Civimec.docx

Xavier Lancelot A. Veloso (11516577) Fire Protection in Buildings

The use of fire protection is to prevent fire from becoming destructive. It aims to reduce the impact of an uncontrolled fire and to save lives and property. When a fire starts, there is an incipient and growth period. Then a flashover happens because combustible materials enlarges the fire. There will be a burning period which is also has the highest temperature and also the most dangerous. Finally, over time the fire will start to decay due to lack of fuel.

For a building to have effective fire protection, the materials used in constructing a building should not disintegrate under the effect of heat, should not expand under heat so as to introduce unnecessary stresses in buildings, the materials should not catch fire easily and should not lose its strength when subjected to fire. Good fire-resistant building materials are cement, brick, concrete, aluminum, glass, and gypsum. Fire vulnerable building materials are steel and timber. However, timber and steel can be coated with special chemicals or covered with fire resistant materials in order to make these fire vulnerable building materials more fire resistant.

Enforcement and administration of fire safety measures is needed to check for the sustainability of a building against a fire disaster. City fire marshals are in-charge of inspecting buildings, structures, storage facilities and transportation vehicles if it complies with the Fire Code of the Philippines. For buildings, there is an inspection before and after construction. For buildings to be able to operate, the owners should own a certificate that certifies that their building is safe from fire.

All buildings are required to have the following safety requirements, fire exits, two doors for classrooms, ramps, fire escape stairs/ladders, exit marking/signs, ad emergency evacuation plan. Fire protection/warning devices are also required in buildings like, automatic sprinklers, standpipes, fire extinguishers, and fire detection alarms. These devices will help warn and protect people from incoming fires. There are different types of fires which require different methods in putting it out. Fire extinguishers have different types for this reason. There are various ways to protect one’s self and one’s property from fire. Fire protection is important to lessen the damage of a fire incident.