FIRE FIGHTING ASSIGNMENT 1

NAME: SONAL S. MORE

FOURTH YEAR B ARCH

ROLL NO: 39

ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE

1) Differentiate between various Classifications of

buildings and explain the benefits of classification
including the sub Division.
Classification of buildings based on occupancy:
All the buildings and structure existing or to be build are
classified as below depending on the characteristics of the
building occupancy.
GROUP A: RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS:
Includes any building in which sleeping accommodation is
provided for normal residential purposes with or without
cooking or dining or both facilities. This group is further
sub divided as follows:
A-1: Lodging or rooming houses- includes same or group of
buildings under same managements, in which sleeping
accommodation for a total not more than 40 (beds), on
transient or permanent basis, with or without dining
facilities but without cooking facilities for individual is
provided. Includes inns, motels, and guest houses.
A-2: One or two- family private dwellings- includes private
dwelling occupied by members of 1 or 2 families with
sleeping accommodation of not more than 20 persons.
A-3: Dormitories- includes building in which group sleeping
accommodation is provided, with/without dining facilities
for persons not of the same family, in one room/ series of
closely associated rooms under joint occupancy and single
management. E.g. school and college dormitories, hostels
and military barracks.
A-4: Apartment houses (flats) - includes structures in
which living quarters are provided for 3 or more families,
living independently of each other and with independent

cooking facilities. E.g. apartment houses, mansions and

chawls.
A-5: Hotels- includes one/ group of buildings under single
management,
sleeping
accommodation
provided,
with/without dining facility for hotels up to 4 star
categories.
A-6: Hotels (Starred) - includes hotels duly approved by
the concerned authorities as five stars and above hotels.
GROUP B: EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS:
Includes any building used for school, college, other
training institutions for day-care purposes involving
assembly for instruction, education or recreation for
not less than 20 students. This group is further subdivided as follows:
B-1: Schools up to senior secondary level- includes any
building or a group of buildings under single
management which is used for students not less
than 20 in number.
B-2: All others/training institutions includes any building
or a group of buildings under single management which is
used for students not less than 100 in number.
GROUP C: INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS
Includes any building or part thereof, which is used for
purposes, such as medical or other treatment or care of
persons
suffering
from
physical
or
mental illness, disease or infirmity; care of infants,
convalescents or aged persons and for penal or
correctional detention in which the liberty of the inmates
is restricted. Institutional buildings ordinarily provide
sleeping accommodation for the occupants. This group is
further sub-divided as follows:

C-1: Hospitals and sanatoria - includes any building or a

group of buildings under single management, which is
used for housing persons suffering from physical
limitations because of health or age. E.g.
hospitals,
infirmaries, sanatoria and nursing homes.
C-2: Custodial institutions- include any building or a group
of buildings under single management, which is used for
the custody and care of persons, such as children,
convalescents and the aged. E.g. homes for the aged and
infirm, convalescent homes and orphanages.
C-3: Penal and mental institutions includes any building
or a group of buildings under single management, which is
used
for
housing
persons under restraint, or who are detained for penal or
corrective purposes, in which the liberty of the inmates is
restricted,
for
example, jails, prisons, mental hospitals, mental sanatoria
and reformatories.
GROUP D: ASSEMBLY BUILDINGS:
Include any building or part of a building, where number of
persons not less than 50 congregate or gather for
amusement, recreation, social, religious, patriotic, civil,
travel and similar purposes. E.g. theatres, motion picture
houses, assembly halls, auditoria, exhibition halls,
museums, skating rinks, gymnasiums, restaurants, places
of worship, club rooms, passenger stations and terminals
of air, surface and marine public transportation services,
recreation piers and stadia, etc. This group is further subdivided as follows:
D-1 -includes any building primarily meant for theatrical or
operatic performances and exhibitions and which has a
raised stage, proscenium curtain, fixed or portable scenery
or scenery loft, lights, motion picture houses, mechanical
appliances or other theatrical accessories and equipment

and which is provided with fixed seats for over 1000

persons.
D-2 -includes any building primarily meant for use as
described for sub-division D-1, but with fixed seats up to
1000 persons.
D-3 includes any building, its lobbies, rooms and
other spaces connected thereto, primarily intended for
assembly
of
people,
but
which
has no theatrical stage or permanent theatrical and/or
cinematographic accessories and has accommodation for
300 persons or more. E.g. dance halls, night clubs, halls
for incidental picture shows, dramatic, theatrical or
educational presentation, lectures or other similar
purposes having no theatrical stage except a raised
platform
and
used
without
permanent seating arrangement; art galleries exhibition
halls, community halls, marriage halls, places of worship,
museums, lecture halls, passenger terminals and Heritage
and Archaeological Monuments.
D-4 - includes any building primarily intended for use as
described in sub-division D-3, but with accommodation for
less than 300 persons with no permanent seating
arrangements.
D-5 - includes any building or structure permanent or
temporary meant for assembly of people not covered by
sub-divisions D-1 to D-4. E.g.
Grandstands, stadia,
amusement park structures, reviewing stands and circus
tents.
D-6 - includes any building for assembly of people
provided with multiple services/facilities like shopping,
cinema theatres and restaurants. E.g. multiplexes.
D-7 - includes any building or structure permanent or
temporary meant for assembly of people not covered by
D-1 to D-6. E.g. Underground or elevated railways.

