Module III

Concept of Fire Safety in Building

M Tech- HSE/DM (Sem-III)

Dr. B P Yadav
BUILDING FIRE AREAS
Prevention and limitation of fire and reduction of fire losses are influenced by the
functional planning of buildings.

Proper planning, right from the land development is essential for the safe
evacuation of people and for the reduction of fire losses in the event of a fire.

Accordingly, depending on the size of a city, different fire zones are to be

demarcated (fire zone I, II, III) in its land development plan. Buildings of similar
occupancy group, which may cause similar nature of fire hazard are grouped in
each zone.
BUILDING FIRE AREAS
Fire Zones:
Fire Zone No. 1:
This shall comprise areas having residential (Group A), educational
(Group B), institutional (Group C),assembly (Group D), small business
(Subdivision E-l) and retail mercantile (Group f) buildings or areas which
are under development for such occupancies.
Fire Zone No.2:
This shall comprise business (subdivision E-2 to E-5) and industrial
buildings (Subdivision
G-1 and G-2), except high hazard industrial buildings (Subdivision G-3)
or areas which are under development for such occupancies.
BUILDING FIRE AREAS
Fire Zones:
Fire Zone 3
This shall comprise areas having high hazard industrial buildings
(subdivision G-3), Storage buildings(Group H) and buildings for
hazardous uses (Group J) or areas which are under development for
such occupancies
BUILDING FIRE AREAS
A building may have different occupancy classification and
there by the nature of fire hazard in different compartments in
a building will be different.
It is very essential to identify the areas in a building where
there is a greater probability for the breakout of a fire so that
safety measures can be adopted to confine the fire within a
specified area, improve the efficiency of fire fighting and
ensure the safe evacuation of the people. A fire area is a
section of a building enclosed by fire walls to restrict the
spread of fire and thereby to make it easier to extinguish.
Calculation of Fire Area
The maximum dimensions of a fire that can be successfully extinguished within the
allowable time is considered as the size of a single fire area.
The time required to extinguish a fire depends on several parameters and they can
be represented as
 cal = f (Q, I, Acom ,, s ,  o)
where
 Cal = Calculated time required to extinguish a fire (hours)
Q = Discharge (expenditure ) of fire extinguishment (l/s)
I = Application rate of the fire extinguishment (l/m2-s)
Acom= Area of combustion surface (m2)
s = Standard fire extinguishment time with the given rate of application
( hours)
o= Period of free combustion prior to fire attack (hours)
Calculation of Fire Area
The time required to extinguish a fire can be fixed based on two criteria
Based on the minimum fire resistance rating of structural members
The maximum loss permitted ( the shorter the duration of fire, the smaller is the
loss from it)
The first condition can be written
cal  Lmin / ko
and the second condition can be written as
cal  all
where,
Lmn = Minimum fire resistance rating of structural members (hours)
cal = Calculated time required to extinguish a fire (hours)
ko = Coefficient of fire resistance ( Safety factor  1.1)
 = Time allowed to extinguish a fire by considering the maximum loss
It can be shown that, the fire resistance rating Ls, of a structural member, by taking into account the fire
extinguishment measures, can be written in the form
Ls = ko { ( Acom I / Q ) s + o }
where,
{ ( Acom I / Q ) s + o } = Duration of fire (hours )
Ls = Fire resistance rating ( hours )
ko = Coefficient of fire resistance
 
Acom = { (Ls / ko) - o }{ Q / ( I s )}
Now, the maximum combustion area Acom is based on the minimum fire resistance rating of the structural
members. So, substituting Lmin in place of Ls, we have the allowable combustion area as
Acom = { (Lmin / ko) - o }{ Q / ( I s )}
The relationship between area of combustion surface and fire area can be expressed as
Acom =  Afire
where
Afire = Fire area in m2
 = Volume coefficient
The volume coefficient  depends primarily on the fire resistance of the building and the method of storing
the combustible materials, etc. So, the fire area can be obtained from the relation
Afire = { (Lmin / ko) - o }{ Q / (  I s )}
Factors that influence the calculation of fire area are
• The type material stored
• Methods of storing materials
• Combustibility condition of roofs, ceilings, walls etc
• The temperature and intensity of combustion
• Availability of automatic fire fighting system
• Capability of fire fighting units
• Type of extinguishing material (water, foam, CO2 ,etc. )
• Number and rate of extinguishing units
• Number of fire fighting units and their sequential arrival
• Commitment and organization of fire fighting
• Fire resistance rating of structural members
Subdivision of Fire Areas

Several occupancy classifications can be included in a fire area.

