PREPLANNING BUILDING HAZARDS

November 1, 1994
ByFire Engineering Staff

PREPLANNING BUILDING HAZARDS

Editor’s note: For further reference, consult Building Construction for the Fire Service, third edition. Page numbers are included after each caption for your convenience.

This man is spreading a thin layer of concrete on a plywood floor to level the surface for carpeting. Thicker layers may be part of a fire resistance rating. You may step onto this floor from a real concrete balcony. This may lead you to the mistaken belief that the floors are concrete. (Ref. pp. 336 and 538)Does this fast-food restaurant have a lightweight truss roof? You can bet the farm it does. Such businesses require a clear span without columns for maximum flexibility in arranging the dining area. Raise your aerial platform and look down on the roof. Most likely, you will note the heavy air-conditioning equipment, which can precipitate an even earlier collapse. The trusses may be doubled under the heavy load, but this is no help when all the trusses are burning. (Ref. p. 557)The firestopping is a piece of wooden I-beam. Note the gaps. The building inspector said, We always used the cut-off ends of beams for firestopping. You can’t ask the builder to cut up good wood for that! (Ref. p. 107)

FirefightingStructural Firefighting
#FE Volume 147 Issue 11#Fire Engineering Magazine#Premium

Must View

Hand entrapped in rope gripper

Elevator Rescue: Rope Gripper Entrapment

Mike Dragonetti discusses operating safely while around a Rope Gripper and two methods of mitigating an entrapment situation.
FeaturesFirefighter TrainingTechnical RescueTraining Minutes
Delta explosion

Two Workers Killed, Another Injured in Explosion at Atlanta Delta Air Lines Facility

Two workers were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion Tuesday at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport.
AP NewsFire EMSNews