GROUP E: BUSINESS BUILDINGS:

Includes any building or part of a building which is used for
transaction of business; for keeping of accounts and
records and similar purposes, professional establishments,
service facilities, etc. City halls, town halls, court houses
and libraries shall be classified in this group so far as the
principal function of these is transaction of public business
and keeping of books and records. This group is further
sub-divided as follows:
E-1: Offices, banks, professional establishments, like
offices
of
architects,
engineers, doctors, lawyers and police stations.
E-2: Laboratories, research establishments, libraries and
test houses.
E-3: Computer installations.
E-4: Telephone exchanges.
E-5: Broadcasting stations and T.V. stations.
GROUP F: MERCANTILE BUILDINGS:
Includes any building or part of a building, which is used
as shops, stores, market, for display and sale of
merchandise, either wholesale or retail. This group is
further sub-divided as follows:
F-1 - Shops, stores, departmental stores markets with area
up to 500 m2.
F-2 - Shops, stores, departmental stores markets with area
more than 500 m2.
F-3 - Underground shopping centres. Storage and service
facilities incidental to the sale of merchandise and located
in the same building shall be included under this group.
GROUP G: INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS:

Includes any building or part of a building or structure, in

which products or materials of all kinds and properties are
fabricated,
assembled,
manufactured
or processed. E.g. assembly plants, industrial laboratories,
dry cleaning plants, power plants, generating units,
pumping
stations,
fumigation
chambers, laundries, buildings or structures in gas plants,
refineries, dairies and saw-mills, etc.
G-1 - includes any building in which the contents are of
such comparative low combustibility and the industrial
processes
or
operations
conducted
therein are of such a nature that there are hardly any
possibilities for any self-propagating fire to occur and the
only
consequent
danger
to
life
and property may arise from panic, fumes or smoke, or
fire from some external source.
G-2 - includes any building in which the contents or
industrial processes or operations conducted therein are
liable to give rise to a fire which will bun with moderate
rapidity or result in other hazardous situation and may
give off a considerable volume of smoke, but from which
neither toxic fumes nor explosions are to be feared in the
event of fire.
G-3 - includes any building in which the contents or
industrial processes or operations conducted therein are
liable to give rise to a fire which will bum with extreme
rapidity or result in other hazardous situation or from
which poisonous fumes or explosions are to be feared in
the event of a fire.
GROUP H: STORAGE BUILDINGS:
Includes any building or part of a building used primarily
for the storage or sheltering (including servicing,
processing or repairs incidental to storage) of goods, ware
or merchandise (except those that involve highly

combustible or explosive products or materials) vehicles

or animals. E.g. warehouses, cold storage, freight depots,
transit sheds, storehouses, truck and marine terminals,
garages, hangers, grain elevators, barns and stables.
Storage properties are characterized by the presence of
relatively small number of persons in proportion to the
area. Any new use which increases the number of
occupants to a figure comparable with other classes of
occupancy shall change the classification of the building to
that of the new use. E.g. hangars used for assembly
purposes, warehouses used for office purposes, garage
buildings used for manufacturing.
GROUP J: HAZARDOUS BUILDINGS:
Includes any building or part of a building which is used for
the storage, handling, manufacture or processing of highly
combustible
or
explosive
materials or products which are liable to bun with extreme
rapidity and or which may produce poisonous fumes or
explosions
for
storage,
handling,
manufacturing or processing which involve highly
corrosive, toxic or noxious alkalis, acids or other liquids or
chemicals producing lame, fumes and explosive,
poisonous, irritant or corrosive gases; and for the storage,
handling or processing of any material producing
explosive mixtures of dust which result in the division of
matter into fine particles subject to spontaneous ignition.
Examples of buildings in this class are those buildings
which are used for:
a) Storage, under pressure of more than 0.1 N/mm2 and in
quantities exceeding 70 m3, of acetylene, hydrogen,
illuminating and natural gases, ammonia, chlorine,
phosgene, sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, methyl oxide
and all gases subject to explosion, fume or toxic hazard,
cryogenic gases, etc;

b) Storage and handling of hazardous and highly

flammable liquids, liquefiable gases like LPG, rocket
propellants, etc.
c) Storage and handling of hazardous and highly
flammable or explosive materials (other than liquids);
d) Manufacture of artificial flowers, synthetic leather,
ammunition, explosives and fireworks.