• Hazard categories that require similar fire fighting equipment or areas with
similar occupancy classification are required to be separated by fire walls for the
efficient confinement of fire.
• Further, large undivided floor area makes the fire fighting difficult due to the fact
that access to the location of fire source will be difficult.
• Thus, the fire area is subdivided by fire resistant walls and these subdivided areas
are called subsection areas.
• These subsection areas can further be divided in to compartments or rooms by
fire walls, so that the fire can be kept relatively small.
Fire Area in Industrial Buildings

As per the occupancy classifications, industrial buildings are classified as Group G

buildings.

The group G buildings are further divided into three groups based on the hazardous
condition of the industry namely
Group G1 – Building used for low hazard industries such as Battery charging and
service stations, Engineering workshops, Tanneries etc.
Group G2 – Buildings used for moderate hazard industries such as Aluminium
factories, Biscuit factories, furniture makers, textile mills etc.
Group G3 – Buildings used for high hazard industries such as Aircraft hanger,
match factories, LPG bottling plants, Petroleum Refineries, etc.
There can be different process with different fire hazardous conditions in a
factory such as
• Process involving heat sources (ovens, furnaces, boilers etc)
• Explosion hazardous process
• Electrical Equipments (Motors, Lighting Equipments, Circuit brackets)
• Administrative and Utility area
• Movement and storage of large quantities of combustible materials
• Movement of people
• Depending on the fire hazardous conditions, the location of each activity is
to be planned and they are to be enclosed by suitable fire resisting walls.
Fire Area in Residential and Public Building :
• The basic idea of subdivision of areas in residential and public buildings is the
same as that in case of industrial buildings.
• There are different areas with different functional utilization and depending
on the hazardous condition, each activity is to be isolated by fire resistant
walls.
For example, in a commercial cum residential complex, the commercial area
is to be isolated from the residential area.
FIRE SEPARATION BETWEEN BUILDINGS
• Fire separation between buildings is intended to prevent the spread of fire to
adjacent buildings and installations as well as to provide space for the fire fighting
operation.  

• The radiation effect of flames from a burning building or installation is taken into
consideration in compiling standards for fire separation distances.

• Convective heat transfer and the possibility of flying brands, sparks, and other
burning materials that can spread fire is generally ignored while calculating fire
separation distances.
FIRE SEPARATION BETWEEN BUILDINGS
Principle of Calculation of Safe Fire Distance
The theoretical quantity of heat transferred to an adjacent object under this
condition is give by:
qt = Co [ (Tf /100) 4 - (T1 /100) 4 ] φf1
where
qt = The theoretical (design) intensity of radiation, in k Cal/hr
Co = Reduced coefficient of emissivity, in kcal/m2 hr deg4
Tf = Average temperature of flame, in oK
T1= Maximum allowable temperature of the adjacent object, in oK
f1= Angular coefficient – Depends on the size of the flame and relative
position of the radiation source and irradiated surface.
• The sufficiency of the fire separation distance is determined by comparing the
theoretical intensity of radiation qt under given conditions of fire, with the
minimum value of the intensity of radiation, qmin (kcal/m2 hr), above which the
adjacent buildings or installations may ignite within the time required to bring
fire fighting forces in to action.

• So, the safety condition can be expressed by the following equation

qt  qmin  
• The determination of safe distance between buildings depends on the
determination of the angular coefficient of radiation and availability of data on
the minimum intensity of radiation, area and temperature of the flame, etc.

• The minimum intensity of radiation, qmin depends on the type of material, its
surface conditions, effective duration of the radiation source, and the conditions
of heat transfer to the irradiated material.
Minimum intensity of radiation for ignition –solid materials
Minimum intensity of radiation over a
period of radiation (in min) for ignition,
Material (cal/cm2 min)
3 min 5 min 15 min
Wood (plane wood with W = 12 %) 30 25 18.5
with rough surface
Wood painted with light blue and
tan oil paint on the planed surface 38 33.4 25
Cotton fiber 15.7 13.9 10.7
Layered plastic 31 27.4 22
Fiber glass 27.8 26.8 22
Artificial parchment paper 31.6 28.4 25

Minimum intensity of radiation for ignition – Liquid materials

Liquids with self Minimum intensity of radiation over a period of
ignition temperature radiation (in min) for ignition, (cal/cm 2 min)

3 min 5 min 15 min

250 °C 37.4 31 24
300 °C 50 37.4 30
350 °C 51 45 35
400 °C & above 57 51 40
• The minimum intensity of radiation for liquid combustible materials is somewhat higher than for
solid materials.
• The effective duration of radiation exposure due to a fire depends upon the time required to start
the fire fighting/suppression action. So, this time period is a major factor in deciding the value of
qmin and there by the fire separation distance.
NBC Part –IV ensures sufficient fire separation between buildings through limiting
 The maximum height of a building
 The Floor area ratio and
 The open spaces around the building.
For an industrial area, if sufficient or standard fire separations distance cannot be provided,
following measures can be taken to prevent the spread of fire from one building to the other
• Decrease the area of construction of two adjacent buildings to the size of a single fire area
• Construct exterior fire walls
• Decrease the fire hazards of the production process
• Decrease the capacity of the storage rooms
• Change the method of storage.
FIRE RESISTANT PARTITIONS
• The function of a fire resistant partition is to prevent the propagation of fire.

