UNDERSTANDING FIRES IN BUILDING

FIRE chemical reaction, process of changing

material form, need energy

EXPLOSIVE any compound or mechanical mixture

that is intended to produce an explosion (sudden
burst/shock of energy)
FULMINATE a kind of stable explosive compound
which explodes by percussion

COMPOSITION OF FIRE:
IGNITION PROCESS
IGNITION the process of starting the combustion of
the fuel

O2
FUEL

93.99C ambient temperature of an unvented attic

IGNITION

** Size of igniting source is dependent on the surface

to the mass ratio of the fuel
MATERIAL
Newspaper
Sawdust
Cotton
Jute
Rayon
Wood

GENERATES HEAT
BUILDING = FURNACE
FURNACE EFFECT NURTURES FIRE
OBJECTIVES OF FIRE SUPPRESION
To prevent damage to property
To avoid loss of lives
The fires in building results to disaster
CLASSIFICATION OF FIRES
A

Ash

Barrel

Current

Dynamite

Kitchen

Ordinary
combustible
materials
Flammableliquid
and gases
Energized electrical
equipment
Metals such as
magnesium,
sodium, potassium
Cooking media/oil
and fats

Green
triangle
Red
square
Blue
circle
Yellow 5point star

DEGREE CELSIUS
185
195-220
230
195
235
200-220

BURNING OF SOLIDS

DECOMPOSITION

HEAT
FIRE
IGNITION
FUEL
OXYGEN

Some factors:
Amount of heat applied
Surface area to mass ratio
Condition of the solid
IGNITION OF LIQUID AND GASES

Black
hexagon

COMBUSTIBLE Will burn,a simple spark is not

enough (ordinary paper/ wood)
FLAMMABLE can easily catch fire under normal
circumstances with the help of minimal ignition
source. Just a spark is sufficient enough
FLAMMABLE LIQUID liquid having a flash point
below 37.8 C.
FLASH POINT minimum/lowest air temperature that
will make a volatile liquid give off enough volume of
vapor to make an ignitable moisture in the air (when
there is oxygen)
ELECTRIC ARC extremely hot luminous bridge
formed by passage of an electric current across a
space between two conductors or terminals due to
incandescence of the conducting vapor

FLAMMABLE
VAPORS

HIGH TEMP
VOLATILE
LIQUID

BOILING
RELEASES
VAPORS
TO MIX
WITH
OXYGEN

FLASH
POINT

Material
Boiling Point
Flash Point
Gas
40
46
Acetone
56
18
Benzine
38
18
Toluene
110
4.5
Methanol
66
18
Kerosene
(Very Volatile)
31
*Kerosene should be well ventilated or temperature is
controlled
FIRE LOAD

The fire load of a building is the combustible

materials of its construction together with the
combustible contents
When assessing the fire hazard, we consider
the fire load per area, not the total fire load of
the building
Fire load density - is expressed in lbs/sq.ft or
kg/sq.m

FOUR PHASES OF BUILDING FIRES

1. Incipience
2. Growth
3. Fully development
4. Decay
Factors:
1. As windows lose their glazing or people try
to ecape and open door and windows
oxygen supply is increased and the fire will
increase its intensity.
2. After some time, additional airflow will no
longer increase fire intensity and the fire
growth will be fully dependent on the type,
amount of density of the combustible or
flammable material.
FIRE GROWTH AND HEAT RELEASE
Factors:
1. Fire load nature and amount
2. Arrangement and geometry of the fuel
3. Size and shape of room or compartment
4. Area and shape of window
5. Thermal insulation of the walls and ceiling
FIRE SPREADING
Ways for fire to spread:
1. From compartment to compartment (either
horizontal or vertical)
2. Through channels or void spaces
3. Transfer on theoutside surface of the
building
FIRE HAZARD
FIRE TRAP building unsafe in case of fire because
it will burn easily or because it lacks adequate fire
escapes
FIRE HAZARD any condition or act that increases
the likelihood of a fire; delays, obstructs or hinders
evacuation of fire fighting
Factors influencing fire hazard
1. Type of occupancy
2. Occupant load
3. Electrical loading
4. Narrow streets and hallways
5. Maximum travel distance
6. Lack of fire suppression systems
7. Height from the ground level
8. Building materials used
9. Absence of protective warning signs

FIRE SAFETY refers to precautions that are taken

to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a damaging fire
that may result to death, disaster and loss of property.
Components of fire safety:
1. Prevention
2. Alarm
3. Suppression
4. Containment
5. Evacuation
Prevention
aims to educate the public to take precautions
to prevent potentially harmful fires
be educated about surviving team
Alarm
- alerts people in the structure that there is an
uncontrollable fire in the structure
Suppression
- use of combination of dry chemicals and/or wet
assert or to suppress damaging fires
Fire buckets bucket filled with water or
sand which is used to prevent or extinguish
fires. Often, they had a convex, protruding
bottom, rendering then useless for other
purposes, thus reducing the potential theft or
misuse.
Fire blankets made up of fiberglass or
wool treated with flame retardant fluid. It
consists of a sheet of five retardant material
which is placed over a fire in order to
smother it.
Fire extinguisher portable, active ifre
protection device used to control fires in
emergency situation. The higher the number
rating, the more effective it is for a particular
fire. C does not have a number rating it
means, the chemcials are non-conductive.
OCCUPANCIES REQUIRING STANDPIPE SYSTEM
Assemby exceeding 1000 occupant load
Educational, healthcare, detention,
correctional, business and mercantile,
industrial, hotel and apartments at least 4
storey in height
Hazardous, business and mercantile
occupancies exceeding an area of 1860 m2
SPRINKLER SYSTEM active fire protection
measure, consisting a water supply system, providing
adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution
piping syste, or to which fire sprinkers are connected.
Types:
Wet system (deluge)
Dry system (pre-action)
FIRE SPRINKER RATINGS
C
F

COLOR OF
LIQUID

57
68
79
93
14
182
227
260

135
155
174
200
286
360
440
500

INSIDE BULB
Orange
Red
Yellow
Green
Blu
Mauve
Black

GASEOUS SYSTEM
-used inert gases and chemical agents to extinguish
fire
-also, called clean agent fire suppression
-used when electrically, nonconductive extinguishing
medium is required.
Prepared by: FDGarcia2016