Fire Safety through Building Design

1. Fire Safety through Building Design • Three Different Fire Safety Methods • Prescriptive Requirements • Codes • Standards • Performance Codes • Meeting fire safety objectives through performance measures • Systems Analysis • Integrated analysis method that addresses functional, structural, mechanical, etc.

2. Pros and Cons of the Three Methods • Prescriptive Requirements • Pros and Cons? • Performance Codes • Pros and Cons? • Systems Analysis • Pros and Cons?

3. NFPA 550: Fire Safety Concept Trees • Systems-based methodology examines the interrelation of fire safety features and their effect on achieving specific fire safety goals and objectives • Can be used to analyze the impact of various fire safety concepts and to identify gaps and redundancies in fire protection strategies

4. Figure 4.3 of NFPA 550

5. Example Use of the Tree • The following link is an example of the application of the Fire Safety Concept Tree • http://www.fpemag.com/archives/article.asp?issue_id=36&i=208

6. NFPA 5000 • The primary goals of NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code, are safety, health, building usability, and public welfare, including property protection as it relates to the primary goals • NFPA 5000 contains provisions for every aspect of design and construction of buildings and structures, as well as the creation of building systems for health, safety, comfort, and convenience • Provides prescriptive and performance based options • The code is organized by the occupancy or use of the proposed facility

7. NFPA 5000 Four Safety Goals for Building Construction • Safety from Fire: (1)To provide an environment for the occupants inside or near a building that is reasonably safe from fire and similar emergencies (2) To provide reasonable safety for fire fighters and emergency responders during search and rescue operations • Safety from Structural Failure: The safety from structural failure goals of this Code are to provide a high confidence of a low probability of structural failure resulting in local or global collapse, or the creation of falling debris hazards that could threaten life under any load or combination of loads that the structure could reasonably be anticipated to experience, and to provide a high confidence that the structure will be capable of resisting regularly occurring loads and combinations of loads without significant damage or degradation. • Safety During Building Use: The safety during building use goal of this Code is to provide an environment for the occupants of the building that is reasonably safe during the normal use of the building. • Safety from Hazardous Materials: Facilities containing high hazard contents shall have the goal of protecting people and property from the consequences of unauthorized discharges, fires, and explosions involving hazardous materials.

8. Case Study #1 • You will have three tasks to complete in Case Study #1 • Task 1: Select of one of the three methods of fire safety design for the new building as described in the Module (Prescriptive requirements, performance codes, or systems analysis). Make your case as to why the organization should apply your selected method of fire safety design over the other two methods. • Task #2: Develop Fire Safety Objectives for the new building utilizing Figure 4.3 in NFPA 550. For each of the boxes in Figure 4.3, provide examples of how the organization can achieve the Fire Objectives of both Preventing Fire Ignition and Managing the Fire Impact.

9. Case Study #1 (Continued) • Task #3: For each of the four safety goals described in NFPA 5000, provide an example of real situation which occurred from not meeting the goal and provide examples of control measures that should have been present in the workplace to meet the goal.