• Depending on the directions in which a fire is prevented, fire resistant partitions can
be grouped in to two, viz. General Partitions and Local Partitions.

• The term “ general ” refers to a case where propagation of fire is prevented in all the
three directions where as the term “ local ” refers to a case where only one
dimensional fire is prevented.

• Fire walls, floors, screens and fire separations are general partitions while Dikes,
Mounds, Embankments, Ditches, Drains, Diaphragms, etc. come under local
partitions.
Design principles of Fire Resistant Walls
Fire resistant wall is considered as a general fire resistant partition. Depending on the purpose for
which a fire resistant wall is used, there can be three types, namely
 External Fire Wall – Prevents spread of fire between the buildings
 Internal Fire Wall – Prevents spread of fire inside the building
 Free Standing Fire Wall – Serve as a shield during a possible fire and compensates for
insufficient fire separation between buildings

External fire walls are called party walls while internal fire walls are known as compartment walls.
The effectiveness of a fire resistant wall depends on its
 Non combustibility
 Heat resistance capacity
 Stability and the
 Density and impermeability to combustion products
Design requirements of Fire Wall
The fire resistant wall must be wholly of non-combustible materials.

Design requirements for a fire resistant wall are discussed below.

a) Fire resistance
• In general, a fire resistant wall must have a minimum of 2h fire resistance duration.
• However, in special cases such as in boiler rooms, switch gears of transformer located
in basement floor, etc., the minimum fire resistance required is 4h.

As per NBC part IV, the fire resistance rating required for a fire wall is as follows:
For Type 1 Construction - 4 h fire resistance
For Type 2, 3 and 4 Construction - 2 h fire resistance
Specifications for Fire Walls – Typical Example

Nature of Construction and Minimum thickness (mm) for a fire resistance of

Materials
Load Boring Non-Load Bearing
2h 4h 2h 4h

Masonry Walls        
         
R.C.C with min of 1% steel 160 240    
( cover to reinforcement ) ( 25) ( 25)    
         
Brick of clay without finish 100 170 100 170
         
Hollow Blocks of concrete without - - 140 150
finish

Framed Construction        
   
External walls
     
Bricks of clay without finish 90 100
b) Efficiency of joints
• Joints are highly vulnerable parts in a fire wall. Smoke and gas impermeability of fire
walls is greatly affected if the joints are not executed properly.

• The joints between wall panels and the frame work, between wall panels and roof and
ceiling structures also require special attention.

• The fire resistance rating of ceiling or floor panels, in general, is less when compared to
wall panels.

• So, if floor or ceiling panels are supported by fire walls, destruction of these panels can
cause local damage to the wall panel (at the supports of floor/ ceiling panels ) and
thereby impermeability to combustion products may be lost.
b) Efficiency of joints
• It is preferable to support floor panels separately, like supporting on the projections of
cross beams of a framed structure instead of supporting on fire wall.

• Similarly, embedding of girders, beams etc. into the major fire wall is to be avoided, since
cracks may develop at the junction (due to the deformation or destruction of these
structural members ) and through these cracks, the products of combustion can
penetrate.

• Further, if a horizontal projection is provided on the cross beams or on columns where

the ceiling panel is to be supported, then these projections protect the fire wall from
getting damaged during the failure of ceiling panel.
C) Stability
• During a fire, combustible walls, floors, and roofs in contact with the fire wall may
burn out completely.
• So, when fire destroys such structures, one side of the fire wall may become like a
free standing wall.
• Wind and other forces may act on this side of the wall thereby causing stability
problems.
• Similarly, long and slender fire walls may be subjected to forces that may tend to
tilt them due to horizontal loads or vertical loads acting at an eccentricity, which
may develop during a fire.
• Hence, fire walls, particularly slender walls are to be checked against horizontal
and overturning forces and the minimum cross-sectional dimensions are to be
ensured for the proper stability of the walls.
d) Separation of structures
• Fire walls must remains across combustible structures to restrict the spread of
fire along outer walls as well as roofs .

• As per NBC, Part IV, the fire wall must extend above the roof by 1.0 m at all
points( that is, measurement is to be taken perpendicular to the roof slope).