2) Elaborate the terminology, Fire Stop, Fire

resistant,, Wet riser, Fire separation and wall,
Travel Distance
FIRE STOP: A fire resistant material, or construction,
having a fire resistance rating of not less than the fire
separating the elements, installed in concealed spaces or
between structural elements of a building to prevent the
spread/ propagation of fire and smoke through wall,
ceilings and like as per the laid down criteria is known as
fire stop.
FIRE RESISTANT: Fire Resistance is the property of an
element of building construction and is the measure of its
ability to satisfy for a stated period some or all of the
following criteria:
(a)
Resistance to collapse,
(b)
Resistance to penetration of flame and hot
gases, and
(c)
Resistance to temperature rise on the
unexposed face up to a maximum of 180 degree
centigrade and/ or average of 150 degree
centigrade.
The time that a material or construction will withstand the
standard fire exposure as determined by fire test done in
accordance with the standard methods of fire tests of
materials/ structures is called as fire resistance rating.
WET RISER: An arrangement for firefighting within the
building by means of vertical rising mains, not less than
100 mm nominal diameter with landing valves on each
floor/ landing for firefighting purposes and permanently
charged with water from a pressurized supply is called a
wet riser.
FIRE SEPARATION AND WALL:
Fire separation- It is the distance in meters measured from
the external wall of the building concerned to the external

wall of any other building on the site, or from other site, or

from opposite side of street or other public space for
purpose of preventing the spread of fire.
Fire separating wall- The wall provides complete
separation of one building from another part of the same
building to prevent any communication of fire or heat
transmission to wall itself which may cause or assist in the
combustion of materials on the side opposite to that
portion which may be on fire.
Fire resisting wall- A fire resistance rated wall, having
protected openings, which restricts the spread of fire and
extends continuously from the foundation to at least 1m
above the roof.
TRAVEL DISTANCE: The distance to be travelled from
any point in a building to a protected escape route,
external escape route or final exit is called as the Travel
distance.

3) What you mean by Fire Escape Route. And what is

the use of same. What precautions are taken while
making fire escape route.

A structure or device, such as an outside stairway attached

to a building, erected for emergency exit in the event of fire

is known as a fire escape. It is a means of evacuating
persons from a building in the event of fire, especially a
metal staircase outside the building. An exit route is a
continuous and unobstructed path of exit travel from any
point within a workplace to a place of safety. An exit route
consists of three parts:
Exit access portion of an exit route that leads to an exit.
Exit portion of an exit route that is generally separated
from other areas to provide a protected way of travel to the
exit discharge.

 Exit discharge part of the exit route that leads directly

outside or to a street, walkway, refuge area, public way, or
open space with access to the outside.
Use of fire escape routes:
Escape routes help to release the crowd during a fire
explosion.
It enables the crowd to get their way out during such crisis
and reduce load on the main entry exits.

Due to these the fire men can help themselves into the
structure to diffuse the source of the flame and save lives,
in case stuck.

Precautions taken while designing the escape routes:

Exit routes must be permanent parts of the workplace.
Exit discharges must lead directly outside or to a street,
walkway, refuge area, public way, or open space with
access to the outside. These exit discharge areas must be
large enough to accommodate the building occupants
likely to use the exit route.
Exit stairs that continue beyond the level on which the
exit discharge is located must be interrupted at that level
by doors, partitions, or other effective means that clearly
indicate the direction of travel leading to the exit
discharge.
Exit route doors must be unlocked from the inside. They
must be free of devices or alarms that could restrict use of
the exit route if the device or alarm fails.
Side-hinged exit doors must be used to connect rooms to
exit routes. These doors must swing out in the direction of
exit travel if the room is to be occupied by more than 50
people or if the room is a high-hazard area.

Exit routes must support the maximum permitted

occupant load for each floor served, and the capacity of an
exit route may not decrease in the direction of exit route
travel to the exit discharge.
Ceilings of exit routes must be at least 7 feet, 6 inches
high.

An exit access must be at least 28 inches wide at all

points. Where there is only one exit access leading to an
exit or exit discharge, the width of the exit and exit
discharge must be at least equal to the width of the exit
access. Objects that project into the exit must not
Escape routes should be designed to ensure, as far as
possible, that any person confronted by fire anywhere in
the building, should be able to turn away from it and
escape to a place of reasonable safety, e.g. a protected
stairway. From there they will be able to go directly to a
place of total safety away from the building.
The level of fire protection that should be given to escape
routes will vary depending on the level of risk of fire within
the premises and other related factors. Generally,
premises that are simple, consisting of a single storey, will
require fairly simple measures to protect the escape
routes, compared to a large multi-storey building, which
would require a more complex and inter-related system of
fire precautions.
When determining whether your premises have adequate
escape routes, you need to consider a number of factors,
including:
the type and number of people using the premises;
escape time;
the age and construction of the premises;
the number and complexity of escape routes and exits;
whether lifts can or need to be used;
the use of phased or delayed alarm evacuation; and
Assisted means of escape/personal evacuation plans
(PEEPS).
Assembly points.

