DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, BARBADOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

BCEN 114 – Construction Technology & Design

5.0 FIRE PRECAUTION(S)
This may be regarded as a comprehensive set of measures aimed at mitigating the effect of losses due
to fire1. These measures revolve around:
✓ Controlling the contribution of the various building materials to the spread of the fire.
✓ Ensuring that building elements are afforded sufficient structural integrity to sustain the fire for
a specified time period.
✓ Providing satisfactory means of escape during a fire.

5.1 Effect of fire on common building materials

Timber
All timber members will burn when subjected to a temperature of 300 ℃ . Nonetheless, timber
depicts relatively good structural behaviour during a fire.
Thick sections are not burnt through but merely
become charred. This charring acts as a protective layer
that isolates the interior of the wood member from
further destruction by the fire. The unburned
fraction of the member retains high strength
whereby its load carrying capacity is diminished only in
proportion to its loss in cross-section.
Figure 1 - Charred timber girder2

Clay Brick
Clay bricks do not burn when expose to fire. Furthermore, they may be used to protect the
more combustible items within a house.

Gypsum
Gypsum plaster is non-combustible. However, plasterboard (gypsum sandwiched between two
layers of heavy paper) is combustible, although its rate of flame spread is very low.
Consequently, the covering light-frame wood construction with gypsum board can significantly
improve fire resistance.

Glass
Conventional glass softens at 700 – 800 ℃. However, glazing will crack during the early stages
of the fire and thus, any glazed openings (windows, doors, roof lights, etc) may be considered
as an effective ventilation source for the fire. Typically, window glass tends to crack around 200

1
Building fires are generally taken to burn at the flashover temperature of 600 ℃.
2
Courtesy of White, H., Dietenberger, M. (1999). Fire Safety.

BCEN 114 – CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN (CLASS NOTES, 2023) 1

 DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, BARBADOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
– 300 ℃. Research at the Building Research Institute (BRI) of Japan concluded that 3mm thick
window glass will break at 340 ℃, 4 – 6 mm window glass will break at approx. 450 ℃ and
thicker window glass at 600 ℃. The research also concluded that glass in aluminium window
frames survived longer than glass in timber window frames3.

Plastics
Plastics, being combustible, quickly lose their strength during a fire and some may even emit
inflammatory and/or toxic gases when exposed to elevated temperatures. In building fires,
thermoplastics melt (these molten drips being liable to fall and set something else on fire!) and
thermosets burn (although some are ‘self-extinguishing’ when the source of the fire is
removed). Typically, plastics do not have the higher fire resistance of metals.

Concrete
Concrete has a low spread-of-flame and it is generally used to protect steel from the heat of the
fire for a specified period of time. During a fire, building elements (beams, columns, slabs and
walls) tend to bow. The heat of the fire also causes spalling of the concrete, and this exposes
the steel which subsequently expands. In RC structures, it is vitally important that designers pay
attention to measures that prevent concrete spalling in beams and, particularly, columns so as
to avoid unpredictable failure due to flexure and buckling, respectively4.

Steel
Steel softens and expands during a building fire. When this happens, the steel can no longer
carry out its role within the structural member. North American Test Standards identifies critical
temperatures5 at which the steel will soften, but this will depend on the type of steel and
whether the steel is being used in the wall, slab, column or beam. It might be noted that
building fires are normally in the range of 600 ℃.

5.2 Classification of materials in terms of surface spread of flame

Materials are rated or put into classes that signify the rate at which the material burns and
contributes to further propagation of the fire. The Americans use five classes: A, B, C, D & E;
while the British6 use four classes – as shown in Table 1. The classification is graded from
Class 1 which performs best (i.e. restricts the spread of flame) to Class 4 which is given the
least performance rating during a building fire.

3
Tanaka, T., et al. (1998). Performance-Based Fire Safety Design of a High-rise Office Building.
4
Huang, Z., Burgess, I., Plank, R. (2005). Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Structures in Fire
5
The temp. at which the steel loses approx. 50% of its strength (538℃ for columns; 593 ℃ for beams)
6
An additional Class 0 is used to classify non-combustible materials that may be considered as fire resistant.

BCEN 114 – CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN (CLASS NOTES, 2023) 2

 DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, BARBADOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Classification of Flame Spread

Classification Limit of flame spread at 1 ½ minutes (mm)
Class 1 165
Class 2 215
Class 3 265
Class 4 Exceeding class 3 limits
Table 1 – the four classes used in fire resistance classification

5.3 Flame-spread Classification of Common Building Materials

Table 2 designates the fire resistance rating for some common building materials as per
British Standards (BS) as well as the Barbados National Building Code (BNBC).

