Accidental fires in buildings are one of the most common emergencies in urban areas. To reduce the threat to life and allow more time for evacuation, buildings these days are incorporating several fire prevention techniques. Mostly these fire preventive strategies focus at controlling the spread of fire and creating more exits for quick evacuation. Following are some common fire safety strategies adopted by building engineers:-
Constructing a fire protective building envelope: Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, wood frame type V construction has been extensively used for constructing houses. However, wood is not at all resistant to fire, and buildings often collapse when the wooden frame burns down quick in case of fire. Hence, this design is susceptible to fire damage and can cause a loss of life. Now days, fire resistant masonry shear wall envelopes are constructed around the frames of the houses. These shear walled envelope have a resistance of around four hours to external heat, which might prove to be invaluable in case of any fire outbreak.
Insulating the wiring system: Often in case of building fire, the electric wiring is the main cause of rapid spread of fire from one part of the building to all the other parts. This is because electric cables are generally covered by a latex insulation, which being a poly-carbon is an inflammable material. Also, since all the wirings of a building are often in close vicinity to one another, they facilitate in the spread of fire. Similar is the condition with hose pipes and oil transmission lines. Hence, building engineers these days cover the wiring system of the building by fire resistant sleeves. These sleeves are made up of braided glass material woven in form of a sleeve and coated with iron oxide silicon rubber. This insulation allows the fire sleeves to bear continuous heat 500 Degree Farenheit and intermittent heat of 2000 Degree Farenheit. Besides, fire protection sleeves, cable trays can also be used to cover the electric cables with fire resistant covering. Here the wires are housed in incombustible trays. Cable tray systems are available in solid bottom tray design and ventilation tray design. Both fire sleeves and cable trays protect the fire from reaching the electric cables and hence prevent fire from spreading and add to the time of safe evacuation.
Emergency exits and fire escapes: Every building should have emergency exits to facilitate the evaluation of people in case of fire. Often the people residing on higher floors are trapped if the fire breaks at a lower floor. In such situation having fire escapes in the building can really prove to be a life saver.
Reference URL: http://goarticles.com/article/Fire-Preventive-Strategies-For-Making-Buildings-Safer/7812743/
Constructing a fire protective building envelope: Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, wood frame type V construction has been extensively used for constructing houses. However, wood is not at all resistant to fire, and buildings often collapse when the wooden frame burns down quick in case of fire. Hence, this design is susceptible to fire damage and can cause a loss of life. Now days, fire resistant masonry shear wall envelopes are constructed around the frames of the houses. These shear walled envelope have a resistance of around four hours to external heat, which might prove to be invaluable in case of any fire outbreak.
Insulating the wiring system: Often in case of building fire, the electric wiring is the main cause of rapid spread of fire from one part of the building to all the other parts. This is because electric cables are generally covered by a latex insulation, which being a poly-carbon is an inflammable material. Also, since all the wirings of a building are often in close vicinity to one another, they facilitate in the spread of fire. Similar is the condition with hose pipes and oil transmission lines. Hence, building engineers these days cover the wiring system of the building by fire resistant sleeves. These sleeves are made up of braided glass material woven in form of a sleeve and coated with iron oxide silicon rubber. This insulation allows the fire sleeves to bear continuous heat 500 Degree Farenheit and intermittent heat of 2000 Degree Farenheit. Besides, fire protection sleeves, cable trays can also be used to cover the electric cables with fire resistant covering. Here the wires are housed in incombustible trays. Cable tray systems are available in solid bottom tray design and ventilation tray design. Both fire sleeves and cable trays protect the fire from reaching the electric cables and hence prevent fire from spreading and add to the time of safe evacuation.
Emergency exits and fire escapes: Every building should have emergency exits to facilitate the evaluation of people in case of fire. Often the people residing on higher floors are trapped if the fire breaks at a lower floor. In such situation having fire escapes in the building can really prove to be a life saver.
Reference URL: http://goarticles.com/article/Fire-Preventive-Strategies-For-Making-Buildings-Safer/7812743/