• If it is not possible to extend the fire walls above roof level, and the roof is made
of combustible materials, then the roof is to be provided with non-combustible
covering on either sides of the wall for a width of at least 1.5m on either sides.
Design principles of fire resistant ceilings

• The purpose of a fire resistant ceiling is to prevent of spread of fire in the vertical
direction (to separate fire areas horizontally from other parts of the building).

Some examples where a fire resistant ceiling or a floor used are :

• Storage rooms in a factory building are to be separated from production areas by
fire walls as well as by fire resistant ceilings.
• Different occupancy groups in a building are to be separated using fire resistant
floors.
• Basement and upper floors are to be separated with fire resistant floor at the
ground level.
 Design principles of fire resistant ceilings

For a ceiling to be effective in preventing the fire spread, it must have

• Sufficient resistance to heat and combustion

• Sufficient density
• Sufficient impermeability to combustion products
• Made of non-combustible materials

The fire resistance rating of ceiling and floors can be fixed based on the fire
resistance rating required for the compartment or for the building and the same
can be obtained from table 12 and 13 of SP:7 -part IV.
FIRE RESISTANT SCREENS
• Screens are structures, which either reflect or absorb radiant energy and thereby
decrease the effect of intense heat transfer and restrict the spread of fire.
• Screens can be of fixed as well as portable types. Portable screens are widely
used for the protection of firemen from radiant heat during fire fighting.

Screens which Reflects/ Deflects Heat Radiation

• There are two types of screens which reflect/ deflect heat radiation. They are
generally called as solid screens
• Screens without thermal resistance : thin sheet of steel, aluminium foil etc
• Screen with thermal resistance : fire walls, ceilings, partitions etc.
• The effectiveness of these type of screens, when placed between two walls,
depends on factors like the amount of heat radiation between two walls, distance
between the walls, surface area of screen, thermal conductivity etc.
FIRE RESISTANT SCREENS
Screens which Reflects/ Deflects Heat Radiation
• In the case of screens without thermal resistance, the screen is considered to be a thin
sheet of metal with high coefficient of thermal conductivity.

• The number of screens required can be worked out based on the assumption that the
quantity of heat emitted by wall 1 to a unit area of wall 2 in the presence of a screen
will be half the quantity of heat transferred to wall 2 in the absence of the screen.

• Screens with low coefficients of radiation is recommended near electrical equipment's to

reduce the danger of heat radiation from such equipment's in case of a fire.

• Screen with thermal resistance is more effective than that without thermal resistance.

• Any material suitable for the construction of fire resistant wall can be used in this case
also.
Screens which Absorbs Heat Radiation:
• Water curtains, water cooled surfaces, etc. can be classified under this group.
• The effectiveness of these types of screens depends on the quantity of heat
absorbed.
Water Curtains
• Water curtains are generally used in combination with solid screens to cool them
such as to cool fire doors and curtains as well as to protect openings in the fire
areas of the roof, etc.
• Water curtains can also be used in place of a fire wall and are extensively used in
places where, there is not any possibilities of fire wall due to any practical.
Depending on the heat absorption capacity, water curtains (screens) are
classified as
• Transparent : films or sheets
• Semi-transparent: Water cooled wire mesh
• Opaque : aerosol or fog screens
Water Curtains
• The relation between the temperature of the surface(τ) and the wavelength of the
radiation energy (λ) , as per Wien’s Law, is given by
λm τ = 0.29
• This means that higher the temperature of the radiating surface, shorter will be the wave
length of the radiation (infrared radiation).
• During a fire, the flame temperature reaches at least to about 1100 °C to 1200 °C and
corresponding spectrum of the radiating infra-red ray will have a wavelength (λ) less
than 3 micron.
• So, thin film curtains of water are only effective for low temperature radiation. Also, it is
practically difficult to obtain unbroken film of large dimensions.
• Water Screens created by sprinklers and drenching heads absorbs only about 20% of heat
energy.
• Hence they are effective only if used in combination with solid screens or when thick
layers with high rates of water application are used.
• Water cooled wire mesh curtains are considered as semi-transparent screens.
Behaviour of water curtain when exposed to radiation:

