbu||der.co.|n
spec|a|ty va|ves and other |tems dee-
med to requ|re protect|on aga|nst |re
and heat (or the prov|s|on o c|rcu|t
|ntegr|ty measures to keep e|ectr|ca|
cab|es operat|ona| dur|ng an acc|den-
ta| |re).
Activefireprotection: Detection& sup-
pression
AFP |s character|zed by |tems and/
or systems, wh|ch requ|re a certa|n
amount o mot|onandresponse |norder
to work, contrary to pass|ve |re protec-
t|on. F|re detect|on |s needed so that
automat|c or manua| |re suppress|on
w||| be |n|t|ated/ act|vated and occu-
pants w||| have t|me to move to sae
|ocat|ons outs|de the bu||d|ng. Manua|
means |nc|ude the use o a |re ext|n-
Pass|ve systems - Stee| aced compos|te pane|
w|th a non-combust|b|e m|nera| |ber core
F|re res|stant g|ass be|ng manuactured
such as structura| stee|, e|ectr|ca| or
mechan|ca| serv|ces, va|ves, ||que|ed
petro|eum gas (LPG) vesse|s, vesse|
sk|rts, bu|kheads or decks be|ow 140
C or e|ectr|ca| |tems & 500 C or
structura| stee| e|ements to ma|nta|n
operab|||ty o the |tem to be protected.
F|reproo|ng c|add|ngs are boards
used or the same purpose and |n the
same app||cat|ons as spray |reproo-
|ng. Mater|a|s or such c|add|ng |nc|ude
per||te, verm|cu||te, ca|c|um s|||cate,
gypsum, |ntumescent epoxy, Durastee|
(ce||u|ose-|bre re|norced concrete
and punched sheet-meta| bonded
compos|te pane|s), etc.
Enc|osures are boxes or wraps made
o |reproo|ng mater|a|s, |nc|ud|ng |re-
res|st|ve wraps and tapes to protect
gu|sher or a Standp|pe system wh||e
Automat|c means can |nc|ude a |re
spr|nk|er system, a gaseous c|ean agent,
or |re |ght|ng oam system.
Whatever type o detect|on system
|s chosen, |t |s |mportant that, or each
area o a bu||d|ng, a rea||st|c assess-
ment be made o the |mp||cat|on or
response t|me ater the |re |s detected
and beore a |etha| cond|t|ondeve|ops.
The |re |s detected e|ther by |ocat-
|ng the smoke, |ame or heat, and an
a|arm |s sounded to enab|e emergency
evacuat|on as we|| as to d|spatch the
|oca| |re department. A detect|on sys-
tem on act|vat|on can be programmed
to carry out other act|ons a|so. These
|nc|ude de-energ|z|ng magnet|c ho|d
open dev|ces on F|re doors and open-
|ng servo-actuated vents |n sta|rways.
A|arm prov|s|on shou|d be des|gned to
te|| occupants what they need to do
based on where they are and the|r ab||-
|ty to respond. Th|s wou|d |nc|ude the
use o centra| annunc|at|on pane|s and
mon|tors to |norm respons|b|e sta.
For near|y a century automat|c spr|n-
k|er has been the s|ng|e most |mportant
system or automat|c contro| o host||e
|res |n bu||d|ngs. Among the var|ous
advantages o these systems, |s the
act that they operate d|rect|y over a |re
and are not aected by smoke, tox|c
gases and reduced v|s|b|||ty.
Automat|cspr|nk|er systemsareusu-
a||y |ocated at ce|||ng |eve| and are con-
Serv|ce p|pes or Automat|c Spr|nk|er System
122
Automat|c |re suppress|on system
H|ghr|se Fire Fighting Systems
prov|d|ng a degree o exposure protec-
t|on rom ad|acent |res. Foam can be
used as a |re prevent|on, contro| or
ext|ngu|sh|ng agent or |ammab|e ||q-
u|d |ntanks or process|ng areas.
Keeping ahead of codes: Safety and
economy tradeoff
The var|ous systems as descr|bed
above may not a|| necessar||y be useu|
or app||cab|e to a h|gh r|se bu||d|ng but
|t depends on the surround|ng struc-
tures and the var|ous app||cat|ons that
a bu||d|ng m|ght be sub|ected to. The
Nat|ona| Bu||d|ng Code o lnd|a (NBC)
2005, |ays down a set o m|n|mum pro-
v|s|ons des|gned to protect the saety
o the pub||c w|th regard to structura|
su|c|ency, |re hazards and hea|th as-
pects o bu||d|ngs, so |ong as these
bas|c requ|rements are met, the cho|ce
o mater|a|s and methods o des|gn
and construct|on |s |et to the |ngenu|ty
o the bu||d|ng proess|ona|s. Desp|te
the ex|stence o these codes, enorce-
ment o these regu|at|ons |eaves much
to be des|red. Due to the vested |nter-
ests and the po||t|ca| pressures, |mp|e-
mentat|ons o some o the prov|s|ons |n
the regu|at|ons are rendered d||cu|t,
and code v|o|at|ons are requent.