FIRE RESISTANCE CLASSIFICATION

Material BS 476 Classification B’dos Building Code Classification7
Brickwork Class 1 110 mm thickness gives 1 hr
Stonework (e.g. coral stone) Class 1 (approx.) 68 mm thickness gives 1 hr
RC columns Class 1, 28 40 mm cover gives 1 hr
Building boards
Plywood Class 2, 3
Cement Class 1
Gypsum Class 1 2 x 13mm thicknesses give 1 hr
Mortar Class 0
Glass Unspecified
Plastics Class 1, 2, 39
Timber Class 3, 4
Structural Steelwork Unspecified 25 mm of concrete cover gives 1 hr
Table 2 - Fire Resistance Classification for Common Building Materials

5.4 Limiting the spread of flame during building fires

Various approaches/techniques are used to reduce the rate at which a building fire would
otherwise spread. The primary approach is the increased use of building materials of a low
flame spread rate (i.e. Classes 1 and 2) while, at the same time, decreasing the use of
building materials of a high flame spread rate (i.e. Classes 3 and 4). Other techniques used to
limit the spread of flame during building fires include:
o Designing the building with compartments – Compartment walls and compartment
floors may be used to contain a fire for a certain time period. Generally, building codes
stipulate that the minimum period of fire resistance increases as the size of the

7
The Barbados National Building Code (1993) classifies a material according to the number of hours of fire resistance that
may be obtained from a certain thickness of that material.
8
Dependent on the class of the aggregates used to make the concrete.
9
Dependent on formulation and type of plastic.

BCEN 114 – CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN (CLASS NOTES, 2023) 3

 DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, BARBADOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
compartment increases. Fire resisting doors should be used at connections between
compartments.
o Separating adjacent buildings – It is important to try to prevent the spread of fire from
one building to another. Therefore, external walls, including cladding, should be made of
material that has adequate resistance to the spread of flame; and the distance between
two residential buildings should not be less than 12 ft.10 (according to the BNBC). When
a reinforced concrete separating wall is used to adjoin two apartment dwellings, then
this separating wall must be designed to resist fire on both sides (i.e. designed with the
necessary thickness and with sufficient reinforcement to resist fire for a specified period
of time).
o Reducing the risk of fire in concealed spaces of the building - Building shafts (e.g.,
stairwells, lift spaces, ducts which allow air to pass between different compartments and
pipes) should be fire-stopped (i.e. sealed in a way so as not to further ventilate the fire).
so as to form a complete barrier to the fire.

5.5 Providing adequate means of escape11 as a fire precaution

The provision of adequate means of escape is critical in the design of:
- residential buildings of three storeys or more12
- office buildings
- assembly buildings
- factory buildings
- institutional buildings (e.g., schools, hospitals, child-care facilities)
- storage buildings (e.g., warehouses, garages)
in as much as the occupancy levels13 of these buildings exceed values as stipulated in the
relevant building code. Provided that occupancy levels are high enough (or could become
high enough in the future service life of the building) for ‘means of escape’ to be considered
a design factor, then general attention should be paid to:
- the number of exits (at least 1 exit from each occupied space within each storey)
- travel distances (not more than 30 m to the nearest exit point for schools)
- the dimensions of exit ways (use an un-obstructed height throughout ≮ 2 m)
- the provision of fire-isolated exit ways (needed when the exit opens to an external
balcony ≮ 1.5 m wide).
- the provision of an adequate discharge area at every exit (should have the capacity
to avoid bottle-necking while providing safe, continuous escape to the street or
open court or yard).

10
This is increased to no less than 20 ft. for commercial buildings.
11
Also called ‘means of egress.’
12
The provision of special means of escape in one and two story houses is not mandatory.
13
This is measured in terms of the No. of persons per m2 of floor area.

BCEN 114 – CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN (CLASS NOTES, 2023) 4

DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, BARBADOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
- the dimensions of ramps and stairs (ramps are 1:12 for disabled persons; 1:8 for
able persons; 1:6 for vehicles).
- the provision of corridors and passage ways (a room exceeding 200 m2 or having an
occupancy load of more than 50 persons should have at least two exits which are
located as far as practicable from each other, and which feed into a corridor).
- the function of doors (doors should swing in the direction of exit).
- floor finishes and obstructions (manholes, floor access panels, signs, low hanging
ceiling lights (alike those at restaurants) or other fixtures should not be located in
the path of egress).
- exit signs and emergency lighting (exit signs should be lighted and exit ways should
have emergency lighting)
- the maintenance of ‘means of escape.’ (exit signs and emergency lighting should be
regularly inspected).
See the Barbados National Building Code (1993) for further in-depth information.

BCEN 114 – CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN (CLASS NOTES, 2023) 5