Recommended length Action on Radiation

S. No. Type of water curtain of Spectrum, Energy
λ (Microns)

1 Steam > 15 Completely absorbs

2 Few micron thick water >6 Completely absorbs

3 1 mm thick water film >3 Completely absorbs

4 10 mm thick water film > 1.5 Absorbs practically all

radiation
Water Curtains

• The heat transfer by convection through water screens can be attained by the
dispersion of water jet.
• Aerosol or water fog screens reduce the energy of radiation flux by 90 %.
• The effectiveness of such screens depends on the degree of dispersion of water
particles, thickness of screens and rate of water consumption.
• For ordinary water curtains used for cooling of solid screens, the sprinkler or
drenching heads are generally spaced at a distance of 0.5m for small openings
and at a spacing of 1.25m to 1.5m for large openings.
• The free pressure head required at the nozzle for a water curtain of length more
than 3m is 4-5 m of water.
• For curtains of shorter length, the pressure required is 3 to 3.5m of water length.
LOCAL FIRE RESISTANT PARTITIONS ( LOCAL BARRIERS)
Local fire resistant partitions or barriers are structural members, which help to prevent
spread of fire only in one direction and under certain situations. Local Barriers are of two
types.
• Those that restrict the spill of burning liquids : Barricades, Baffles, Dikes, Ditches
Drains, etc.
• Those which restrict the spread of fire along the surface of the structure and along
hollow spaces :Belts, Deflectors, Projections
Containment of Liquid Spills
• Spilled liquid may spread over a large area, floors etc. and cause fire spread.
• The possibility of spilling and spreading of inflammable liquids are high in chemical and
petrochemical industries, in places where combustible liquids are stored in open spaces,
in places where solid combustible which may liquefy during fire (Rubber) are stored,
where transformers having large oil capacity ( say above 2000 liters) are installed, etc.
• There are different methods to prevent the spread of liquid such as providing Barricades,
Baffles, Dikes, Ditches, Soak pits and Drains.
• Depending on the field conditions a suitable method is to be adopted.
• The dimensions of these structures, their capacity to hold the spilled liquid, etc. are to be
arrived at based on the type of fuel, and other specialized requirements.
Preventing the Spread of Fire Along Structures
• Ridges, Belts and Deflections can be installed to restrict the spread of fire along the
exteriors of combustible structures as well as along the non-combustible structures
having combustible facing, finish or insulating materials.
• Ridges are usually made by projecting the fire walls and floors.
• A minimum projection of 1.0 m above the roof is recommended if the roof is made of
combustible materials. ( SP: 7 , 1983).
• A horizontal projection of floor by about 1.20 m helps in preventing the spread of fire to
upper floors (flames through windows get diverted off at the upper floor level due to the
projections)
• If due to some reason, projections are not feasible, belts made of non combustible
materials are to be provided above fire walls/ partition walls to prevent the spread of fire
FIRE STOPPED AREAS
A fire area is a section of a building enclosed by fire walls to restrict the spread of
fire, thereby making it easier to extinguish the fire.
• In case, where the construction of fire resistant wall around a fire area creates
difficulties in the functional utilization of the area, fire stops are used to section-off
fire areas.
• For large area, industrial buildings with noncombustible roofs, construction of fire
stop area is of considerable importance.
• Fire stopped areas can be provided at different locations such as
In roofs – to prevent spread of fire along the roof
In partitioned fire areas – to prevent spread of fire within the building
In connecting structures – to prevent spread of fire from one building to
the other through connecting structures.
Firestop components include intumescent, cementitious
mortars, silicone, firestop pillows, mineral fibers, and rubber compounds.
Fire Stopped Areas in Roof ( Roof Fire Stops)

• To prevent the spread of fire along a roof, fire stopped areas are created on roofs by
laying non-combustible strips of width not less than 6.0 m across the entire width or
length of the building that have large floor areas and combustible roofs.(6.0 m is
recommended to reduce the effect of convective heat transfer).

• This kind of fire stops are required for buildings with wooden roofs.

• The development of fire across the roof is limited with the help of a ridge and walls.

• In this case, the ridge projects above the surface of the roof and the walls join the
lower and upper surfaces of girder or arches.
Partitioned Fire Stopped Areas
• Partitioned fire stopped areas can prevent the spread of fire to the adjacent areas in a building.

• Partitioned fire stopped areas can be created by partitioning between different occupancy
group or different activities by non-combustible fire resistant partition walls. (Generally with a
minimum of 2h fire resistant duration, separated by a distance of 6.0 m).
• These partitions are to pass through the entire length or width of the building, as the case may
be.
• The partitioned area can be utilized for functions with non- fire hazardous nature.
• If it is not possible to have partition wall in partitioned fire stopped areas, the entire width of
the area is to be kept free of combustible materials.
• Water curtains of 4 m to 6 m in width are to be installed across this gap.
Partitioned Fire Stopped Areas

• As a result, a sort of fire gap is created by this area, which restricts the spread of fire and serves
as a reliable fire stop.
• The effectiveness of partitioned fire areas in preventing the spread of fire depends on the
efficient design of fire area itself.
• If fire areas are not equipped with water curtains or the fire protection rules are not followed,
strong convective heat may be generated over the fire area in the event of a fire.
• This heat may cross the width of fire stopped areas and thus making it insufficient to prevent
the spread of fire.
The important requirements in the design of fire areas includes
 Localization of the fire of the premises where it started
 Stability of the load bearing elements during and after fire and
 Ease in working and mobility of the fire brigade
Fire Stopped Areas in Connecting Structures
In any large-scale industry, buildings are constructed for different purposes.