Today, the most common|y ound
|re |ght|ng |tems |n bu||d|ngs are r|sers
and |re ext|ngu|shers but they |ack
proper ma|ntenance. Escape routes are
a|so b|ocked |n many bu||d|ngs. ln many
bu||d|ngs, the sumps w||| not have water,
the hydrant, hose, |re duct, ext|ngu|-
sher, and a|arm wou|d not unct|on. Ma-
|or|ty o the res|dents are a|so |gnorant
about the |re |ght|ng |nsta||at|ons and
the|r work|ng pr|nc|p|es. There |s tota|
|ack o awareness about the ru|es and
regu|at|ons on |re saety & the soc|et-
|es hard|y conduct any |re dr|||s. nau-
thor|zed co|on|es and encroachments
are |ega||zed and |rregu|ar bu||d|ng
p|ans are passed or vote bank po||t|cs
&br|bery.
lt |s the respons|b|||ty o the bu||der
to set up the |re-|ght|ng systems, but
|ater the soc|ety has toma|nta|n|t. These
days, the s|um rehab|||tat|on bu||d|ngs
are a|so h|gh-r|ses. But are the poor
rom the s|um go|ng to have the unds
toma|nta|nthe|resaetyequ|pment and
systems? A|so the centra| a|r-cond|-
t|on|ng |n modern bu||d|ngs |s pos|ng a
new cha||enge to |re author|t|es s|nce
such bu||d|ngs are more vu|nerab|e as
the smoke does not escape. Any change
|n the |re saety s|tuat|on |n the country
can on|y occur when m|nd sets change
and smart c|ty concepts where dep|oy-
ment o techno|og|es and so|ut|ons to
make c|ty a better p|ace to ||ve |n are
|mp|emented. l so, the day |s not ar
when we m|ght see count|ess h|gh r|se
bu||d|ngs stretch|ng across the sky||ne
o lnd|anmetropo||tans!
nected to a re||ab|e water source, most
common|y c|ty water. The system oper-
ates when heat at the s|te o a |re
causes a g|ass component |n the spr|n-
k|er head to a||, thereby re|eas|ng the
water rom the spr|nk|er head. Th|s
means that on|y the spr|nk|er head at
the |re |ocat|on operates - not a|| the
spr|nk|ers ona |oor or |na bu||d|ng.
Hypox|c a|r |re prevent|on systems,
a|so known as oxygen reduct|on sys-
tems are new automat|c |re prevent|on
systems that permanent|y reduce the
oxygen concentrat|on |ns|de the pro-
tected vo|umes so that |gn|t|on or |re
spread|ng cannot occur. lnert a|r, reerred
to as hypox|c a|r (reduced oxygen con-
centrat|on), compr|ses s||ght|y a|tered
concentrat|ons o components o a|r.
Typ|ca||y 5-10% o the oxygen content
|s subst|tuted by n|trogen. Pressur|zed
CO |n|ect|onsystems a|so work ons|m-
2
||ar pr|nc|p|e.
Water M|st System orces water
throughm|cro nozz|es at very h|ghpres-
sure to create a water m|st w|th the
most eect|ve |re |ght|ng drops|ze d|s-
tr|but|on. The ext|ngu|sh|ng eects g|ve
opt|mum protect|on by coo||ng, due to
heat absorpt|on, and by |nert|ng due to
the expans|on o water by over 1,700
t|mes when |t evaporates. Th|s system
m|n|m|zes potent|a| water damage, as
the ma|or|ty o the water m|st evapo-
rates.
Dry Chemical Powder Fire Extin-
guishing System: When |ntroduced
d|rect|y to a |re, dry chem|ca| powder
ext|ngu|shes |ames a|most |mmed|-
ate|y. Dry chem|ca| powder |s |ntended
or use|next|ngu|sh|ng|res|nvo|v|ngbu|k
chem|ca| agents and ||que|ed gases.
Foam Fire Extinguishing System:
Foamused|n|reprotect|on|s anaggre-
gate o a|r-|||ed bubb|es ormed rom
aqueous so|ut|ons, and |s o |ower den-
s|ty than the ||ghtest |ammab|e ||qu|ds.
lt |s ma|n|y used to orm a coherent
|oat|ng b|anket on|ammab|e and com-
bust|b|e ||qu|ds to prevent or ext|ngu|sh
|res by exc|ud|ng a|r and coo||ng the
ue|. lt then prevents re-|gn|t|on by sup-
press|ng the ormat|on o |ammab|e
vapors, and a|so adheres to suraces,
124 The Masterbu||der - 2012 November www.masterbu||der.co.|n
Water m|st |re suppress|on
F|re a|arms |n many bu||d|ngs do not unct|on
H|ghr|se Fire Fighting Systems

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