4) Differentiate between various types of fire

protection systems
Every industrial sector has a different set of needs and
requirements when it comes to fire protection systems.
Present below is a list that highlights some of the most
common fire protection systems that are currently being
used in the construction and general industries:
1. Wet Fire Sprinkler Systems: This wet pipe fire
protection system employs automatic sprinklers that are
connected to a piping system, which are in turn attached to a
water source.
2. Dry Pipe Systems: This dry pipe fire protection system
employs automatic sprinkles that are connected to a piping
system that either contains highly pressurized nitrogen or air.
These types of systems are installed where the piping may
be subject to freezing. Dry pipe systems are used in areas
where cold is a factor. This system eliminates the storage of
water, such as in a wet pipe system, in order to prevent the
water from freezing. This is necessary in places that do not
have heating, such as parking garages, attics and temporary
out-buildings The main disadvantage of a dry pipe system is
the increase in the response time when there is a fire.
3. Special Hazard Fire Protection Systems: These
special systems are designed and developed to detect and
extinguish fires. These protection systems are used where
standard suppression systems are not adequate or
appropriate.
4. Pre action Systems: This system employs automatic
sprinklers that are connected to a piping system that
contains highly pressurized air. The only difference here is
that this system has a supplemental detection system that is
attached in the same area as the sprinklers.

5. Deluge Sprinkler System: In this type of system, open

sprinklers are employed that are in turn connected to piping
systems.
6. Anti-Freeze Sprinkler System: Lastly, this type of fire
protection system is based on similar mechanisms, but
instead of highly pressurized air or nitrogen, an anti-freeze
solution is used.
7. Deluge Sprinkler System: In these systems, sprinklers
are open at all times. They are connected to a dry pipe that
is connected to a main water supply. A fire detection device
controls the main valve. When it is activated, the valve
opens, allowing large amounts of water to flow through all of
the sprinklers. The purpose of a deluge system is to quickly
wet down an entire hazard area to prevent a fire from
spreading. They are usually used in facilities that contain
hazardous materials such as: flammable liquids, chemicals,
and explosives. Rooms with high ceilings sometimes use
deluge systems, as it is difficult to direct water over the
burning area from such a distance.

5) As an Architect what are the precaution you should

take to construct a Fire safe building.

Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent

or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death,
injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the
presence of an uncontrolled fire in the event one occurs,
better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to
reduce the damage caused by a fire. Fire safety measures
include those that are planned during the construction of a
building or implemented in structures that are already
standing, and those that are taught to occupants of the
building.
Threats to fire safety are referred to as fire hazards. A fire
hazard may include a situation that increases the likelihood a
fire may start or may impede escape in the event a fire
occurs.
Fire safety is often a component of building safety. Those
who inspect buildings for violations of the Fire Code and go
into schools to educate children on Fire Safety topics are fire
department members known as fire prevention officers. The
Chief Fire Prevention Officer or Chief of Fire Prevention will
normally train newcomers to the Fire Prevention Division and
may also conduct inspections or make presentations. Key
elements of a fire safety policy
Building a facility in accordance with the version of the local
building code. Maintaining a facility and conducting you in
accordance with the provisions of the fire code. This is based
on the occupants and operators of the building being aware
of the applicable regulations and advice.
Examples of these include:
Not exceeding the maximum occupancy within any part of
the building.
Maintaining proper fire exits and proper exit signage (e.g.,
exit signs pointing to them that can function in a power
failure)

 Compliance with electrical codes to prevent overheating and

ignition from electrical faults or problems such as poor wire
insulation or overloading wiring, conductors, or other fixtures
with more electric current than they are rated for.
Placing and maintaining the correct type of fire extinguishers
in easily accessible places.
Properly storing and using, hazardous materials that may be
needed inside the building for storage or operational
requirements (such as solvents in spray booths).
Prohibiting flammable materials in certain areas of the
facility.
Periodically inspecting buildings for violations, issuing orders
to comply and, potentially, prosecuting or closing buildings
that are not in compliance, until the deficiencies are
corrected or condemning it in extreme cases.
Maintaining fire alarm systems for detection and warning of
fire.
Obtaining and maintaining a complete inventory of fire stops.
Ensuring that spray fireproofing remains undamaged.
Maintaining a high level of training and awareness of
occupants and users of the building to avoid obvious
mistakes, such as the propping open of fire doors.
Conduct fire drills at regular intervals throughout the year.