• In many cases, some of these buildings are connected for different functional requirements by
constructing another structure, called connecting structures.
e. g. Galleries, trestles, tunnels, etc. are examples of connecting structures.

• These structures may be used for production, communication lines and for transportation of
different materials or for the movement of people, etc.

• If connecting structures catch fire, the fire can spread quickly in to the connected structures.
Fire Stopped Areas in Connecting Structures

• Connecting structures are required to be constructed with non-combustible materials.

• If combustible materials are used for the construction of connecting structures, they are to be
separated by 6m long fire stopping area from the connected structures.

• Further, such fire stopped areas are to be provided at an interval of 100m along the connecting
structures. At the junction of a fire stop area with the structure, air locks are required to be
installed or the openings are to be protected with water curtains.

• Each fire-stopped area is to be provided with an access to the external fire escape ladder so as
to facilitate successful fire fighting and evacuation of people.
PROTECTION OF OPENINGS
• Ideally, the fire walls or fire resisting elements should not have any opening. However, in most
of the cases, it is not practical to achieve this condition.

• Openings are required in fire resisting elements for different purposes such as for the
movement of people, materials and machinery, for the services, etc..

• Openings in a fire resisting element are potential weak points and hence are to be protected.

• The protection of openings is to be in such a way that the fire resistance of the protection
system must be equal to that of the fire resisting element itself.
PROTECTION OF OPENINGS
BIS specifies the following requirements for openings in separating walls and floors.
• For type 1 to 3 construction

1. Door way or opening in separating wall

Maximum area of openings = 5.6 m2
Maximum height of opening = 2.75 m
Maximum width of opening = 2.1 m
• Wall opening shall be protected with fire-resisting doors or steel rolling shutters.
2. Openings in floors

• Openings are to be protected by vertical enclosures and extending above and below
such openings, the walls of such enclosures are to have a minimum of 2 hours fire
resistance rating.
• Openings are to be fitted with fire resisting assemblies having a fire resistance equal to
that of the floor.
• The assemblies are to be capable of preventing the spread of smoke or fumes.
For type 4 construction
• Openings in floors and walls
• Openings are to be fitted with fire resisting assembly having fire resistance rating of minimum
2 hours duration.
• Openings for Building Services in walls and Floors ( Openings for Cables/ Electrical wirings/
Telephone cables/ plumbing, etc)
• Openings are to be protected by enclosures in the form of ducts/ shafts having a fire resistance
of not less than 2 hours.
FIRE DOORS
• Fire doors are used to protect the openings for doors. The requirements of a fire door is that
1. It is to be stable
2. Must not lose integrity
3. Must not lose its insulation

• A fire door consists of the following elements

a. a panel
b. an opening and closing mechanism and
c. a sealing mechanism
• The details of fire check doors are specified by BIS in IS 3614 (Part I):1990 - Specification for fire
check doors Part I- Plate, metal covered and rolling type.
a) Low Combustible Doors/ Metal Covered Doors
• Low combustible doors may be made of wooden boards protected from combustion and deeply
impregnated with flame retardants.
• The boards are covered with roofing steel laid over a noncombustible insulation layer.
• The fire resistance rating of this type of doors depends on
• the thickness of the heat insulating layer and
• the thickness of layers of wood ( thickness of board) and
• the manner in which the board is covered with steel
• Generally, the heat insulation is provided with 5 to 7 mm thick asbestos sheets. It has been observed
that, the fire resistance rating of a door made of 40mm thick board, lined with steel over 5 to 7 mm
thick asbestos sheet is 90 minutes.
• If the protection facing is completely air tight, a vapor-gas mixture will be formed when the interior
wood is heated to about 550 C.
• The vapor-gas mixture damages the lining, escapes through the unheated side of the door and will get
ignited.
• To avoid the above possibility, holes are drilled through the metal sheathing on either side of the door.
The holes are covered with plates soldered with an alloy having a melting point not more than 350 C.
• However, experiments have shown that holes are not necessary to release the vapor gas mixture when
the steel lining is lapped on the door panel. In fact, the BIS specify lapping for metal covered doors.
• The metal covered doors specified in IS 3614(Part-I) come under low combustible doors. Some of the
important points specified for the manufacture of such doors are discussed below.
• Core of the Door
• Must be made of layers of planed, tongued and grooved, thoroughly seasoned teak or yellow pine
boards.
• Minimum thickness of the core is 22 mm
• Outer layers of boards must be of single length
• Each layer shall be crossed at right angles and fastened together with iron nails and clenched
• Immediately after completion, the core is to be treated with a coat of coal tar creosote
• Minimum number of layers of board is based on the area of opening. However, the number of layers can
be reduced by one from the specified value, if the core is completely covered with sheet of asbestos of
thickness not less than 3 mm.
• Area of Opening No. of Layers
 3. 25 m2 not less than 3
>3. 25m2 not less than 4
• Sheet Covering
• The core shall be completely encased
• Maximum size of plate 350 mm x 500 mm
• Material of the plate – Charcoal tinned plate (Terne- Plate) with minimum coat thickness of 0.5
mm
• Sheets shall be lock-joined and not soldered
• width of lock-joints should not be less than 10 mm
• All joints shall be formed facing downwards
• Sheet covering the edges of the core shall be turned round at least 50 mm on each face
• Sheets shall be attached with core by screws at a spacing not more than 150 mm
• Heads of all nails and screws shall be inside the lock-joints
b) Spark Proof Doors
• This type of doors are used in places where the friction between the moving parts may cause
danger like the door for the storage of explosives.
• The door essentially consists of Either a wooden panel covered with galvanized steel sheet over a
lining of mineral felt or asbestos or Sheet steel with non combustible thermal insulating filler
• The side margins to the double rabbet (rebate) and the lower portion to a height of 650 mm are
covered with sheets of aluminium alloy, brass or copper
• Door casings are covered with galvanized steel
• Door hinges, rollers, etc., are made of different metals at the point of friction (To reduce the heat
due to friction)
• Steel components are covered with enamel
c) Non Combustible Doors
• The usual metallic doors can be considered as non-combustible doors.
• However, it is important to note that, when exposed to fire, they radiate heat very quickly get
deformed and becomes impermeable
• The steel plate doors specified in IS 3614 comes under the non-combustible type of doors
d) Steel plate doors
• The specifications for steel plate doors as per the BIS are
• Minimum thickness of plates is 6 mm
• Plate shall be divided in to
• panels not exceeding 0.8m2 each by styles and rails (muntins, if required) with a maximum
spacing of 150 mm using 6 mm thick plate with a min width of 100 mm and placed on either
sides of the plate. Or
• If minimum thickness of the plate is 6 mm, then the plate shall be stiffened on one side by T
bar (ISNT 80 –80mm x 80mm x 8mm ) all around and further divided into panels of size not
more than 0.8m2 using T bars of same section.
• However, this metallic door may not be effective to prevent the radiation unless a non
combustible thermal insulation filler is placed. Such a door is called composite fire door. The
possible filler materials can be
• Perlite filler
• Asbestos-vermiculite filler – Best suitable and
• mineral wood bounded with clay
• The maximum dimension of composite fire door suggested by Fire Officers Committee (UK) is
• maximum area - 5.2 m2
• maximum height - 2.74 m
• maximum width -2.44 m

e) Suspension of Doors
• Suspension of fire doors is very important due to the fact that, they are to be closed effectively
when a fire breaks out.
The fire doors can be suspended in three ways and based on the method of suspension, fire doors are
classified as
• Hinged Doors
• Sliding Doors and
• Overhead type Doors.
The IS 3614 (Part – I ) specifies the guide lines for suspending fire check doors in case of Hinged and
Sliding doors.
Suspension of hinged doors:
• The important recommendations for the suspension of hinged doors are as follows.
• Doors are suspended using strap hinges
• Number of hinges depend on the weight and height of door
• Spacing of hinges should not be more than 900 mm (for metal covered door)
• Doors shall have bolts at the top and bottom - In case of doors with two leaves, in addition to bolts at
top and bottom in both the leaves, there must also be a central bolt or latch.
• The bolts and latches shall be so arranged that the door can be opened from either sides.
• The door frame shall be of steel with a minimum thickness of 6 mm.
Suspension of sliding doors:
• The important recommendations for the suspension of sliding doors are as follows.
• Door shall be in one leaf
• Door must overlap the openings at least by 75 mm at top and bottom
• Door shall be hung from the top by steel hangers, extending at least 400 mm down the door and
bolted through the door
• Not less than three hangers shall be provided if width of door is more than 1.5m
• Low friction steel shall be used for wheels
• The rail upon which the supporting wheels run shall be a flat bar of steel, or T-bar or Angle.
• Provision must be made to prevent the wheel from jumping off the rails and the door falling in
the event of wheels and hangers becoming distorted.
• Provisions must be made to keep the door closed against the wall with stops made of steel
section.
f) Door Closers
• The main point about door assemblies is that the door should be closed in the event of a fire.
• The closing of doors can be achieved either automatically or manually.
• In the former case, the closure of door may be prevented by an obstruction in the door opening
and in the later case it may be neglected due to the state of mid of escaping occupants.
• That means that, without proper locking or latching of a door, protection of the opening will be
lost.
• However, there are practical difficulties in using door-closing devices, since people often prop the
door open to assist their passage in normal day-to-day use.
• So, door assemblies should be fitted with very much stronger closing devices.
• Further, by improving the closing edge details, the fire resistance rating of a door can be
increased considerably.
• If steel doors are provided for the protection, they are to be designed by taking into consideration
the expansion due to rise in temperature during a fire breakout.
Door closers for hinged doors
• Hinged doors are used in places where there is movement of people, through evacuation routes,
for small openings, etc. There are different types of door closures such as
1) Springs and spring loaded arms that exert a force on the door
• This system is most simple device to close a door
Advantages
• Cheap
• Easy to open against closer
Disadvantage
• Unsuitable for heavy doors
• If there is no latch, door may get opened by fire pressure
• Latch bounces and does not engage
• Unable to overcome latch force
2) Spring and Hydraulic devices:
• In this system, the spring causes closing forces and hydraulic device controls the closing speed. The
disadvantage of this kind of closing device is that, it is difficult to open the door for weak people ( sick
people in hospitals)
3) Automatically activated fire door closers
• Due to the inconvenience of door closers, there are several devices to keep the door open under normal
conditions and to close it on an alarm signal such as the conventional spring hydraulic closers with
Electro-magnetic or pneumatic hold open devices.
• Electro magnetic or pneumatic devices are used to keep the door in open position.
• With the alarm signals the holding mechanism breaches and the spring hydraulic closer will close the
door.
• During normal working conditions, the above type of door closers are reliable for automatic door closing.
• However, during a fire, these door closers may lose some of its closing force. Further, the door itself may
come out of the door frame.
• Automatic closing mechanism with fusible link and counter weight system is another type of door closure
device Sliding doors are not normally used in evacuation routes, in ordinary rooms, door ways, etc. due to
the difficulty to open such doors.
Door closers for sliding doors:
• Sliding doors are too heavy to open and close constantly and are normally kept in open position.
Hence they are not normally used in evacuation routes, in ordinary rooms, door ways, etc. due to
the difficulty to open such doors.
• Guide rails are fixed at an angle for the automatic closing of sliding doors. Generally the rails are
attached to the wall at an angle of nearly 5.
• Because of the difficulty of reopening such doors by hand they are only expected to function in
the developed stages of a fire.
• So, relatively slow acting fusible link is used for sliding doors.
Air-tight sealing of fire doors
• Air-tight sealing of fire doors is essential to ensure impermeability to combustion products.
• Even though gases and smokes are the product of combustion, there is a distinction between the
requirements for gas impermeability and smoke impermeability.
• Gas impermeability is required in places in which explosion hazard process is separated from their
premises with heat sources.
• Explosive mixtures may become concentrated in the premises with heat source in the absence of
an air-tight sealing and may lead to explosion.
• The tight sealing of gas is to be effective even in the normal functioning of the door.
• On the other hand, smoke impermeability is required only in the event of a fire and is required
when premises with a fire hazard are separated from premises frequently occupied by people, or
in escape routes.
• It is important to note that, an effective airtight sealing in an opening is very difficult to achieve.
• The best solution is not to have any openings, if possible.
• Positive pressure air locks are normally provided for airtight sealing of doors.
• Rubber seals between the door panel and the doorframe are also being used as an airtight
sealing, even though it is not effective.
WINDOW OPENINGS :
• When an exterior wall of a building is exposed to fire from a nearby area, the possible
development of fire within the building (exposure hazard ) is through the window openings
provided in the exterior wall.
• There is a greater chance for the development of fire if the window frames are made of wood and
the panes are made of glass.
• This is because, glass panes will break and wooden frames get ignited at a comparatively low
temperature.
• Proper guidelines are to be followed with regard to exposure hazard for windows in the exterior
walls. The BIS recommends the following guidelines (SP-7 1983-Part IV)
• In case of an external wall, the openings, if permitted, shall not exceed 75% of the area of the wall
and are to be protected
The protective devices include
1. Sprinklers
2. Drenches
3. Use of wired glass instead of plain glass (small panes of glass reinforced with copper wire mesh
- known as fire-resisting glazing)
4. Use of hollow glass blocks (for 60 mm thick glass block, fire resistance rating is 1½ hours and for
120 mm thick block, it is 2 hours )
5. Use R.C.C or steel window frames
6. Special laminated fire resisting glasses are available which endure severe fires and also provide
some thermal insulation
• It is to be noted that double or triple glazed windows may fail earlier than single glazed windows.
This is because of the differential thermal expansion.
• As one layer of glass breaks, others also will shatter quickly due to the thermal shock on cooler
face.